Cities in the Year 2000 (chapter 4)
This is part 4 of a 6-part series covering “Cities in the Year 2000”, a kids’ book on cities published in 1985. Here are parts 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6. I suggest reading on a desktop, as the screenshots of the pages should be large enough to read (hopefully).…
12 Comments The Big Questions part two
What is in New Zealand’s Future?
Earlier this year I was asked by Penguin Random to contribute to a book speculating about New Zealand’s future, and now it’s out: This is part two of my contribution, part one is here, part three is on its way.…
Cities in the Year 2000 (chapter 3)
This is part 3 of a 6-part series covering “Cities in the Year 2000”, a kids’ book on cities published in 1985. Here are parts 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6. I suggest reading on a desktop, as the screenshots of the pages should be large enough to read (hopefully).…
Encouraging new users, and why I’ll be glad when the Outer Link has gone
This is a guest post from reader Heidi O’Callahan
New Users
One of my passions in transport is helping the younger generation venture forth independently into their city. Sometimes the ways we (and AT) can help them are obvious – smiling so they feel comfortable to ask questions, making sure there’s really good wayfinding information and safe crossing infrastructure, having a logical, intuitive network, training the drivers to treat young people as customers who are at least as important as others.…
CRL cost pressures mean we must question silly “Purple Line”
Earlier in the week Mayor Phil Goff and Finance Minister Grant Robertson took a walk through the City Rail Link construction site. There was also some talk about the challenging cost pressures facing this project, with its most recent cost estimate of $3.4 billion now a few years out of date.…
Are we there yet?
I’m often still really shocked by some of the attitudes against diversifying the workforce in our urban industries.
In July 2018, Manglin Pillay, CEO of the South African Institution of Civil Engineering published this disturbing piece of writing, that clearly demonstrates why we need more women in our urban industries.…
Getting smarter about Park & Ride
A Herald article yesterday bemoaned the apparent lack of emphasis being placed on expanding Auckland’s Park & Rides over the next decade: Auckland Transport (AT) is planning to add 1900 parking spaces across its park and ride stations, but the Automobile Association says it is still a “long way short” of what’s needed…
…AA spokesman Barney Irvine said the level of park and ride supply in Auckland was “a joke” compared to Wellington, and cities in Australia and America.…
The Big Questions part one.
What is in New Zealand’s Future?
Earlier this year I was asked by Penguin Random to contribute to a book speculating about New Zealand’s future, and now it’s out: There’s a fantastic range of writers/speculators, including Dame Anne Salmond writing brilliantly about the natural world, Rod Oram on Climate Change, Leonie Freeman on housing.…
Rental security set to improve
One implication of Auckland’s long-term housing shortage and resulting housing affordability crisis is that nearly half of all Aucklanders now live in rental accommodation. Among some ethnic groups, especially Maori and Pacific Islanders, most people live in rented accommodation.
There are also clear geographic trends, with much of South Auckland having especially low home ownership rates:
While several initiatives, like KiwiBuild, are aimed at boosting housing supply and thereby improving housing affordability, this will take a long time to filter through.…
Friends of the landlords – Wellington Councillors against affordable housing
This is a guest post by reader Frank McRae
Wellington’s housing crisis has dramatically worsened over the last few years with rapidly rising rents, record low listings, and lines down the street for flat viewings. Remarkably then Wellington City Council has just voted, against the advice of their own experts, to remove eight key Special Housing Areas which were setup to help ease the city’s housing shortage.…
Processing...