Blog.

We’d like to introduce you to Jack, our newest member of team TUA.

Jack joins us from the UK where he was an Associate Director in JLL’s Strategic Development Consulting team. Working across both the London and Regional businesses Jack advised public and private sector clients on some of the UK’s most high-profile and complex regeneration projects such as:

• Arden Cross Development Partner Selection - selection of Muse as development partner for a £3.2bn 346-acre site centred around the new HS2 interchange.
• Defence Infrastructure Organisation - masterplanning, site promotion and delivery strategies across numerous complex sites earmarked for disposal by the MOD.
• University of Southampton - strategic advice to UoS on the delivery of new student housing to support the University’s growth plans.
• Basingstoke and Deane District Council - strategic advice across the Council’s property and development portfolio.
• Network Rail - strategic advice across 40 train stations across the south coast focused on enabling transit oriented development.

With a broad and specialised skillset, honed through this experience managing multi-disciplinary teams to create masterplans with delivery strategies, Jack's appointment further strengthens TUA's capabilities in mixed-use development and precinct delivery as part of our commitment to creating thriving urban environments. 

“I am incredibly excited to be joining The Urban Advisory,” says Jack. “It's inspiring to work alongside thought-leaders like Natalie and Greer who are truly committed to doing things differently and challenging the status quo in urban development. I'm eager to contribute my experience to help catalyse our approach to large-scale, mixed-use development projects, through entrepreneurial public and private sector partnerships.”

Away from the office, Jack grew up on the occasionally sunny shores of Bognor Regis in the UK where he was 1st XV captain for Bognor RFC. Jack took up refereeing after he finished playing and was a part-time referee for the RFU National League Match Official Associates. He has recently joined North Harbour Referees Association and can be found on the pitches of the North Shore most Saturdays.

We’re excited to have Jack on board; he’s already hit the ground running, applying his invaluable experience to our shores here in Aotearoa. Welcome, Jack!

This morning RNZ announced that Housing Minister Chris Bishop requires Kāinga Ora to halt hundreds of housing developments which would have delivered nearly 3500 homes, and sell a fifth of its vacant land.

On the surface, this looks bad, we know! However, we believe this is an opportunity in disguise. An opportunity for the public and private sector to work better together.

Here are large parcels of land (that are presumably good for housing). Councils are asking: “what can we do to relieve the pressures on the housing system?”. Private capital is circling and wants to invest. Instead of divesting them in the standard fashion, we believe councils and government agencies should work together to define the outcomes they want for these sites, and then encourage market-led proposals that respond to these objectives.

Our unsolicited bids (or market-led proposals’) framework is hardly ever used here in Aotearoa - we think it's time for this to change! We’re pleased to say we’re actively working with groups who can bring a step change in housing and social infrastructure delivery if this is the case.

What are your thoughts on the announcement? Get in touch with us to understand how these processes can deliver more effective public and private partnerships - and deliver the critical housing supply that we need to meet the diverse needs of New Zealanders.

As part of our commitment to diversifying the housing system, we’re committee members for The Housing Innovation Society (This) - we share our time and resources to support their mission of “bringing collective housing into the mainstream in Aotearoa”.

We’re excited to share the news of their bi-annual CoHo Hui happening this April 15-17, in Ōtautahi Christchurch!

This year’s CoHo Hui theme is “The Future of Housing”, which is in line with the special issue journal with Emerald Publishing, that will contain the best and most relevant papers that are submitted to the conference, and others from a wide range of academics.

A brilliant lineup of speakers have been announced; they’ll all bring new knowledge and perspective to Aotearoa, which will inform the collective housing movement here.

Tickets and registration is happening now. Go to their website for more details!

We were delighted to hear that we’ve been selected as one of the “Next 95” by the Sustainable Business Network!

The list recognises innovators and entrepreneurs progressing sustainable business in Aotearoa. We’re honoured to be among these other incredible businesses and organisations!

Ngā mihi nui Sustainable Business Network for your inspiring mahi.

Asylum 2023: Rethinking Our Future Neighbourhoods is out now!

Guest edited by Dr Natalie Allen and Devon Sanson from TUA, the journal published by Unitec ePress contains 12 practitioner and peer-reviewed academic articles.

We have drawn together articles that explore ways to address our social, cultural and environmental challenges, opportunities for decolonisation what embracing citizen-centric approaches to designing our neighbourhoods might look like, and how the built-environment professions might work together in new ways to deliver these wellbeing outcomes. The issue includes new, young voices, and some less-than-conventional ideas. The combination of peer-reviewed and practitioner articles asks the reader to imagine what amight be, and challenge their own preconceptions.

It was great to celebrate the launch of the journal with Unitec | Te Pūkenga at their architecture gradshow last week, along with some of the authors who attended. Thank you to Unitec for giving us this platform, and to each of the authors for making this such a great edition.

We encourage you to read and absorb the edition, and let us know what you think!

Natalie, Greer, and the whole team at The Urban Advisory have been putting in hard mahi to launch something pretty special, New Zealand’s Housing Survey!

New Zealand’s Housing Survey is the culmination of many years of work in the housing sector; researching housing, developing housing strategies and housing needs assessments, and working with different groups to deliver housing that meets their unique needs. We're stoked to be able to share what we've learned!

Through this unique housing survey we will be able to help to build awareness around how people live, want to live and what barriers are in the way to achieving their housing aspirations, plugging a critical gap in the information that is needed for meaningful decision making. New Zealand’s Housing Survey results will provide the evidence that's been missing about the kind of housing people want and need and how this is different from what is currently available to them.

We hope that government agencies, developers, councils, community providers, iwi and hapū, researchers, social scientists and many others will find this information useful.

Help us spread the word, take and share the survey here, or by clicking the button below.