A slew of challenges for the central city – including deteriorating security and a reduction in pedestrian numbers – prompted a research project into the city’s potential as seen through the eyes of its residents.
Auckland’s central city – like many of its global counterparts – hit a rough patch sometime after Covid lockdowns, as the acceleration of flexible working practices and the country’s closed borders took their toll on central city retail and hospitality. In central Auckland, this coincided with ongoing waves of construction disruption as streets were dug up for work on the City Rail Link.
It is true that violent crime and theft rose (these increases are now being reversed) and office occupancy dropped – but the way these incidents were framed in the media made it seem as if the central city was a wasteland that people entered at their own risk. The reality was that while the central city had its challenges, it remained a rewarding place to work and gather in person.
Britomart’s response to a wave of negative stories in early 2024 was to ask questions of the people who know Auckland’s central city best: its residents. ‘This is our place’ was a collection of 17 interviews with central city residents that asked them about safety and security, the advantages and disadvantages of living downtown, and how they regarded the central city’s future.
The interviews covered a wide range of residents, including students and creatives, hospitality workers and business owners, old and young, recent immigrants and long-term central city dwellers. Their opinions about the central city were rich in their variety, but remarkably clear in some commonly held beliefs: that Auckland’s downtown area was not broken, that it remains a vibrant place in which to live, work and connect, and that the things that need to change are achievable.
The interviews were published on Britomart’s website (and shared with The Spinoff) and in a free publication available in the Atrium on Takutai. All in all, the project served as a reminder to readers and to city leaders to remember that the central city is not a theoretical place, but a home to more than 40,000, as well as being an economic and cultural engine on whose success the entire country depends.
