Trade over distance and the Auckland export paradox
What, exactly, does Auckland do to pay its way?
Last year, I took a look at the geography of the New Zealand economy, finding that New Zealand’s three main cities accounted for at least 56% of GDP. Auckland alone accounted for at least 34% of economic activity – considerably more than the entirety of rural New Zealand: (By the way, these figures are likely to under-estimate the size and productivity of the Auckland economy.…
31 Comments The good news about intensification
I thought a commenter on a recent post about a new apartment development on Great North Road had a really great point about the state of the debate:
…the fact is the intensifiers are not winning the argument, as was noted by someone else above.…
The case for free-market urbanism
In the National Review, a conservative American magazine, Reihan Salam takes a look at the confused state of the American debate over intensification. His article, entitled “The Great Suburbia Debate” criticises the position taken by Joel Kotkin, a long-time campaigner for low-density suburban development.…
Intersections and Corners, Exploring Auckland’s Urban Structure
A heart is not a disembodied thing that you set down arbitrarily like choosing a shopping centre site. It has to have an anatomy that runs into the neighbourhood. – Jane Jacobs via Future Cape Town
Increasingly network theory is being explored as a way to understand urban morphology.…
Building our way to affordability?
It’s logical that when housing supply does not meet housing demand, prices will rise. Housing affordability is a huge issue in many cities around the world – with the blame often falling on planning rules and restrictions: both in the form of restrictions on sprawl and restrictions on the level of intensification.…
Jane Jacobs on Downtown Planning
Courtesy of “Going Solar“, here are a number of extracts from an address made by famous urban writer Jane Jacobs, to the New York Motor Bus Association in 1958. 52 years later, her words still seem incredibly appropriate. I swing between being incredibly inspired and incredibly depressed by what Jane Jacobs writes.…
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