Challenging Geography Question posed

 

On Tuesday I caught up with Panuku Development Auckland team that is working on the Transform Manukau Project to receive an update after I had filed a Local Government Official Information Act request seen here: LGOIMA on Airport Rail, and #TransformManukau With Council.

I can not go into the answers that were given to the questions fully yet as Panuku have not cleared it for public distribution (happens early next year). That said I would like to send my thanks to Tim Watts and company for the meeting and the accompanying presentation. Very thorough and did answer the LGOIMA questions I had set out. My thanks to Panuku and look forward to the next update soon.

 

 

Centre of Gravity moving south

One question that Panuku had raised and I picked on was the Centre of Gravity moving south. Currently the centre of gravity (the core of main economic activity) for Auckland is the main City Centre. However, four of the five large heavy industrial complexes are in Southern Auckland – which generate a fair amount of economic activity that is only going to expand in the future. A compounding factor or rather factors is that the Southern Auckland industrial centres are expanding and will continue to do so while at the same time the South is facing high population growth. Now combine this with increasing growth in the Waikato and Tauranga (part of the Golden Triangle) and the question does get asked: “Will Auckland’s Centre of Gravity move south?”

 

Right now I can not answer that question (not properly as a Geographer) and Panuku can not either without some major studies (by Panukau, and myself as a Geographer either individually or as part of a wider research team). However, through the continuing work of Transform Manukau so far the question did present itself and will needed to be look at very seriously.

 

 

Seriously as it has consequences to our planning and future investment dollars if the centre of gravity in Auckland does head to Southern Auckland and that shift is influenced by the Waikato and Bay of Plenty. If you were to ask me would the centre of gravity move south I would say yes. The reasons and geography behind however, is what I would need and would like to study.