A City of Neighbourhoods

In the episode we focus a global lens on Auckland placemaking. Ethan Kent’s advice on how to shape great urban precincts is in demand across the globe. Ethan is the executive director of PlacemakingX, based in Brooklyn New York. We were fortunate to talk to him recently in Auckland about how to harness the energies of communities and business to successfully regenerate places they can share and love.

Ethan Kent at PlacemakingX: https://www.placemakingx.org/people/ethan-kent
How the Auckland Urban Development Office operates: https://www.audo.co.nz/about/how-we-operate/
Placemaking Aotearoa: https://www.placemaking.nz
Longitudinal Immigrantion Survey: https://www.mbie.govt.nz/dmsdocument/2725-new-faces-new-futures-1-introduction-to-the-longitudinal-immigration-survey-pdf
City Rail Link: https://www.cityraillink.co.nz/crl-route-maps

(0:00) Introduction
(1:31) What Placemaking Means
(2:11) Why Placemaking is Necessary
(3:20) How Placemaking in Auckland is Performing
(6:08) Why Free Markets Fail at Urban Development
(7:35) How Public Spaces add Value to Places
(9:08) How Auckland Can Adpat to Changing City Centres
(11:05) How Transport Improvements Can Serve Places
(14:41) What Attracts People to Live in the City Centre
(16:11) Why Combined Uses Improve Places
(17:04) What Diversity Adds to the Experience of a Place
(18:55) How Cultural Identity Can Improve a Place
(20:14) How Gentrification Can be Avoided
(21:19) How Minority Opposition to Change Can be Harnessed
(24:09) Takeaways from Auckland Placemaking
(25:42) Farewell

Bill McKay on Placemaking: People-centred Archictecture by A City of Neighbourhoods

When New Zealand media want to understand what’s going on in the growth and make up of our populations and the communities that comprise it, Professor Paul Spoonley is often the first person to talk to.

A sociologist and demographer, Paul is Distinguished Professor Emeritus and Honorary Research Associate at Te Kura Pukenga Tangata / College of Humanities and Social Sciences, Massey University. He is also the NZ representative on an 18 country collaboration, under the prestigious Max Planck Institute, looking at the impacts of immigration on diversity and social cohesion.

We talk to Paul about the changing face of Tāmaki Makaurau and Aotearoa, how change is inevitable and how to better manage it.

Paul Spoonley on LinkedIn: https://nz.linkedin.com/in/paul-spoonley-40700b20
The New New Zealand by Paul Spoonley: https://masseypress.ac.nz/products/the-new-new-zealand?srsltid=AfmBOoqjC2a0t292Cda8q4as-dTDIYYFmk09apFeibSGkW1qH8RHoVyY
Max Planck Institute: Superdiversity - rethinking diversity: https://www.mpg.de/21983003/superdiversity-rethinking-diversity
The New Geography of Jobs by Enrico Moretti https://moretti.econ.berkeley.edu/book

(0:00) Introduction
(2:08) The Max Planck Study on Super-diversity
(3:23) Auckland's Immigration Diversity
(4:02) Insights from the Super-diversity Study
(5:02) Migrant Services in Auckland
(5:59) Support that New Zealand can Provide to Migrants
(9:02) The Need that Drives Immigration
(10:49) The Effects on Immigrants on Jobs
(14:14) Dependancy Ratios
(16:58) Why Immigration Policies Need to Change
(18:23) Key Elements Driving Demographic Change
(20:22) How We Could Plan for Immigration
(22:09) What this Change means for Auckland
(25:43) On Uneven Growth Rates in New Zealand
(26:58) Shifts in the School-aged Population
(28:34) Our Level of Control over Population Levels
(29:33) The Effects of Changes in Immigration Levels
(31:28) The Things that Attract Immigrants
(33:24) Auckland Council's Role in Immigration and Economic Development
(38:14) Does our Approach to Housing work for Communities
(41:51) The Growing Role of Māori in New Zealand's Future
(44:33) The Benefits to us of Supporting Migrants to Integrate
(46:47) Thank you Paul

Jeremy Hansen is Director of Communications and Community at Cooper and Company, the people behind Auckland's highly successful Britomart precinct. Jeremy's contribution to Auckland and Aotearoa, however, is even broader - he has co-written and edited several important books on architecture and urban design, is a frequent contributor to national print and online media, and hosts the popular podcast 76 Small Rooms. Britomart is one of Auckland's greatest examples of placemaking - turning an under-loved precinct into sought after commercial space and popular public realm. So, Jeremy has a key role in a company that has curated and delivered an optimal mix of premium commercial spaces, conserved heritage and an attractive public realm - infused with visual elements that place Britomart in the cultural context of Tāmaki Makaurau, Aotearoa. We were thrilled to get Jeremy's perspective on placemaking.

(0:00) Introduction
(1:30) An Interest in Architecture
(3:11) How Cooper and Company is Not a Regular Property Developer
(4:15) The Britomart Precinct
(5:50) The History of the Precinct
(9:26) How Public Transport Transformed the Area
(13:20) How Public Goods Give Better Returns over the Long Term
(18:12) The Value of Public Art in the Precinct
(21:31) The Changing Attitude towards Public Art
(23:17) The Influence of Workplaces on Social Wellbeing
(28:12) The Effects of Local Government Policies on People-based Experiences
(30:37) The Scale of Transformation in the City Centre
(31:56) Challenges in the City Centre
(34:11) Placemaking as an Ongoing Service
(41:51) Farewell

Jeremy Hansen on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jeroski/
Britomart website: https://britomart.org/community/

Graham Tipene has a deep connection to Tāmaki Makaurau, living at Ōrākei, the place where he and his tupuna were born. Graham is a much sought after artist in the disciplines of tā moko tattooing and in installation artworks that gives life to the history and culture of Auckland within it’s modern infrastructure. This podcast episode discusses the thinking behind some of our city’s most recent and exciting public artworks and how they speak to Auckland’s growing confidence as the preeminent city of Polynesia.

(0:00) Introduction
(2:10) Graham's Ambition for His Work
(3:46) The Importance of Visible Māori Design Thinking in Tāmaki Makurau
(6:22) The Experience of Living in Tāmaki Makaurau for Young Māori
(8:11) The Process of Incorporating Art into Public Places
(9:36) What Goes into Making Art
(10:29) How Does this Place Personally Affect Graham's Art
(11:44) How Waka Moana was Conceived
(12:58) The Role of Art in Māori Culture
(14:22) The Responsibility Artist Have for the Next Generation
(16:23) The Role of Art within Engineering
(18:52) The Engineering and Material of Waka Moana
(19:37) Responsibility of Tā Moko and Tattoos
(22:59) Farewell
(23:57)

Graham Tipene on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tewhekemokodesignstudio
Waka Moana: https://www.audo.co.nz/wakamoana