There’s a large amount of discussion around density at the moment – how much Auckland should grow through intensification, how much through expansion, whether either of those will help housing affordability, whether people want big houses on big sections or whether they want something else and perhaps most of all, whether Auckland will accept a higher-density future.

The video below shows a talk by Brent Toderian, the former Chief Planner at Vancouver City Council. He discusses the vexed issue of density in a way that makes a lot of sense:

There are a whole heap of interesting lessons in there for Auckland. I’m looking forward to my visit to Vancouver – which isn’t far away now.

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4 comments

  1. Vancouver does a good job of creating density yet at the same time creating a lot of green space between the buildings, something that areas like Hobson and Albert Street fail miserably at. They’re also making a concerted effort to improve cycling in the city – I enjoyed cycling in the city when I was last there.

  2. Yes design and diversity are essential. I’ve lately seen NZ architects have really begun to master the refurb but still struggle on building quality low, mid or high density buildings. Can’t think of many of architectural merit? There are some townhouses on Edmonton Rd in Henderson designed by Andrew Patterson firm I think that are OK. THey also seem very affordable.

  3. Yes Vancouver does density very well, but in saying that unaffordability is through the roof, even by Auckland’s standards…

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