Project Auckland panel: Simon Bridges, Viv Beck & Mark Thomas
NZ Herald’s Tim McCready leads Heart of the City CEO, Viv Beck, Auckland Chamber CEO, Simon Bridges and Committee for Auckland Director, Mark Thomas in a discussion on the pain points plaguing Auckland’s infrastructure.
Project Auckland: Opportunity costs lie in flood and cyclone response
The recent weather events that battered Auckland have left the city with significant damage to public and private assets, including infrastructure, land, houses and businesses which will take a lot of work to put right.
Auckland Council chief economist Gary Blick says the city is worse off and while there will be a bump in activity to put the damage right, it will not necessarily mean Auckland is further ahead, with funding and capacity constraints leading to other projects – and their benefits – being deferred.
“Economists think about the opportunity cost,” he says. “What are we forgoing by having to turn our limited resources – labour, capital, equipment – into putting things back.”
As chief economist, Blick is focused on the medium to long-term implications of decisions that are made by the council. His approach to economics is broad, considering trade-offs in resource use as well as the wellbeing of the community.
Recent events have revealed the need for the city to consider its policies for managing future natural disasters and climate change and have focused policy debate on Auckland’s resilience.
Blick says it is important to be quite considered and have a good evidence base around causality and impacts.
“If we are going to take a policy action, we have got to consider all of the impacts on our resources and the associated trade-offs,” he says. “As an example, adapting to the changing climate and natural hazard risk in a way that doesn’t undermine our other objectives such as accommodating growth, enabling more housing, and reducing transport emissions. And we want to respond in a way that is consistent with financial sustainability and the prudent use of public funds.”
Given the evidence of how natural disasters can impact on mental health, Blick has been reflecting on the potential impact of weather damage on the wellbeing of Aucklanders. “Particularly for younger people, and the disruption it can have on their home life and their engagement with education, training and employment pathways. We are trying to get a good evidence base around that in terms of characteristics of affected households and their potential vulnerabilities.”
Blick is particularly interested in Auckland’s ability to accommodate growth, and its long-term competitiveness and attractiveness to current and prospective residents. With this in mind, he is closely watching Plan Change 78 – the council’s response to the Government’s National Policy Statement on Urban Development – which is now before an independent hearings panel. The initiative was created from a cross-party law in late 2021 when National and Labour collaborated to bring about significant modifications to the existing plans for major urban areas, leading to big changes to the Auckland Unitary Plan.
Some of these include requiring the council to enable buildings of six storeys or more within walking distance of the city centre, large metropolitan centres and around rapid transit stops. It also enables three-storey housing to be built on most residential sites in urban Auckland.
In the aftermath of the January floods, some councillors have expressed concerns about the impact of new housing density laws, fearing multi-storey residential buildings could further strain the already-overburdened infrastructure.
Blick acknowledges the weather events have highlighted challenges that will need to be addressed in policy settings on land use and infrastructure investments. He notes these are discussions many international cities are grappling with, particularly in coastal or flood-prone areas.
Such decisions can have significant and far-reaching consequences for Auckland’s growth patterns. It is Blick’s responsibility as the city’s chief economist to consider and advise on the full range of consequences.
Land use policy and transport infrastructure investment are big, powerful levers for a city’s attractiveness, Blick observes. They influence where households can locate, the accessibility of different locations, and the decision-making of people in New Zealand and overseas who are considering relocating.
“More flexible land use gives households more choice, and the option to locate in locations that are in relatively high demand due to their proximity to jobs, transport links and other urban amenities.”
Enabling more people to locate closer to the things they value is positive for wellbeing and productivity and improves Auckland’s competitiveness in comparison to other cities and regions.
The Auckland Unitary Plan shows the power of changes in land use policy. Upon its implementation in 2016, it increased Auckland’s capacity to accommodate growth and allowed land in some locations to be used more intensively.
Research conducted by the University of Auckland has analysed the impact of the Unitary Plan by modelling the counterfactual if it hadn’t been introduced. The study found that over the first five years, the Unitary Plan led to the construction of an additional 26,900 dwellings, 50 per cent more than otherwise.
“This really shows how powerful land use policy can be, and so potential changes need to be carefully considered,” Blick says. “People may notice changes in some neighbourhoods and some people may not feel entirely comfortable about it.
“But we also need to consider where we’d be without those extra homes and where those households would otherwise locate. Enabling the market to deliver more homes in response to the demand has been a positive step for improving housing affordability over the medium term.”
Looking ahead, this will help Auckland retain its competitive advantages. “Auckland still offers a diverse range of employment opportunities, specialised roles, higher income prospects, urban amenities and consumption possibilities not available in other regions,” Blick says.
Project Auckland: International cities show how to soak up stormwater
In 2015, China implemented a concept known as “sponge cities” in 16 urban areas to combat flooding caused by stormwater.
The initiative was in response to the devastating Beijing flood in 2012, which claimed 79 lives and prompted authorities to make sponge cities a nationwide policy.
The idea was promoted by Chinese landscape architect Yu Kongjian, who advocated for the integration of nature’s ability to absorb, store and filter water into city infrastructure to mitigate against runoff.
This approach involves using green infrastructure to allow water to follow its natural channels, with streams and creeks uncovered, parks and grasslands restored, and planting used to slow down the flow of water and enable natural absorption, infiltration and purification. This is in stark contrast to the conventional grey infrastructure solution that speeds up the flow of water using pipes and drains.
Qunli stormwater park, in the northern Chinese city of Harbin, is an example of the concept. The park collects, filters and stores stormwater, and has become a popular urban amenity for recreational use. Capable of retaining and filtering up to 500,000 cubic metres of stormwater, the park has solved the stormwater inundation issue for an area 10 times its size, spanning over three kilometres.
The success of the initial pilot has seen a further 14 cities in China adopt the idea of sponge cities, including Shanghai, Shenzhen and Beijing, and has seen the concept grow in interest in other international cities.
In Auckland, the concept of sponge cities has also been put into practice. One example is Stonefields, with its large tiered floodable park, created by preserving some of the existing wetlands and preventing floodwaters from flowing into properties during heavy rainfall.
Another example is Te Auaunga Oakley Creek, a Healthy Waters project in Mt Roskill.
Te Auaunga is one of Auckland’s longest urban streams, winding its way from Hillsborough through Mt Roskill, Owairaka and Waterview to the Waitematā Harbour. The creek has breached its banks during heavy rainfall, but that is part of its design — the connected parks collect excess stormwater and slowly release it back into the creek, preventing flooding for nearly 200 homes.
On a smaller scale, New York City has implemented pocket rain gardens to help manage its stormwater. These tiny gardens help with the natural absorption of rainwater into the ground instead of allowing it to flow into the sewer system. Strategically located, the pocket rain gardens are installed in areas where their impact on the health of the city’s waterways will be most significant.
Thorough soil testing is conducted before installation to ensure the pocket gardens can efficiently absorb stormwater. The area is then excavated to a depth of around five feet (1.5m) and backfilled with stone and soil, with the kerb replaced with one that allows water to flow in and out. Appropriate plants, flowers and trees are then selected and planted in the area.
The benefits go beyond stormwater management. They help to combat the urban heat island effect, clean the air, promote biodiversity and beautify neighbourhoods.
Tokyo, a city built on a flood plain and crossed by five river systems and dozens of individual rivers, has taken a unique approach to risk mitigation. In 1992, construction of the Tokyo Metropolitan Area Outer Underground Discharge Channel began in the northern Saitama Prefecture on the outskirts of the city.
Over 14 years, the world’s largest underground floodwater diversion facility was built to counteract the overflowing of city rivers during intense rain and typhoon seasons. The system’s tunnels and chambers run for 6.3km east to west, featuring 18m-high concrete pillars that create a cathedral-like space underground.
Before it was constructed, the water level from rivers used to flood a large area. The facility is activated around seven times a year, and allows Tokyo to divert and store water in the underground channel, and pump it into the larger Edo River at a rate of up to 200 metric tonnes of water per second.
The facility proved its effectiveness during Typhoon Hagibis in 2019. The artificial caverns were able to take in more than 12 million cubic metres of water, saving Greater Tokyo from an estimated 26.4 billion yen ($330 million) in damage.
The Netherlands’ second-largest city, Rotterdam, is home to the DakAkker, a farm on top of a roof covering a massive 1000 square metres.
The roof holds a thriving garden filled with fruit trees, vegetables, flowers and herbs. Bees are kept and even chickens wander around. It is one of the largest rooftop farms in Europe, capable of collecting 60 litres of rainwater per square metre.
A portion of the farm’s roof has been transformed into a smart roof that can respond to heavy rainfall predictions.
The system can make extra water storage capacity in advance of a rainfall event by releasing water slowly up to 24 hours ahead of the rain, giving it the capacity to handle heavy downpours more effectively.
Over the past decade, Rotterdam has transformed rooftops across the city, with green roofs installed on thousands of buildings, covering about 330,000sq m, or around 2 per cent, of the city’s flat roof space. These green roofs are playing a crucial role in keeping water out of the city’s ageing stormwater system and preventing flooding.
Rotterdam residents can apply for subsidies to create these green roofs and install water retention systems. The smart technology being trialled on Dakakker’s smart roof could ultimately be expanded across the city, so water levels on rooftop storage tanks could be co-ordinated to empty when rain is forecast, allowing them to be fully operational during heavy rain events.
In 2013, Rotterdam built the Benthemplein “water plaza” with a similar goal. The plaza is sunken into the ground, with a sports area in the centre accessed by steps. During heavy rain, the plaza collects runoff and stores water to dissipate safely.
“Instead of making bigger sewer pipes, we chose to invest in redesigning public space in a way that contributes to a nicer, better, more attractive district,” says Arnoud Molenaar, Rotterdam’s chief resilience officer.
Engineering consultancy Arup released its Global Sponge Cities Snapshot in 2022, which examined the amount of green space and permeable soil in major cities. Auckland was ranked the spongiest city, given its lower urban density and high level of green space areas.
1 Auckland — 35%
2 Nairobi — 34%
3 Singapore — 30%
3 Mumbai — 30%
3 New York — 30%
3 Toronto — 30%
4 Montreal — 29%
5 Shanghai — 28%
6 London — 22%
7 Sydney — 18%
I had the fun job last night of moderating a panel with Auckland’s Deputy Mayor Desley Simpson and Councillors Josephine Bartley and Julie Fairey for the Onehunga Business Association. It was a wide-ranging conversation covering the budget, flooding, transport, rates, congestion, bus cancellations… But a couple of things stood out to me:
1. These three Councillors, while covering the full political spectrum, have each other’s backs and want to support each other – this was evident right throughout the panel discussion.
2. The recent weather events had a significant impact on them. They knew the people who lost their lives and were open about how these deaths affected them.
3. My final question to the panel was to ask for something positive for the year ahead. It’s nice to remind ourselves that not everything is bleak all the time!
4. Deputy Mayor Desley Simpson does a fantastic ghost impersonation (hear it between 1.01 -1:23) 👻 👻
Listen via Onehunga FM’s ‘Too Much Talk’ podcast in the link below