TOWARDS SUSTAINABILITY OF THE
BUILT ENVIRONMENT

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Barry Rae, Director, Barry Rae Transurban Ltd, Auckland
Professor Jenny Dixon, Department of Planning, University of Auckland

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Introduction

Cities are shaped by culture, history and geography. The built environment of a city is an expression of, and indeed celebration of, particular values held by communities who have shaped its development- social, religious, environmental and political. The identity of a city is influenced by place, space and the economic and cultural activities of its peoples. People concentrate in cities primarily for human contact, for economic, social and cultural exchange. The built environment is thus an expression of material culture facilitating human exchange set in the context of the natural environment. We live in cities to further our development.

The pursuit of global and national agendas of sustainable development and sustainable management in the last fifteen years has greatly influenced our thinking in New Zealand about managing the built environment more sustainably. In particular, attention has been focusing on how urban environments can be managed in more ecologically sustainable ways (Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment, 1998). For example, the successful implementation of the Auckland Regional Growth Strategy rests, in part, on the development of greenfield areas in such a way that integrates increased urban densities in association with low impact stormwater design techniques. Other examples include the design and construction of housing that achieve much more efficient use of energy. There has been much debate over the provision of means of public transport such as light rail in order to alleviate Auckland's traffic problems caused by use of private vehicles (Auckland Regional Council, 1999). Inadequate and failing infrastructure to service Auckland's growing population has been particularly evident in recent years, leading to problems such as pollution of city beaches following periods of rainfall.

There are, therefore, many dimensions to consider when examining how sustainability of Auckland's built environment might be achieved. In this paper, we wish to consider three such dimensions, namely identity, the national and regional context, and the implications of the regulatory process for Auckland's built environment. We then conclude by outlining some key requirements for managing the built environment more sustainably.

Identity of Auckland's Built Environment

The identity of Auckland's built environment is influenced by many factors. The culmination of these factors provide an identity that is uniquely Auckland. What distinguishes Auckland from other cities? Does the competitive nature of Auckland in the wider world partly depend on fostering a unique identity for the built environment?

In our view, some key factors influencing the identity of Auckland include:

history of development by Maori and European settlers a temperate, coastal climate location between the Manukau and Waitemata harbours location in the South Pacific economic activities demographics land use and transport patterns technology and materials mobility life and workstyle a multicultural population democratic processes cultural values as embodied in the built environment regional and district forms of governance

While it is not possible to address all these factors in detail, we discuss briefly some features of Auckland's built environment with respect to particular planning and design issues.

Many older Auckland suburbs represent historical patterns of single family households in detached houses located on large lots. They demonstrate separation of work and home with a reliance on private mobility. Modern housing that has been constructed in Auckland more recently is often of limited types and still largely detached. Lots are smaller and exhibit a lack of privacy, lack of identity, and lack of integration with other facilities. The development of medium density housing is being driven by changes in lifestyle, demographics and land value. While sometimes located close to transport routes and shopping, such developments often show a lack of integration with community facilities, and a confusion of community and privacy.

Auckland is structured around transport routes providing intense, mixed uses along main routes with access from adjoining residential areas. In addition to current regional initiatives to intensify development around key centres and primary corridors, there is also the need to explore the role of mixed development along main road routes in re-structuring existing neighbourhoods into walkable communities.

There is a need for cultural expression in the built environment, including streetscape and building design. For example, different forms of housing are required to meet a diversity of cultural needs, for example those of extended families. It is surprising that, given the size of the Maori and Pacific Island population in Auckland, there is so little evidence of cultural differences expressed in the built environment. Similarly, our location in the South Pacific is not reflected in our buildings.

We need a network of public open spaces that responds to our South Pacific lifestyles and temperate climate, providing shelter from wind, rain and summer sun. The public realm, shaped by both public and private development, facilitates informal human contact and must allow freedom of expression and safety 24 hours a day.

A temperate climate also enables us to design buildings without heavy reliance on sealed internal space and high- energy mechanical heating, ventilation and air conditioning. This can be simply achieved through the use of roof overhangs, recessed balconies, external shutters, sheltered courtyards, and so on. Such an approach provides active edges of human scale to the public realm.

National and Regional Context

In considering prospects for sustainability of Auckland's built environment, it is important to consider the implications of population growth not only in Auckland but also in its neighbouring regions. For example, the only places where regional population growth has occurred above the national average over the last 70 years are in Auckland, Waikato, and Bay of Plenty regions. Sustained growth has not only occurred in Auckland: Hamilton and Tauranga are cities that have grown at twice the national average for the last 30 years. The national population is concentrating in the contiguous regions of Auckland, Waikato, Bay of Plenty and, more recently, Northland.

Today approximately 50% of the New Zealand population lives in Northland, Auckland, Waikato, and Bay of Plenty regions. Assuming a continuing average annual increase of population of 1.7%, New Zealand's population could be 20 million in 100 years. Some 60% of this population could be located in the Northland, Auckland, Waikato, and Bay of Plenty regions, in the order of 12 million people (Rae and Anderson, 2000, 20).

This emerging dominant regional urban system, including Whangarei, Auckland, Hamilton, Tauranga and Rotorua, has been coined Iwitiniopolis by Rae and Anderson (2000). This urban system will include a diverse range of settlement sizes and complementary functions. It will, of course, also include major areas of agricultural and horticultural production and conservation lands. While the Auckland region, with some 30% of the national population, has primacy, further decentralisation within Iwitiniopolis is likely through the rapid development of information technology.
However, continued immigration and social and economic change in this wider region will result in inevitable intensification and transformation of the built environment. But we need to consider growth management options not just within the Auckland region, but throughout Iwitiniopolis. For example, the Auckland/Hamilton corridor offers considerable potential for intensification as the two cities become connected by upgraded motorways and high speed trains. Taking a broader view of urban development provides an opportunity to think much more creatively about urban design and form, and sustainable development along with all the necessary connections with other sectors such as housing, transport, and regional development. The built environment of this region will look very different in 50 years time.

Regulatory Process

In managing this change and transformation of the built environment, we need to reflect on the statutory and non-statutory tools we use. The Resource Management Act is limited in its capacity to positively manage the built environment. At times, the focus of the statutory planning process on the management of adverse effects tends to favour the existing environment rather than the future. Indeed, the Act does not say much about the urban environment. It merely establishes a framework within which councils and their communities can develop regional policy statements, regional and district plans to manage environmental effects of development. Further, the implementation of the Act over the last 10 years has been dominated by a costly process of plan-making, rather than the development of creative and innovative approaches to regulation. There have, of course, been many reasons for this, including poor capacity-building by central government (Ericksen, Crawford, Berke and Dixon, 2001).
There will always be conflict over change as tensions between individual property rights and regulation are played out over particular proposals. And, indeed, this will occur regardless of what resource use legislation may be in place. Resistance to development proposals can be typified by attitudes characterised as Not In My Backyard, Not In My Term Of Office and Build Absolutely Nothing Anywhere Near Anybody.
The conflict engendered by proposals such as intensification of particular neighbourhoods is a good example of resistance by some community groups to change. It can result in the compromise of positive community and environmental outcomes as councils appease community groups opposed to new ways of living in traditional forms of neighbourhoods (Dixon, Dupuis, Lysnar, Spoonley and LeHeron, 2001). Yet, acceptance of new forms of housing is critical for the successful implementation of the Auckland regional growth strategy. It provides a long-term vision for the future, whereby 25-30% of all Aucklanders will be living in multi-unit housing and 70% of all new housing units will be constructed within Auckland's existing metropolitan area. (Auckland Regional Growth Forum, 1999).
District plans are frequently out of date before they become operative. Yet the pace of change in the built environment is rapid. There is a need for a more creative regulatory process that can deliver outcomes responsively. Good urban design is not easily managed in a regulatory framework. Increasingly however, a raft of plans, strategies, structure plans, design guides and other ad hoc initiatives are being prepared that have a bearing on the built environment. Some may be prepared under the Resource Management Act, others under the Local Government Act. A complex system is emerging for professionals to navigate, let alone others (McDermott and Dixon, 2000). Increasingly, non-statutory documents are becoming influential in determining environmental outcomes.
Thus, the fragmentation of planning processes needs close scrutiny. It may be that the forthcoming local government review assists in this regard (Department of Internal Affairs, 2001). However, some attention needs to be given on how institutional arrangements with a bearing on the built environment, across national, regional and local levels of government, might be more closely integrated. Similarly,
there is a need for greater interdisciplinary co-operation amongst professionals working in the built environment as traditional disciplinary boundaries become less relevant.

Some Key Requirements for Sustainability of the Built Environment

We have identified several requirements for progress towards a more sustainable built environment:

the development of a national/regional strategy for urban systems, focused on the upper North Island. It needs to link sectors together such as housing, regional development, immigration, education and transport as well as planning and resource management. It should also be linked to the forthcoming national strategy on sustainable development now under preparation by central government (Clark, 2001) a planning system that has a stronger emphasis on urban design and which deals positively with change in the built environment. This requires a negotiated regulatory process based on local urban design frameworks, and principles to deal with transformation of the built environment. the recognition of the public realm as part of development design briefs. A quality product comes through design as well as planning. Examples of this include the use of an urban design reference panel during the re-design of the Britomart project and current proposals for urban design panels to influence significant private development projects in Auckland City. the promotion of difference and diversity in the built environment. For example, a wider range of cultural expression would provide a sense of our location in the South Pacific. Greater diversity of housing types would meet different cultural needs and changing lifestyles, and provide expression of identity. more integration within councils so that the built environment is managed as a whole, rather than in a fragmented way through the separation of policy, regulation and public works. a commitment to urban quality by the major participants- councils, developers, professionals and the community. This will require more intentional collaboration by stakeholders on policy issues and specific projects. tertiary education that promotes creativity and interdisciplinary collaboration in the built environment in both teaching programmes and research. Increasingly, the complexity of urban issues requires innovative interdisciplinary solutions. Tertiary institutions have an important role to play in this regard. References Auckland Regional Growth Forum. 1999. A Vision for Managing Growth in the Auckland Region: Auckland Regional Growth Strategy, 2050. Auckland Regional Growth Forum, Auckland Regional Council, Auckland. Auckland Regional Council. 1999. Auckland Regional Land Transport Strategy 1999. Auckland Regional Council, Auckland. Clark, Rt Hon Helen. 2001. Opening address to 2001 Local Government New Zealand Conference, July 16, Wellington. Department of Internal Affairs. 2001. Reviewing the Local Government Act 1974. Consultation document. Department of Internal Affairs, Wellington. Dixon, J., Dupuis, A., Lysnar, P., Spoonley, P. and LeHeron, R. 2001. From Clay Pit to Community: A Study of Medium Density Housing in Ambrico Place, New Lynn. Report for the Waitakere City Council. Massey University and the University of Auckland: Auckland, New Zealand. Ericksen, N., Crawford, J., Berke, P. and Dixon, J. 2001. Resource Management, Plan Quality and Governance. A Report to Government. International Global Change Institute, University of Waikato, Hamilton. McDermott, P and Dixon, J. 2000. Planning Education: Fronting Up To The Environmental Planning Regime. In D. J. Rosier and V.E. Forgie (Eds). Proceedings of the 2000 Meeting of Australian and New Zealand Planning Schools. Massey University, Palmerston North, 1-20. Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment. 1998. The Cities and Their People. New Zealand's Urban Environment. Office of the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment, Wellington. Rae, B and Anderson, S. 2000. Iwitiniopolis: Past and Future Urban Regions, Planning Quarterly, March 2000, 20-22.

Barry Rae
director, Barry Rae Transurban Ltd
e-mail: barryrae@transurban.co.nz

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