Dialogue: Public say 'yes' to medium-density housing

PHILIP WARREN* says the townhouses and apartments springing up all over Auckland answer a range of problems rather than create them.

Alan Sutton's recent Dialogue page article longed for the 1980s when good-quality homes were built in up-market neighbourhoods and apartments and flats were something we saw on television.

Mr Sutton finished with the question: "Do we really need them?" The resounding answer is: "Yes, we do."

Auckland is growing, its population is changing and suburban sprawl and traffic congestion are major problems. Apartments, flats or whatever you call them are part of the answer.

Before we get into the argument about trying to stop Auckland's growth, let's note that 71 per cent of this growth has come from natural increase.

So those New Age guys and gals to whom Mr Sutton refers could well be his children or grandchildren trying to get a foothold in the housing market. They could be his empty-nester friends wanting to trade down from the suburban three-bedroom home but stay in the neighbourhood where they raised their families.

Or they could be any number of busy household combinations sick of mowing lawns and wanting to be near the action so they can walk or take public transport instead of sitting in cars for hours.

To test these ideas, the region has completed a major study of intensive housing developments (the terraces, apartments and cluster housing referred to as "medium-density" in planner-speak), talking to residents, developers, neighbours and local services.

The study tried to discover what drew people to live here, how they and the neighbours felt before and after the developments were lived in.

Our overall aim was to uncover what local government can do to make sure developments add to the community and quality of life for all Auckland residents, not create slums. The picture that emerges from the study is likely to dispel a few myths.

In the first instance residents of medium-density housing overall were happier with their housing choice than neighbours with their conventional stand-alone residences.

The residents of medium-density housing developments were similar in almost all respects to the neighbours. They earned the same amount, there were the same numbers of renters and permanent owners, and they had the same likes and dislikes. There was one exception: they were generally younger.

The debate about medium-density housing must be put into perspective. With the region growing at one person every 29 minutes, or 50 people every day, this equates to about 17 new households required every day, or more than 6000 in the whole year.

If we carry on expanding at today's rate, very soon Auckland will stretch from the Bombay Hills in the south to Warkworth in the north. The transport and environmental implications of this are a major concern.

It is the responsibility of all councils in the region to ensure that future generations enjoy the same opportunities to live in and enjoy Auckland as we have. To this end, the Auckland Regional Growth Forum was established.

Representing all councils in the region, its task was to determine how and where the next million Aucklanders would live and work. The forum has spent a lot of time consulting the public and considering technical work.

The result is the regional growth strategy, which emphasises growth within the existing urban area focused around public transport centres. The future urban village this strategy provides for will contain a mix of housing types, shops, public transport and employment opportunities within a handy walking distance.

The strategy also provides some greenfields opportunities to ensure a range of housing types are available. At last we have a collective vision that can guide development.

We must move beyond the debate of whether medium-density housing is desirable. The simple fact is that it is happening, not through any council conspiracy but because that is what some people want. It is happening all over the world. Many people are working longer hours and don't want to spend time on gardens and household maintenance. They value security and convenience to shops, schools and public transport.

What the debate needs to focus on now is how we improve the overall standard of our urban environment. The infrastructure issues raised by Mr Sutton cannot be blamed on higher-density housing. They were there before this trend emerged and unless we deal with them, we will all suffer.

Finally, we can learn from the old-world cities of England in the 15th and 16th centuries and also the more relevant lessons from the car-dependent cities of Los Angeles and Houston, where extensive suburban sprawl has resulted not only in severe infrastructural problems such as traffic congestion but in social and community problems.

Auckland deserves better, and with the work being done by councils in the region to address transport and growth issues I am confident we will do better.

* Philip Warren is chairman of the Auckland Regional Council.