The Committee for Auckland has initiated an annual benchmarking project called 'the State of the City'. Photo / Supplied
The Committee for Auckland has initiated an annual benchmarking project called 'the State of the City'. Photo / Supplied
OPINION:
The Committee for Auckland has initiated an annual benchmarking project called “the State of the City”. It is a partnership with Deloitte and Tātaki Auckland Unlimited, supported by the Government’s Auckland Policy Office and Koi Tū: The Centre for Informed Futures at the University of Auckland.
In 2021, theEconomist surprised many by declaring Auckland the most liveable city on Earth.
Before Covid, the Mercer study regularly ranked Auckland in the top 10 of the highest quality of life cities. But last year Demographia reported Auckland was the eighth most unaffordable housing market in the world and, despite any working-from-home benefits, the latest AA Auckland Congestion Report said the region’s already bad traffic congestion was getting worse.
Since these studies, Auckland’s liveability has been impacted and the to-do list has grown as a result of the Auckland floods and of Cyclone Gabrielle.
So what state is Auckland in now? The region retains many of the attributes that make it a desirable place to live, work and recreate but it has a series of legacy and more contemporary challenges. What should Aucklanders be most proud of about the city and how should the region prioritise fixing the growing list of things making life harder?
Given Auckland will need help to address its issues, what do other key partners think? Differences between central Government and Auckland over priorities and responsibilities has had a big impact. Contemporary cities such as Copenhagen, Perth and Vancouver face similar issues.
To better understand how Auckland is faring, the Committee for Auckland has initiated an annual benchmarking project. The State of the City will be an annual assessment of how well Auckland is faring against a series of pillars. It will be an opportunity to acknowledge the leading qualities Auckland possesses among its international peers and look for opportunities for the region to deal with the areas holding it back more effectively.
Deloitte Partner Anthony Ruakere says the insights gained from the benchmarking will have four key benefits. It will:
1. Help enhance Auckland’s performance
2. Attract greater investment
3. Increase citizen engagement and satisfaction
4. Boost Auckland’s international visibility and profile and shine a light on its unique cultural backdrop.
The approach is based on an international benchmarking practice developed by the London-based Business of Cities which will undertake the study. Their co-founder, Professor Greg Clark, has had a long association with Auckland.
Business of Cities chief executive Tim Moonen spoke at Auckland’s Future, Now event on actions other international cities are taking to respond to challenges such as climate change, housing, and transport. The Business of Cities has 15 years of experience monitoring international city trends and started its benchmarking tool 10 years ago. Melbourne and Sydney use it — as do cities more comparable to Auckland such as Helsinki and Oslo. The findings help them promote positive features about their regions but also gain insights and focus on areas needing greater action.
As cities play a greater role in a country’s economic growth and in responding to national challenges such as climate change, reporting on the state of a city can positively contribute to greater advancement.
Tātaki Auckland Unlimited’s head of economic transformation, John Lavery, said understanding how Auckland performs against peer cities, across key domains, is key to identifying solutions over how we compete for talent, trade and investment.
The project links to the Reimagining Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland report by the University of Auckland’s Koi Tū research centre.
This highlighted the vital importance Auckland has to New Zealand, with nearly 40 per cent of the country’s GDP produced in the region, and acknowledged the gateway role it plays for tourism.
It outlined the need for more focus on improved housing and transport infrastructure, being more sustainable, resilient, and innovative.
But it also said substantial change was needed to get much greater alignment on the long-term vision and priorities for Auckland to ensure consistent progress.
The State of the City report can help address this. International surveys about Auckland do not capture a complete picture.
Other stocktakes can highlight Auckland’s challenges and not measure the headway being made. The annual benchmarking will address this. It will make the region’s strengths clearer, and the areas to collaborate more effectively on more compelling.
Auckland’s first State of the City report will be delivered in July.
State of the City
The Committee for Auckland has initiated an annual benchmarking project called “the State of the City”. It is a partnership with Deloitte and Tātaki Auckland Unlimited, supported by the Government’s Auckland Policy Office and Koi Tū: The Centre for Informed Futures at the University of Auckland.
Mark Thomas is a director of the Committee for Auckland
