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Helping Eke Panuku to increase the residential population of central Auckland.
The Challenge
Within the City Centre Action Plan lies an initiative focus on increasing the permanent residential population in the city centre, by examining all available measures to support this growth. However, before determining the strategies and actions to boost the residential population, it was essential to gather current demographic and geographic information as a foundation. Understanding the existing city inhabitants and the housing status quo, and projecting who might live in the central city in the future is crucial for devising effective tools and strategies to promote a vibrant, socially connected, and enduring Auckland city centre community.
The Solution
The collaboration with Eke Panuku involved developing a comprehensive report that first delved into the demographics of Auckland city center. The report incorporated population projections, compared the city centre to two Australian counterparts, and highlighted the limitations of such comparisons. It presented essential demographic and housing data at both city centre and precinct levels to establish a population and housing information baseline.
Through a thorough global scan, TUA identified 30 tools and levers that could be used to attract and maintain a growing residential population in the city centre; involving efforts from the council, the Crown, and the private sector. Each tool/lever was analysed based on its impact on housing supply or demand, feasibility of implementation, significance for residential growth, and the responsible entity for implementation.
The Journey
TUA's journey commenced with scrutinising the origins of the 100,000 city centre population target to assess its viability. Baseline data were predominantly sourced from Census data, the Auckland Council Research and Evaluation Unit, and the LINZ spatial data catalogue. Throughout the initial quarter of 2024, TUA actively participated in multiple workshops to refine successive versions of the report, incorporating feedback from internal and external key stakeholders identified in the process.
