What can Auckland learn from other cities?
Auckland could learn a lot. A city, lying on a stunning natural environment, should have a great urban form to match it.
Unfortunately, this is not the case. Just take a walk down Hobson Street, in the central city. Its like the city council had an ambition to replicate Marxist Russia, with the feel of East Berlin.
And yet, we still insist on destroying our urban environment even more. Take the recent demolition of the art deco cottages in St Heliers, as an example.
As for public transport, please, don't get me started. A mayor, taking the train to work, while having his car driven up alongside him, is quite simply NOT going to solve Auckland's congestion issues.
So, how can we discover ways to make Auckland better?
This blog will do this by looking at cities from all around the globe, to find out just exactly what gives a city its edge. It will closely examine good, and bad examples of the urban form. It will challenge traditional planning theory, not simply be a puppet of the textbooks.
We have a lot to learn. Fancy glass skyscrapers, party houses on Queens Wharf, and giant hypodermic needles (Sky Tower), do not make Auckland a 'world class' city.
Lets make Auckland into a great city - one that draws on ideas from all corners of the globe.
I hope you enjoy reading the posts of this blog, as much as I do writing them.
What is your stance on the future of light rail in a city like Auckland?
ReplyDeleteI think light rail is fantastic, and would love to see it Auckland. However, given that many of our roads are relatively narrow and congested, it would be hard to see it functioning well. The nearest cities that do have light rail, Melbourne and Adelaide, are very different to Auckland. They both have flat, wide streets, in an organised, legible manner. Before we introduce anything such as light rail, I would like to see the electrification and expansion of our existing heavy rail system, and the completion of our motorway network.
ReplyDeleteI agree with your sentiment Simon about making part of Queen St into a pedestrian mall, but don't you think it would complicate getting around the relatively long CBD? As you point out, other citys have light-rail/cable-cars/trams running through the pedestrian areas. Maybe you might agree with Len Brown's idea of an inner-city rail loop?
ReplyDeleteYes we need something. Queen Street is very long, especially when being stuck behind a row of people who walk very slowly.
ReplyDeleteI like the idea of the inner-city loop. The big question is whether Len Brown actually has the drive to get it built. Simply whinging to John Key for money is not going to get anything done.
The council might like to consider extending that waterfront tram loop to Queen Street. This might give our main drag a little atmosphere.