Auckland's heart "transplant".

An interesting NZ Herald article this morning talked about the slow transformation of Auckland city. In the past, Auckland city has not been a desirable place to reside in. The article tackled the idea of Auckland city ignoring its people and lacking 'heart' that global cities have. Below are some good points as quoted from the article:

• Auckland's central city has always turned its back on the people.
• The prevailing notion over the past 50 years has been that Auckland's city centre is for cars, not people.
• The CBD is known better for its ugly architecture and a befuddled roading network than glorious sea promenades.
• "If you compare Auckland with Melbourne, Sydney, Vancouver, Paris, London, New York - what defines those cities is a great heart." - Ludo Campbell-Reid (Auckland Council's urban design manager).
• Auckland's heart, "is a little bit sick". - Ludo Campbell-Reid

I completely agree with the points above. Personally, I don't find the Auckland CBD a good place to live in and I only go there because of the University. I have explored the city countless times and it lacks that 'spark' that global cities have that not only attracts people but makes a lasting impression all over the world. Auckland's urban environment is not exactly something to be proud. However, it is getting better. I have explored in this blog the changes that have been happening over the past months. Slowly, Auckland City is developing a healthier "heart".

Mayor Len Brown's plan is to make Auckland the most liveable city. It might not happen as quickly as we want but I think we've started well. The mayor's multiple plans and vision seems too ambitious to most people but he has done well so far in campaigning his ideas.

Also written in the article are the transformations around the city over the past years. Queen St. was transformed by having wider footpaths, Aotea Square was revamped, the waterfront has various promising projects, Shared Spaces and Britomart. Britomart was deemed one of the biggest success stories for Auckland city with its line up of retail shops, award winning bars and restaurants. It has become a great place to hang out. This is what Auckland needs. We need better public spaces. Gone are the days when we plan for just cars. We should plan for the people. 

And what do people want? Better public open spaces that let people escape from their confined office/Uni spaces. We only have a few in the CBD and here are some examples:

Freyberg Place in High Street.
Photos taken by myself.

The Aotea Square in the afternoon.
Photos are taken by myself.

You can read the full article of Auckland, have heart in the NZ Herald website.

Darby Street.

Auckland Council has released a video of the Darby St. Shared Space launch that I went to in April. I have blogged about the launch and you can view it here. I walked around the CBD yesterday and I'm glad to see people using the Darby St. shared space. The benches were occupied by groups of people who were casually hanging out and talking. Fort St. is almost finished and progress is happening in Elliot St. too. This is a good start for Auckland's urban environment.

Now, here is the video of the Shared Space:

From the video, you can see how much people attended the launch and how people welcomed Auckland's first shared space.

I am in this video and you can see me in 2:35.

City Bike Day.

Photo source: Auckland Council

If you have a bike and has a passion for cycling join the City Bike Day on May12th 2011.

Participants will get a free breakfast, safety packs and gears. There is also a competition where you can get free high quality cycling gear such as jackets, cycling lights and vouchers.

What are you waiting for? Get your bike on and join the rest on May 12 at Aotea Square!

This event is free for all. If you want to know more, check out the Auckland Council website here.

Shared Space Launch.

Image from Auckland Council's Facebook page.

Today, Auckland's first ever shared space was launched. Darby Street in Auckland City is the first shared space to be completed this year. I already blogged about other shared spaces being constructed around the city (Fort St. and Elliot St. The latter is currently under construction and completion will be around early 2012).

The event was well-received by many. It started at noon by the band Jimmy and the Goodbrew followed by Kidz in Space, a speech by Mayor Len Brown and finally Kingston. The bands attracted many people but there was also a photo/video kiosk, prize draw and free Mr. Whippy ice creams and Coke.

I personally enjoyed the launch. The bands performed well. Kidz in Space was the main attraction of the event and their performance was liked by many. People were dancing and many passers-by actually stayed for a few songs.

As for the shared space itself, I like it. It is definitely better than what it used to be. I think it's a good idea to have spaces like these around Auckland but the event today made me think that Darby St could have easily been a full pedestrian space and not a shared space (since it was closed off to cars due to the event). Shared space or not, it is still an improvement. 

Here are photos that I took during the event:

Different figures with descriptions to give people an idea of what shared spaces are.

The people enjoying the space. The guy on the left is maybe enjoying it a bit too much...

Kidz in Space performing.

The pleased crowd.

Mayor Len Brown officially launching the shared space.
Yes, that is Christopher Dempsey behind him (our last year's lecturer and now member of the Waitemata local board)

The launch was a good way to spend a Friday afternoon as told by the person sitting beside me. I asked a few people what they thought of the new look of Darby Street and they all seem to like it and hope other streets in Auckland will follow too. Len Brown also said in his short speech that there has been talks about Queen St. being turned into a full pedestrian mall. I really hope it happens one day.

I'll leave you with a short video of Kidz in Space performing and the crowd loving it and the speech of Len Brown thanking the people who made Darby St a shared space possible:

The little kid is cute and she danced in every song they played!

Sorry for the shaky video. My hand was getting tired holding my camera up.

You can see Chris in this video too as a member of Waitemata local board.

*All photos and videos are taken by myself.

Shared Spaces.

If you walk around the CBD, you will notice road works in some parts of the city. This is because of the Council's project Pedestrians in Space. Here are some photos that I took recently of what's going on around Auckland city.

Construction in Fort Street

Darby street almost finished

The project involves upgrading streets in the CBD to make it more pedestrian friendly. Darby street is close to completion while there are sill on going works in Fort St, Elliot St and Lorne St (outside the Auckland library). The outcome is for pedestrians to have the right of way allowing them to move easily and without the fear of speeding cars passing by. There will be more space for outdoor activities and events as well as for people to gather. Its aim is to provide attractive destinations for people to visit, spend time in and shop.

The projected outcome of the streets is shown by these images:

Elliot street
Photo from: Auckland Council

Darby street when completed
Photo from: Auckland Council

from Auckland Council

I think introducing shared spaces in Auckland is a really good idea. It will make the streetscape visually pleasing therefore will attract more people. I know I will be more comfortable walking in a shared space like Darby St. than what it used to be like (full of cars/trucks parked on the side of the road). It will make my trip to the different shops around enjoyable. I can't wait to see the improvements when all the upgrades are done!

Auckland = Global City?

In our Planning 330: Community and Economic Development class, the question of will Auckland ever be a world city came up a few times. Global cities are London, New York, Paris and Tokyo.

The four Alpha world cities
Photo credit: Google Images

With the recent formation of the Supercity, its aim is for Auckland to be a globally competitive metropolitan city. The Council's vision is:

In the next 10 years Auckland's CBD will grow and consolidate its international reputation as one of the world's most vibrant and dynamic business and cultural centres.

Can it actually happen though? As discussed in class, to be a global city is to have the following characteristics:

• First name familiarity.
• Active participation in international events and world affairs.
• A large population.
• Several international cultures and communities.
• Major international airport.
• An advanced transportation system and communications infrastructure.
• A strong sporting community. 
• International financial institutions

Reflecting on the list, a strong sporting community is the only one that can be truly applied to Auckland as it is hosting the Rugby World Cup this year. Although Auckland is also culturally diverse and is home to more than 150 different ethnicities, it doesn't have specific "communities" such as Little Italy and Chinatown but it now has a China Town Mall that has recently opened.

In my opinion and maybe a lot of people will agree on too, is that Auckland still has a long way to go to become a globally competitive city. I don't think it can be achieved in 10 years time. With providing an advanced transportation system and communications infrastructure alone, we are definitely running behind. If we want to achieve the Council's vision and to be like one of the alpha cities, we still have a lot to learn, step up our game and we need to put our plans into actions.

Photo credit: Google Images

We need to make this city every Aucklander will be proud of.

Graffiti Murals: Good or Bad?

Mural in K Road before it was removed
Photo from: Central Leader

Just recently, there has been a lot of talk about the removal of popular graffiti murals all over Auckland city as a part of a major clean-up project in preparation for the Rugby World Cup. The mural above has been removed by the Council and has received backlash from locals who obviously liked the colourful artwork by Askew. The mural was painted with the owner's permission and the artist was commissioned to do it. It was a popular mural in the area and it was even printed on the front cover of pamphlets by the K Rd Business Association to be given away during the RWC in order to promote art.

According to the Council, graffiti will not be removed if:

it appears to be an artwork (i.e) permission was given for work to be done.

If that was the case, then why was the K Road mural removed?

Is this a result of poor consultation from the Council?
According to Council Manager Kevin Marriot, it was their mistake as they assumed the owner wanted the mural gone. They removed it because an Auckland Council anti-graffiti volunteer made a request.

Their assumption that the owner wanted the mural to be removed is not a good reason or excuse. This shouldn't have happened if they consulted the owner or the community instead of relying on a volunteer's request. Now the Council is planning of replacing it with another mural thus wasting time and money for something that shouldn't have been done in the first place.

For the full story, click here.

While I agree that graffiti and tagging should be removed as they degrade the surroundings and bring a negative connotation to the area, I believe that there should be exceptions. Graffiti murals that have the local community's support, reflect the community's identity and are given value should not be considered to be taken off. Some murals around Auckland represent the communities and are visually appealing. Seeing these works of art can be a breath of fresh air from the dull grey or black walls of buildings.

Just take a look at these examples:

Photo credit: Hamish Rickerby

Photo credit: Cut Collective

Photo credit: Cut Collective

If you don't want graffiti murals around Auckland to be removed, you can sign the online petition No More Grey Walls.