Auckland CBD
Encyclopedia
Auckland
The Auckland metropolitan area , in the North Island of New Zealand, is the largest and most populous urban area in the country with residents, percent of the country's population. Auckland also has the largest Polynesian population of any city in the world...
. Bounded by several major motorways and by the harbour coastline in the north, it is surrounded further out by mostly suburban areas. It is one of the most densely built-up areas of New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
.
Geography
Located on the northern shore of a narrow isthmusIsthmus
An isthmus is a narrow strip of land connecting two larger land areas usually with waterforms on either side.Canals are often built through isthmuses where they may be particularly advantageous to create a shortcut for marine transportation...
, the CBD extends from the Auckland waterfront
Auckland waterfront
The Auckland waterfront is a city-side stretch of the southern Waitemata Harbour coastline in Auckland City, New Zealand...
on the Waitemata Harbour
Waitemata Harbour
The quite famous Waitemata Harbour is the main access by sea to Auckland, New Zealand. For this reason it is often referred to as Auckland Harbour, despite the fact that it is only one of two harbours surrounding the city, and is crossed by the Auckland Harbour Bridge. The Waitemata forms the north...
southwards along Queen Street
Queen Street, Auckland
Queen Street is the major commercial thoroughfare in the Auckland CBD, Auckland, New Zealand's main population centre. It starts at Queens Wharf on the Auckland waterfront, adjacent to the Britomart Transport Centre and the Downtown Ferry Terminal, and runs uphill for almost three kilometres in a...
and a number of other parallel-running streets. The CBD is generally considered to be bounded by the main motorways that surround all non-harbour sides, with State Highway 1
State Highway 1 (New Zealand)
State Highway 1 is the longest and most significant road in the New Zealand roading network, running the length of both main islands. It appears on road maps as SH 1 and on road signs as a white number 1 on a red shield, but it has the official designations SH 1N in the North Island, SH 1S in the...
forming the southern and western boundaries, and State Highway 16 / Grafton Gully
Grafton Gully
Grafton Gully is a deep and very wide gully cutting northwards through the volcanic hills of the Auckland Volcanic Field in Auckland, New Zealand. It divides the CBD of the city from the suburbs of Grafton and Parnell in the east.Grafton Gully is crossed by Grafton Bridge near its south end...
forming the eastern boundary.
The size of the CBD is 433 ha, similar to the Sydney CBD
Sydney central business district
The Sydney central business district is the main commercial centre of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It extends southwards for about 3 kilometres from Sydney Cove, the point of first European settlement. Its north–south axis runs from Circular Quay in the north to Central railway station in...
, and twice as large as the CBDs of Wellington
Wellington
Wellington is the capital city and third most populous urban area of New Zealand, although it is likely to have surpassed Christchurch due to the exodus following the Canterbury Earthquake. It is at the southwestern tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Rimutaka Range...
and Christchurch
Christchurch
Christchurch is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand, and the country's second-largest urban area after Auckland. It lies one third of the way down the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula which itself, since 2006, lies within the formal limits of...
. The CBD is to a substantial part located on reclaimed land
Land reclamation
Land reclamation, usually known as reclamation, is the process to create new land from sea or riverbeds. The land reclaimed is known as reclamation ground or landfill.- Habitation :...
of the Waitemata Harbour. For a closer discussion of this aspect, see the Commercial Bay
Commercial Bay
Commercial Bay was the bay on the southern side of the Waitemata Harbour, formerly defining the original extent of the Auckland waterfront, Auckland, New Zealand...
and Auckland waterfront
Auckland waterfront
The Auckland waterfront is a city-side stretch of the southern Waitemata Harbour coastline in Auckland City, New Zealand...
articles.
History
The Auckland CBD started to become a defined (if slightly less extensive) area from early on, starting in the 1840s with the first European colonisation of the area. This was mainly due to the increasing concentration of businesses, and especially retail, along Queen StreetQueen Street, Auckland
Queen Street is the major commercial thoroughfare in the Auckland CBD, Auckland, New Zealand's main population centre. It starts at Queens Wharf on the Auckland waterfront, adjacent to the Britomart Transport Centre and the Downtown Ferry Terminal, and runs uphill for almost three kilometres in a...
, which still to this day forms the 'spine' of the area. In 1841, just one year after the European founding, the census counted approximately 2,000 people, with "mechanics" the largest group at 250, and other groups of note being 150 agricultural labourers, 100 shopkeepers, 100 domestic servants, and 125 "upper class members".
Initially the area also contained many manufacturing businesses, though these started to move to other areas later on, the flight becoming especially marked around the 1950s. A beginning exodus of retailers to suburban shopping malls was halted by increased construction of parking buildings and a concentration on specialty services and retail over the type of supermarket and mall shopping that was created in places like Pakuranga from 1965 onwards.
Residential numbers in the inner city (including the inner suburbs) were also declining in the 20th century from as early as the 1920s. In the two-mile zone surrounding the CBD, there were approximately 70,000 people in 1926, with only around 50,000 in 1966 - a change made even more marked by the development of the remainder of Auckland's population, which grew more than fourfold in the same timeframe. In the 1990s, only a token population of around 1,400 was still residing within the actual CBD, though this was to grow substantially with a boom of new apartment buildings around the turn of the millennium. Around 24,000 apartment units exist as of 2010.
Overview
The CBD of Auckland has been the leading centre of New Zealand's business and economic development for nearly two centuries. The area of today's CBD was the site of the original European settlement of Auckland, oriented along the coastline and then Queen Street, in a southward direction. From those origins, it has grown progressively, and become much more densely built-up, now being an area of high-rise buildings mainly used for commercial and retail uses. It has the highest concentration of arts, culture and higher education institutions and venues in the country.Some commentators have noted that the recent decades have not been kind to the aesthetics and the community values of the inner city. The demolishing of many older buildings, often the prerequisite for low-quality or uninspired new office and residential developments, is considered by them to be due to a combination of developers uninterested in long-term outcomes as well as due to Council planning direction being too weak.
In an attempt to reverse the decline of aesthetics in the CBD, previous Auckland City Councils and the current unitary Auckland Council
Auckland Council
The Auckland Council is the council for the Auckland Region in New Zealand. It began operating on 1 November 2010, combining the functions of the existing regional council and the region's seven previous city and district councils into one "super council" or "super city" governed by a mayor, 20...
have instigated several urban regeneration schemes. These include the recent redevelopment of Aotea Square
Aotea Square
Aotea Square is a large paved public area in the CBD, of Auckland, New Zealand. Officially opened in 1979 by Sir Dove-Myer Robinson next to Queen Street, it is used for open-air concerts and gatherings, and markets and political rallies....
in 2010 and the upgrade of Saint Patrick's Square in 2009.
The area east of the Britomart Transport Centre
Britomart Transport Centre
Britomart Transport Centre is the CBD public transport hub of Auckland, New Zealand, and the northern terminus of the North Island Main Trunk line. It combines a bus interchange with a railway station in a former Edwardian post office, extended with expansive post-modernist architectural elements...
is currently undergoing major changes, with the development of new commercial buildings, development of public spaces and restoration of several heritage buildings. Another major regeneration scheme currently underway is the redevelopment of Wynyard Quarter, which involves replacing industrial facilities covering a large portion of the CBD waterfront with residential or commercial buildings and public spaces.
The Auckland CBD is one of the few places in New Zealand that has skyscraper-sized buildings, such as the Vero Centre
Vero Centre
The Vero Centre is a high rise office tower located in Auckland, New Zealand. Constructed in 2000, it was Auckland's first major tower built since the 1980s. The centre contains a health club and gymnasium, main entry public foyer, retail outlets in the 5 podium levels and 32 office levels...
, ANZ Centre
ANZ Centre, Auckland
The ANZ Centre is a skyscraper in Auckland, New Zealand. Located at 23 Albert Street, the tower stands at 143 metres in height and contains 35 levels of office space, with a total of 33,187 m² floor space....
or the Metropolis
Metropolis (Auckland building)
Metropolis is a 40-storey residential / hotel skyscraper in the Auckland CBD of Auckland, New Zealand, developed in 1999 by Krukziener Properties. Commended for its style and quality, the NZ$180 million cost of its construction also led to major financial fallout. Metropolis is considered one of...
, with the Sky Tower
Sky Tower
The Sky Tower is an observation and telecommunications tower located on the corner of Victoria and Federal Streets in the Auckland CBD, Auckland City, New Zealand. It is tall, as measured from ground level to the top of the mast, making it the tallest free-standing structure in the Southern...
rising above them.
Population
Residential high-density buildings constructed within the last decade have helped to increase the population actually living in the CBD to around 40,000 (2010 estimate) from earlier 16,000 (2004 estimate), all being a massive growth from only 1,400 in 1991. Much of this growth has been driven by immigration to New ZealandImmigration to New Zealand
Immigration to New Zealand began with Polynesian settlement in New Zealand, then uninhabited, in the tenth century . The role of Moriori settlement is currently disputed, with some suggesting that the Moriori arrived in New Zealand before the Maori, and were distinct from Maori, & others favouring...
, particularly from Asia, and the CBD is the area in New Zealand with the highest percentage share (32%) of the Asian ethnic group in New Zealand. Also striking is the high number of students (both tertiary education and overseas students studying English in one of the many institutes), making up 27% of all residents (2001 Census) and contributing to the relative youth of the city residents.
With increasing population, available services have also changed - from only about one superette
Superette
A Superette, is a compact food market "convenience store" or "mini-mart".The term is most commonly used in the North Island of New Zealand, but also to a lesser extent in Northern New England, Newfoundland and Labrador, and elsewhere as an alternative name for a "convenience store" or...
in the early 2000s, this has ballooned to one supermarket and 38 superettes by 2011. However, the population remains highly focused on ethnically diverse, mostly young and childless residents.
According to an in-depth study of security perception in the Auckland CBD undertaken in 2005, most visitors and locals feel safe visiting and living in the CBD. Police and the Council have in part ascribed these positive feelings to over a dozen safety initiatives undertaken by authorities (from alcohol bans in parts of the CBD to CCTV
Closed-circuit television
Closed-circuit television is the use of video cameras to transmit a signal to a specific place, on a limited set of monitors....
surveillance and street lighting measures). However, in spite of the general perception of the CBD being safe, there was a feeling that crime had risen somewhat in the last five years (whereas in fact numbers had declined). This was considered to be mostly due to a media-driven public image.
Economy
With 8,500 businesses, the CBD accounts for 18% of all businesses in Auckland City, with the largest being Ports of AucklandPorts of Auckland
Ports of Auckland Limited , the successor to the Auckland Harbour Board, is the company administering Auckland's commercial freight and cruise ship harbour facilities...
, and the largest employment sectors being financial services, business and ICT services. The CBD is also the largest employment centre in New Zealand, with around 65,000 jobs, representing 13% of the regional workforce, and 25% of the Auckland City workforce. Around 73,000 people enter the CBD every morning between 7 am and 9 am, 60% of these by car, while the total 'turnover' is around 270,000 people per day. In 2003 many large corporations were housed in the Auckland CBD. During the same year, an Auckland City report stated that the Auckland CBD, compared to several central business district
Central business district
A central business district is the commercial and often geographic heart of a city. In North America this part of a city is commonly referred to as "downtown" or "city center"...
s in Australia, had "a broader and more
dominant role in its regional economy" compared to the economies of the Australian central business districts.
The CBD remains attractive to shops, partially due to the very high pedestrian numbers on the main shopping streets like Queen Street, where footfalls are estimated to be up to 10 times as high as on Broadway in Newmarket
Newmarket, New Zealand
Newmarket is an Auckland suburb to the south-east of the central business district. With its high building density, especially of retail shops, it is considered New Zealand's premier retailing area, and a rival of local competitor Auckland CBD...
, seen as Queen Street's closest rival.
Auckland CBD has a higher share of employment in large firms than other areas in Auckland. Over half of the large firms in Auckland CBD are in office-based sectors (such as property and business services and finance and insurance) and are in the Downtown and Waterfront areas of the CBD. In 2004 Auckland CBD had 72,540 employees and 9125 businesses. 2006 Auckland CBD had 78,444 employees and 9,461 businesses.
Air New Zealand
Air New Zealand
Air New Zealand Limited is the national airline and flag carrier of New Zealand. Based in Auckland, New Zealand, the airline operates scheduled passenger flights to 26 domestic destinations and 24 international destinations in 15 countries across Asia, Europe, North America and Oceania, and is...
was formerly headquartered in Auckland CBD. In 2006, from late September to early October, the airline moved employees out of the four buildings it occupied in Auckland CBD and relocated them to the new headquarters located in Auckland City. In September 2003 Air New Zealand was the only one of the very largest corporations in New Zealand to have its headquarters within the Auckland CBD.
Education
There are significant educational institutions located in the Auckland CBD, notably the University of AucklandUniversity of Auckland
The University of Auckland is a university located in Auckland, New Zealand. It is the largest university in the country and the highest ranked in the 2011 QS World University Rankings, having been ranked worldwide...
and the Auckland University of Technology
Auckland University of Technology
The Auckland University of Technology is a university in New Zealand. It was formed on 1 January 2000 when the Auckland Institute of Technology was granted university status. Its primary campus is on Wellesley Street in Auckland's Central business district...
. The CBD also has many of the English language schools for foreigners which form a significant part of Auckland's education business.
The Ministry of Education
Ministry of Education (New Zealand)
The Ministry of Education , is the primary state sector organisation of New Zealand responsible for New Zealand's education system...
operates state-operated schools throughout the area. Private secondary schools within the CBD include ACG New Zealand International College, ACG Senior College, and Auckland International College
Auckland International College
Auckland International College is a private coeducational secondary school in Auckland, New Zealand. It adopts the IB Diploma Programme as its sole curriculum. It also offers a Preparation Year Programme for IB Diploma course to allow students to prepare for the IB curriculum...
.
Transport
The CBD, with its substantial employment, and increasing amount of residents, contains the main public transport hubs of the city. These services are concentrated around the Britomart Transport CentreBritomart Transport Centre
Britomart Transport Centre is the CBD public transport hub of Auckland, New Zealand, and the northern terminus of the North Island Main Trunk line. It combines a bus interchange with a railway station in a former Edwardian post office, extended with expansive post-modernist architectural elements...
(rail and buses) and the nearby Auckland Ferry Terminal
Auckland Ferry Terminal
The Auckland Ferry Terminal, sometimes called the Downtown Ferry Terminal, is the hub of the Auckland ferry network that connects Auckland City with North Shore City and some locations in Waitakere City and Manukau City. The ferry terminal is in the Auckland CBD on the Auckland waterfront...
, both near the Auckland waterfront
Auckland waterfront
The Auckland waterfront is a city-side stretch of the southern Waitemata Harbour coastline in Auckland City, New Zealand...
. Many bus services do however also travel the length of the CBD along the main streets, in particular via the bus lanes on Albert Street and the Central Connector
Central Connector, Auckland
The Central Connector , is a bus rapid transit link between Britomart Transport Centre in the Auckland CBD, New Zealand, and the commercial suburb of Newmarket. It is to improve journey times by about 14 minutes for around to 2,600 buses per week, about 65,000 passengers daily...
bus priority
Bus priority
Bus priority or transit signal priority is a name for various techniques to speed up bus public transport services at intersections with traffic signals amongst other methods. Trams and light rail vehicles can also be given priority...
route. Nearly 33,000 people enter the CBD via public transport every day.
Much of the transport to and around the CBD is however also by private vehicles, partly because the CBD provides numerous parking buildings and parking spaces associated with office buildings, as well as due to being an area almost totally surrounded (and thus relatively easily accessible) by motorways.
The current (as of 2011) Auckland Council
Auckland Council
The Auckland Council is the council for the Auckland Region in New Zealand. It began operating on 1 November 2010, combining the functions of the existing regional council and the region's seven previous city and district councils into one "super council" or "super city" governed by a mayor, 20...
considers that Auckland should construct the CBD tunnel
Auckland city centre rail tunnel
An Auckland, New Zealand city centre / CBD rail tunnel has been proposed at various times during Auckland's history...
, partly to further boost and revitalise the city centre, and also to reduce the car-dependancy in terms of access to the CBD.
The main street of the CBD is Queen Street
Queen Street, Auckland
Queen Street is the major commercial thoroughfare in the Auckland CBD, Auckland, New Zealand's main population centre. It starts at Queens Wharf on the Auckland waterfront, adjacent to the Britomart Transport Centre and the Downtown Ferry Terminal, and runs uphill for almost three kilometres in a...
, which was upgraded between 2006 and 2008 to modernise it and make it more pedestrian friendly.
In 2009, the former Auckland City Council proposed the redevelopment of several CBD streets into shared spaces
Shared space
Shared space is an urban design concept aimed at integrated use of public spaces. It encourages traffic engineers, urban planners and experts from other fields to consult with users of public space when planning and designing streets and squares in both built and non-built environments...
, with the goal of improving pedestrian and cyclist amenity by slowing down vehicle traffic while retaining the possibility for car access - compared to a pedestrian mall
Pedestrian mall
Pedestrian malls in the United States are also known as pedestrian streets and are the most common form of pedestrian zone in large cities in the United States. It is a street lined with storefronts and closed off to most automobile traffic...
which allows no motor vehicles.
The new unitary Auckland Council
Auckland Council
The Auckland Council is the council for the Auckland Region in New Zealand. It began operating on 1 November 2010, combining the functions of the existing regional council and the region's seven previous city and district councils into one "super council" or "super city" governed by a mayor, 20...
is continuing this project. The conversion of Darby Street into a shared space
Shared space
Shared space is an urban design concept aimed at integrated use of public spaces. It encourages traffic engineers, urban planners and experts from other fields to consult with users of public space when planning and designing streets and squares in both built and non-built environments...
was completed in April 2011, while several other streets (Fort Street, Elliot Street and Lorne Street) are also currently being converted into shared spaces
Shared space
Shared space is an urban design concept aimed at integrated use of public spaces. It encourages traffic engineers, urban planners and experts from other fields to consult with users of public space when planning and designing streets and squares in both built and non-built environments...
, with more shared spaces being discussed.
See also
- Auckland CityAuckland CityAuckland City was the city and local authority covering the Auckland isthmus and most of the islands of the Hauraki Gulf, in the North Island of New Zealand. On 1 November 2010 it was amalgamated into the wider Auckland Region under the authority of the new Auckland Council...
- Auckland waterfrontAuckland waterfrontThe Auckland waterfront is a city-side stretch of the southern Waitemata Harbour coastline in Auckland City, New Zealand...
- Karangahape RoadKarangahape RoadKarangahape Road is one of the main streets in the central business district of Auckland, New Zealand. The massive expansion of motorways through the nearby inner city area - and subsequent flight of residents and retail into the suburbs - turned it from one of Auckland's premier shopping streets...
, southern boundary mainstreet - Queen StreetQueen Street, AucklandQueen Street is the major commercial thoroughfare in the Auckland CBD, Auckland, New Zealand's main population centre. It starts at Queens Wharf on the Auckland waterfront, adjacent to the Britomart Transport Centre and the Downtown Ferry Terminal, and runs uphill for almost three kilometres in a...
, north-south mainstreet of the CBD - Grand Hotel (Auckland)Grand Hotel (Auckland)The Grand Hotel, at 9 Princes Street, was the leading hotel of Auckland, New Zealand, from 1889 until 1966. With its vaulted ceilings, ornate mantlepieces, red carpet and marble statuary, the Grand Hotel was a plush and social rendezvous from its opening...
, Princes Street, the leading hotel in Auckland from 1889 until 1966, its facade still standing
External links
- Auckland's CBD Into the Future (CBD website of the Auckland City CouncilAuckland City CouncilAuckland City Council was the local government authority representing Auckland City, New Zealand, and was amalgamated into the Auckland Council on 1 November 2010. It was an elected body representing the 404,658 residents of the city...
)