Auckland's CBD Into the Future

Street and open space upgrades

Street upgrades | Open space upgrades | Introduction |The architects and designers

Street upgrades

Open space upgrades

Introduction

The CBD streetscapes programme is an ambitious $157 million 10-year programme to transform our streets and open spaces to those of a world-class city. This represents a significant level of investment in the CBD's public open spaces.

The paramount strategic objective for these works is to transform the quality of Auckland's CBD streetscapes to a level of environmental quality befitting a world-class city.

Implementing the works funded via the CBD targeted rate will contribute to the five outcomes for Auckland's CBD into the future strategy as follows:

Recognised as one of the world's premier business locations
A high quality urban environment
The most popular destination for Aucklanders and visitors in the region
A world class centre for education, research and development
A place that feels like the heart and expresses the soul of Auckland.

Auckland City views the streetscape projects as transformational for the CBD and critical to the city's future urban identity, quality, character, and economic health. The works will provide the following benefits:

A more successful retail environment through an improved environment for shopping and a more attractive place for customers.
A better, safer place to do business, with improved pedestrian access and an improved environment for workers.
An environment for cultural activity by providing:
- opportunities for events and cultural expression to occur
- an environment reflective of a cultural destination
- amenity and activity that supports cultural activity such as sidewalk cafes, artworks, places for respite, places that surprise etc.
- safety measures for patrons, event goers, participants and casual spectators
- easy access around the CBD for visitors to cultural activities and destinations
- the sense of multiple happenings and places of interest to heighten the experience for CBD residents and visitors.
Auckland city being a preferred location for tertiary studies through increased space and amenity for tertiary students.
A more attractive place to live through improved residential amenity and safety.

The specific objectives for Auckland's CBD streetscape upgrades are:

To design out crime and increase both the perception and reality of personal safety for all users (including pedestrians, residents, retailers, road users and cyclists).
To deliver a series of high quality, attractive, robust, durable, and easily maintained urban streetscapes that support and facilitate 24 hour, 7-day a week life, and satisfy the functional requirements of the users (including utility operators).
To improve accessibility, ease and safety of moving about city streets in order to support business, retail, recreational, cultural and residential activities.
To incorporate into the streetscape designs, the council's urban design visions and public transportation initiatives.
To increase the sustainability and environmental quality of the CBD.
To ensure that the streets are upgraded in a coordinated but character-differentiated manner.

Streetscape upgrades also seek to highlight Auckland's CBD identity and significance:

To realise the physical and spatial expression of the Auckland "sense of place".
To recognise the cultural significance in the streetscapes for Ngati Whatua o Orakei as tangata whenua.
To recognise the cultural significance in the streetscapes for the other iwi and the many other cultures that make up Auckland City.
To make city streets and open spaces places for people, and ones that people feel comfortable in and good about.

And will provide a benchmark and be a catalyst for other upgrades in the city:

To provide an exemplary standard for urban design development in Auckland city.
To achieve positive critical acclaim and considerable satisfaction for the users of the transformed CBD streetscapes.
To provide a catalyst and a benchmark for private development adjoining, and near to the project area.

The architects and designers

The architects and landscape designers involved with the streetscape projects are some of New Zealand's finest and include:

architecture Brewer Davidson & Leo Jew Landscape Architecture
Architectus
Boffa Miskell
LA4