If you only read the media and didn't visit downtown Auckland, you could be forgiven for thinking it's completely broken. Anyone who spends time here can see that's not the case, but there are still things that need fixing. To help generate and guide conversation about the central city's future, Britomart's Jeremy Hansen talked to 17 central city residents on the state of their neighbourhood and how they'd like it to change. Their perspectives are refreshing, sometimes inspiring, and full of good ideas. Read on for an overview.
Contrary to some reports, Auckland’s central city is not a war zone. There have been so many rounds of media stories describing dire events in the central city that I’ve had suburban relatives ask if I’m OK going to work. Like the vast majority of the thousands of others who spend time in the central city each day, I’m totally fine. In fact, I like it here.
The lens through which the media has been viewing the central city is a distorted one. None of the coverage is fictitious, of course, but collectively it fails to represent the much less dramatic experiences of those who happily spend time in the central city every day.
This collection of interviews is an attempt to offer a more nuanced and informed counterpoint to those media reports. Britomart Group began work regenerating its nine-block patch of the central city 20 years ago, but we’ve been examining the possibilities of the central city and its future even more closely since flexible working became more pervasive. We know the central city has plenty of issues to contend with. But its pivotal role as a cultural and economic engine for the region and the nation as a whole means examining and resolving those issues takes on even greater urgency.
Of course, we don’t claim to have the solutions at hand. All of us at Britomart Group are collaborating, at various levels, with city agencies attempting to grapple with the issues the central city is facing. In the past couple of years, we’ve undertaken research projects on the future of work and what staffers under 30 want from their workplaces. This new interview series started with the thought that the most constructive way of examining the central city’s issues was to discuss them with a range of people who know the area best: those who live here. They see the city day and night with a clarity that others do not.
The people interviewed here have varied views on the state of the central city and its future, which is just as it should be. But collectively, they tell us some fascinating things: that the central city is far from broken; that it is still a vibrant place in which to work and play, to forge connections with others and get to know oneself; that there are a number of things that need to change.
We will use this range of perspectives to inform our ongoing advocacy for and engagement in the central city. We share them with you in this publication in the hope they will help you envision the shape you think the central city should take. Read carefully, because for the people interviewed here, central Auckland’s future is not clickbait, but a matter of fundamental importance.
Jeremy Hansen, Editor, Britomart Group.
Click through to each of the interviews at the links below:
Playwright, Nathan Joe, thinks of the city as a weird little ecosystem.
CEO, Cathy Veninga, ditched her comfortable life in Parnell to live in the central city.
Father and son, Aayush and Aarav Tripathi, are pondering a move to the suburbs.
Creative, Reina Sutton, describes her city life as "village-like".
University students, Ken Lee, Nur Athirah Mohd Nor and Izzat Naim Zulkifle are grateful for the city's hospitality.
Priority location director, Simon Oddie, is excited for the city's ongoing regeneration.
Chef and urban designer, Kier Ibanez and Stuart Houghton, wouldn't live anywhere else.
University students, Max Duder and Laura Oh, enjoy the location and its buzz, but not the cost.
Auckland City missioner, Helen Robinson, thinks that harmful narratives need to change.
Mother and son, Trish Marryatt and Robert Macfarlane, want people to remember that the city is a "residential neighbourhood."
Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei member, Micheal Davis, feels a need to get in there and do what he can to improve the situation.
Britomart conducts regular research projects pertinent to the future of the central city and the future of work. You can read these via downloadable PDFs or the individual interviews on this website.
• City Futures (published April 2022) speaks to nine city leaders about central Auckland's post-Covid future (PDF here)
• Three views on the future of work (published May 2023) interviews three experts about the future of work and the importance of work as a social connector (PDF here)
• This is how we want to work now (published September 2023) is an interview with five workers under 30 about what they want from their workplaces (PDF here)
• This is our place (published July 2024) interviews 17 central city residents about their neighbourhood and its future (PDF here)
