Achieving good urban design

This Issue This is a part of the From towns to cities feature

By - , Build 170

A push to raise the standard of urban design in New Zealand is gaining momentum with commitment at government level and a statement of intent defined.

IN RECENT years, there has been minimal conversation around quality built environments in the New Zealand context, with the conversation more focused around quantity and affordability.

Conference raised the topic of quality urbanism

The conversation was re-energised at the Urbanism New Zealand conference last year in its theme Joining the dots, which looked at the issues of urbanism holistically.

‘If we grasp the opportunity, we have the chance to change the way this country thinks about our built environments, our homes, the public and private realms and our towns and cities,’ Minister of Housing and Urban Development Phil Twyford said at the conference.

Those at the conference recognised the importance of keeping the dialogue going. In a workshop held at the end, delegates including academics, local government, central government and consultant urban designers developed the Statement on New Zealand Urbanism.

Opportunity to do much better

The statement noted ‘Cities and towns in New Zealand do not match the quality of our famed natural landscapes.

‘All built places and spaces have come about through some form of design process. However, current development practices and poor design are negatively affecting the natural environment, the economy and public health.

‘Tens of billions of dollars are going to be spent on housing, infrastructure and public amenities in the coming decades. As a country, we need to ensure this money is spent in an intelligent manner to deliver the best possible outcomes.

‘Good design adds value and is the key to creating healthy and vibrant places. Value is maximised through processes of collective and careful decision making, involving the right professions and communities at the right time.

‘City-making professionals such as architects, landscape architects, planners, urban designers and other associated disciplines can make a vital contribution to realising the enormous potential of New Zealand’s towns and cities.’

Six main issues identified

The workshop identified six issues affecting New Zealand’s urban design:

  • Our cities and towns are becoming increasingly unaffordable, causing multi-generational problems for housing, health and productivity.
  • Our cities and towns are becoming increasingly vulnerable to shocks from weather, earthquakes, impacts of climate change, growth pressures, economic changes and energy shortages.
  • Our cities and towns are unhealthy. Poor planning and urban design is increasing the number of deaths from traffic accidents and obesity-related illnesses.
  • Costs to the economy are increasing through inefficient public transport systems, subsidised infrastructure on greenfield sites and lost productivity owing to longer travel times.
  • There is a loss of sense of place and destruction of heritage with many of our towns and cities being modelled on global prototypes and images.
  • Our planning systems are complex and have become dependent on legalistic language and consultation that is slow and expensive and makes genuine community input difficult.

What can be done?

To address these, the Statement on New Zealand Urbanism proposed:

  • an improved and fully aligned policy framework addressing urban matters
  • a national policy statement on urban form (urban design) incorporated within the Resource Management Act that could avoid rewriting the Act and the need to create new case law
  • better evidence-based decision making backed by measurements of value
  • a coherent, integrated and ambitious design response to climate change.

A design agency was proposed advocating for effective planning and design of cities, towns and landscapes which could be an independent Crown entity.

In the New Zealand context, this would be enhanced by our obligations under the Treaty of Waitangi – Te Aranga design principles are a good start. These are a cultural landscape strategy/approach to design thinking and making that incorporates Māori cultural values and principles.

Overseas models for design agencies include the Design Council’s Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment in the UK and the Australian model where there is a government architect in each state.

The conversation is continuing. In response to the Statement of New Zealand Urbanism, it has been proposed after a meeting with Phil Twyford that workshops be held in 2019 asking, ‘What role does design-influenced thinking and strategy play in delivering quality built environments and sustainable communities?’

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