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.

Updates.

Yesterday, I have blogged about the video of the shared space launch. Today, I took photos of what is going on around the city and what changes has been done so far.

Elliot Street is still closed off and some parts are under construction. The road has been levelled out just like Darby St.
Photo taken by myself.

Fort Street coming along well with more trees than Darby St. but there are no benches yet.
Photos taken by myself.

What Darby St. looks like now. The space is both utilised by cars and mostly people. Every time I pass by this street, the benches are occupied by people which indicates that it is a good space to hang out.
Photo taken by myself.

(EyeonAuckland has captured great photos of this space and you can check it out here.)

The changes are great so far. I think that Darby St. could have more trees and variety though but the space has definitely improved. There are still work to be done in Fort St. but the trees are up and cars can go pass even with the barriers on the sides.

There are many exciting changes happening around Auckland's urban area. The shared spaces are one of them. I will blog next about the new waterfront developments that are really promising so stay tuned.

A future project?

What High St. could look like if pedestrianised.
Photo source: Eyeonauckland

I discovered the EyeonAuckland website today and in their iWish section is this photo of High St if it is pedestrianised. The post stated:

High Street is currently one of the most unattractive places for people to walk and spend time in, the pavements are barely a meter wide in some places and 90% of the street is used by trades-people and for parking.

High Street has the potential to be the most sought after street for people to mingle, shop and play in but as it stands people find it extremely uncomfortable to walk and people don’t want to hang around there. As a result the shops and restaurants are suffering.

I agree with the statement as I walk through High St. to and from Uni. The footpaths are tiny and uneven. The streetscape of High St. isn't appealing and the parked cars on both sides of the road makes the street seem smaller and even claustrophobic. I like the artist impression of what it could look like if it becomes pedestrianised. I think the Auckland Council should look into transforming High St. in lieu of their current Shared Spaces projects.

If you want to get this project noticed by the Council, help Eyeonauckland by sending an email to Shale Chambers of the Auckland Council (shale.chambers@aucklandcouncil.govt.nz).
As the author said on her concluding statement: Together, we can make a difference.

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.

Money well spent or a complete waste?

The proposed Te Waka Maori Pavillion
Image from NZ Herald

There has been a lot of talk today about the proposed Waka Pavillion to be built in Auckland's waterfront for the upcoming Rugby World Cup. The Waka will be 60m long and 15m high and made out of plastic. The buzz is about how much it will cost to build the structure. It has been estimated to cost around 2 million dollars.

People who are opposed to the idea is saying that the Waka structure is unnecessary and a waste of money. The government is spending around 1.8million on it and $100,000 is from Ngati Whatua o Orakei who will own the structure after it's built. Is it really necessary for the government to spend that much money on something that they will not even own afterwards?

I think the idea of promoting Maori culture during the world cup is essential. However, I don't think building this structure is the best one to do so. The structure will be made out of plastic which may look very artificial as a real waka is made out of wood. It will also be designed to be easily deconstructed so that it will be portable and can be transferred around the country.

It is a very expensive project. Along with the Cloud, the government has been spending so much in preparation for the Rugby World Cup (9.8 million for the Cloud and 2million for the waka). I don't think the waka is necessary to promote Maori. If they want an iconic structure to represent the Maori culture in New Zealand, then a temporary blow up waka isn't the best idea. Personally, I could think of other ways to spend the 2million dollars to promote Maori heritage and culture. The structure might look interesting and inviting to tourists but what will happen after the world cup? Where will it go? Who gets the profits for it?

These are more photos of what the waka would look like:

Images from NZ Herald

What do you think? Is this worth 2million dollars or is the government wasting taxpayer's money?

If you want to know more about this and answer the poll, read today's NZ Herald, Dominion Post and Radio NZ.

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!