Our Impact

Greater Auckland’s mission is to inform and educate Aucklanders about transport and urban issues, empowering everyone to advocate for better outcomes for our city. Our goal: to see Tāmaki Makaurau become a better place to live, move around, and connect with others.

We are tenaciously committed to expanding public understanding of urban issues. We provide and share in-depth analysis of stories that go uncovered by conventional media, we present policy solutions to thorny questions, and we nurture positive, evidence-led discussion.

We are deeply proud of our positive influence on our lovely city. These are just some of the many wins we have helped achieve over the last two decades:

• The Congestion-Free Network (CFN), our vision of citywide rapid transit, was so compelling that both Auckland Transport and Auckland Council have since adopted the phrase. The CFN was launched in 2013 (in partnership with Generation Zero and the Campaign for Better Transport), and in 2017, we refined the vision into a workable plan that remains the gold standard for our city.
• Expanding on the CFN, our 2017 proposal for Regional Rapid Rail (RRR) set the ambitious and attainable goal of connecting Aucklanders with towns and cities across the upper North Island via frequent passenger rail.
• Perhaps our proudest role has been in advocating and growing public support for Auckland’s City Rail Link (CRL) – the largest and most transformational public infrastructure investment our nation has seen this century. From the earliest debates, we led the story of why we should all be ambitious for the project, why the government should fund it, and how it will unlock public transport across our city. We continue to advocate for the rollout of high-quality services from Day One.
• In housing policy and planning reform, we’ve been influential in shaping significant reforms – from the pivotal 2016 Auckland Unitary Plan through to the 2020 National Policy Statement on Urban Development, and beyond.
• We’ve successfully led public calls to free transformational projects from the political pause-button, securing the delivery of urban realm improvements and mode-shift projects. Recent wins include the Karanga-a-hape CRL station precinct, the Great North Road multimodal upgrade and Te Hā Noa, the Victoria St Linear Park.
• We remain a trusted and sought-after expert voice, providing independent and in-depth analysis, media commentary, regular feedback on plans and policies, and making presentations to decision-makers on timely issues.

Our articles draw tens of thousands of readers per month, and feature what may be Aotearoa’s liveliest discussion of urban issues. As well as upskilling the general public, our work continues to be influential for government agencies, national and local politics, and the infrastructure sector.

Greater Auckland occupies a unique space when it comes to covering transport and urban issues in Auckland. We are not reliant on funding from government or industry, and we are a fiercely independent voice for our city.

Having been inextricably intertwined with Auckland’s progress since it became a Super City in 2010, we are excited to continue our work into the future articulating a positive, sustainable long-term vision for our city. Stay tuned for upcoming campaigns!