Han Meyer: Auckland could be a maritime jewel

A new masterplan will be necessary for the total waterfront area of the Waitemata Harbour.

Visiting Auckland and talking with people at Ports of Auckland, Auckland Regional Council and Unitec, one thing has become clear to me - Auckland is a great port city, and has the opportunity to become an important trendsetter in the world.

Auckland shows what in many port cities has become invisible. First, the city still looks like a port city, with a wide variation of port and shipping activities in the immediate surroundings of the city centre. It has marinas, ferry services, cruise boats and the largest container port in the country.

On the water we see a surprising mix of all kinds of ships: sailing yachts, ferry catamarans, giant container carriers.

Second, the Waitemata harbour is a great natural environment, with spectacular ranges of bays, coastlines and islands.

Compared with many other port cities, Auckland is a likable exception. During the 20th century, port cities all over the world developed in the same direction. The port increased and was separated from the city, resulting in dramatic loss of natural environments and in a loss of awareness of the identity of the city as a port city. Especially during the second half of the 20th century, port development took place in large mono-functional extensions and reclamations outside the urban areas. Land seemed to be available in an unlimited scale.

Almost all large port cities are settled in rich natural and vulnerable areas, like deltas, estuaries, lagoons. Port development changed these environments and their habitats dramatically in most cases.

The consequences are serious - not only for the areas themselves, but for the seas and oceans in general. In the beginning of the 21st century this development has reached an important crossroad. One direction of this crossroad leads to a further and even more explosive continuation of the described development.

Processes of industrialisation and urbanisation in many coastal and delta areas in Asia, Africa and South America show an explosive trend towards a complete destruction of the natural environment in these areas and an increasing vulnerability of many people for flooding.

The other direction of the crossroad leads to a new relationship of port, city and nature. This direction can be summarised as "sustainable intensification".

Leading port cities such as New York, London, Rotterdam, Hong Kong and Singapore are tending towards this second direction. For these cities it has become clear that continuous extension is not the obvious option anymore.

Considered from this perspective, Auckland has a fantastic opportunity to emphasise the uniqueness of the exemplary coincidence of the city, port and nature. It can be regarded as a trendsetting example of a sustainable port city.

To be able to develop into this direction, a new masterplan will be necessary for the total waterfront area of the Waitemata Harbour, paying attention to and celebrating the rich variety of the urban waterfronts such as the Viaduct Harbour and Prince's Wharf, the charming atmosphere of Devonport, the scenic parkway of Mission Bay, and last but not least the working port.

The masterplan should especially pay attention to the position of the working port in relation with the urban environment of Quay St, Queen St etc and in relation with the natural environment of the Waitemata Harbour. A key aspect in this approach of the relation between port and city and between port and nature concerns the mixture of scales and functions. Large scale mono-functional developments are killing for every natural and urban environment.

The border zones between the port and city should get extra attention. Here programmes should be developed which are fruitful for the city as well as for the port, like, for instance, an educational centre of shipping and transport.

It also means that the border zones between port area and the harbour should be considered in relation with environmental improvements in the surroundings.

It is clear that such a masterplan only can be produced by a close collaboration of Ports of Auckland, the city administration and Auckland Regional Council [or the forthcoming new Auckland Council].

The most strategic expression of such a collaboration could be a new "Centre for Sustainable Port City Development" in Queens Wharf. It could take in the Port authorities, a public information centre and a research institute for sustainable port cities. Such a centre could become the major new element of the city branding of Auckland, representing the most sustainable port city of the world.

* Han Meyer is Professor of Theory and Methods of Urban Design, TU-Delft [Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands]. He specialises in port cities and the fundamentals of urbanism. He visited New Zealand as a guest of the Department of Landscape Architecture and Architecture, Unitec, Ports of Auckland and the Auckland Regional Council.