Accessing the Acropolis
Tāmaki/Auckland only has a few public institutions of national significance: the Art Gallery, the Museum, and Auckland University, each housed in nationally significant buildings. Plus only a few truly high quality landmark buildings of similar value: Waitematā Station, Customs House, Ferry Building, West Plaza, and the Sky Tower, say.…
27 Comments More progress on the Northwest Busway
One of the few major transport projects that we agree with the government on is the Northwest busway and it’s about to take another step closer to reality.
Earlier this year it was announced that the NZTA board had approved an investment case for the project and that more work would happen
“Funding of around $116 million has also already been approved by the NZTA Board in late 2024 for early consenting work and strategic property acquisitions for Brigham Creek and Lincoln Road stations.…
Weekly Roundup 7-November-2025
What great weather we’re having right now, though it’s hard to believe it’s already November. Here’s some stories that we found interesting this week. This Week in Greater Auckland On Monday Matt found agreement with Wayne Brown that Auckland needs to become an efficient green city – with less sprawl.…
This government’s legacy for transport in Auckland
The following is an op-ed I wrote which ran in the NZ Herald on November 3. It’s turning out to be even more topical than ever – read to the end for an update with recent events… In July 2016, dignitaries geared up to ride along a brand new cycleway on Quay Street in Auckland.…
How to buy a home in a warming world
This is a guest post from Wellington-based Kasey McDonnell, which originally appeared on their blog threesixtysix,. It is republished here with kind permission.
Kasey’s story is grounded in Whanganui-a-Tara examples, but of course we’re keen to hear from our readers with similar experiences in Tåmaki Makaurau.…
Wayne Brown wants Auckland to be an efficient, green city
Stopping sprawl and turning Auckland into an efficient, green city? Sign us up, Mayor Wayne Brown!
On Friday 31 October, the Mayor and councillors were officially sworn in, and the Mayor made a speech outlining his priorities for the coming term.…
Weekly Roundup 31-October-2025
We hope everyone had a good week after the long weekend – here’s a few things that caught our eye to cap off October! This Week in Greater Auckland On Tuesday we had a guest post from Tim Adriaansen asking if electric cars are a climate solution.…
Manchester: an urban renewal case study
I lived in the UK in the 1980s, so whenever anyone describes the Auckland city centre as “dilapidated” (as the Herald did in an recent editorial), I can’t help chuckling. While we do have very real problems, we have nothing like the complete physical ruin of whole areas and communities on the scale that was so widespread in post-industrial Thatcher’s Britain, especially in the north where the Industrial revolution began, like Manchester below.…
More Thoughts on MOAR RoNS
The absurdly high cost – potentially $50 billion – of the government’s focus on building MOAR RoNS (Roads of National Significance) was highlighted last week, with the release of new costings for six of the 17 projects.
I covered some initial implications in a first post, Reality Bites: RoNS will bankrupt the nation.…
Electric cars aren’t a climate solution
This guest post by Tim Adriaansen, an advocate for accessibility and sustainable transport, originally published on LinkedIn and cross posted here with permission. Electric cars aren’t a climate solution.
So why do they keep popping up as a focus for climate action, everywhere from government advisors to environmental advocacy groups?…
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