Important issue: Housing and Urban Design

Urban Design

Wellington is amongst the best cities in the world to live, visit and work in, and high-quality urban design is an essential part in enhancing that liveability. We need to make the most of our compact, walkable layout, our topography, the sparkling harbour and the proximity to wild spaces. Good urban design is about working with these features whilst building for the 21st Century, including a future where oil will be more expensive and carbon costs will be a major concern for businesses and families alike. We need a focus on green building for both the commercial and residential sectors, we need high-quality public spaces in the CBD that help build a strong sense of place for urban dwellers and commuting workers alike.

These apartments have a great sense of airiness and plenty of light. Perhaps it's a pity they don't have balconies on the "nose". They are also close to a park (Katherine Mansfield Gardens) and very convenient for transport  - walking or buses.

While the RMA is effects-based so does not lend itself to any concessions for sustainable buildings that wouldn’t be able to be argued for otherwise, development contributions, grants and speedier processing could have some incentivisation,. Publicising the work of the NZ Green Building Council showing increased value for owners and tenants alike is a good step.

The increasing density in central Wellington, Johnsonville and Kilbirnie requires excellent public amenity. Roof gardens and trees in public places both give habitat, human connection with the natural world and give aesthetic relief from hard surfaces. Community gardens are flourishing in Mt Victoria and Aro Valley as well as outer suburbs. I've planted a fair number of home-grown tamarillos and grapevines around the city by now!

Inner city greenery and play equipment. Many children live in the centre now.

Council’s own buildings form a reasonable percentage of the city and our Council housing is being retrofitted. Many public buildings could do better for incorporating new technology, water saving and energy efficiency but we must start with the most cost-effective steps. I’m proud to have initiated the Council energy management role some years ago.

I support a partnership between WCC, HCC, Kiwirail and the Regional Council to build some exemplar developments at the railway stations. Johnsonville, Raroa, Taita and Naenae come to mind. There could be covered, safe stations with modest café and apartments above. The housing could be private or third sector and would be affordable. I see this happening at no net cost to ratepayers

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Public art adds a sense of place and we now have a terrific variety.

And most of all, we need to fight hard to stop our city becoming just a thoroughfare for cars - I've been a strong advocate for better public transport corridors and innovative approaches to sharing the roads between all modes, including the new "shared space" in lower Cuba Street. I think our city would be diminished by increasing road capacity from the end of the motorway to the airport, and there are much smarter and more cost-effective solutions than tunnels and flyovers. Auckland has sacrificed its urban form to the automobile, with the inevitable detrimental effect on the quality of life of its inhabitants, so let's not make the same mistake here.

 Similarly, the threat of amalgamation with Porirua or Hutt City worries me since their urban legibility and quality of architecture is no beacon of hope!