Auckland CBD

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Auckland CBD
The Auckland CBD seen from the Waitemata Harbour.
Local Authority	Auckland City
Characteristics:
Established	1840
Area size	433 ha
Population	16,000 ^{(data: 2004)}
Train stations	Britomart Transport Centre
Ferry terminals	Auckland Ferry Terminal
Surrounded by:
North	(Waitemata Harbour)
East	Parnell
South-east	Grafton
South	Mount Eden
South-west	Newton
West	Freemans Bay
North-west	Viaduct Basin

The Dilworth Building, one of the remaining stately older buildings along Queen Street.

The Auckland CBD (the Central Business District, usually just referred to as the 'CBD' or sometimes 'Central City') is the geographical and economic heart of Auckland City, and of the Greater Auckland urban area. Bounded by several major motorways and 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.

1 Geography
2 History
3 Characteristics
4 See also
5 References
6 External links

[edit] Geography

Located on the north shore of a narrow isthmus, the CBD extends from the Auckland waterfront on the Waitemata Harbour southwards along Queen Street 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 forming the southern and western boundaries, and State Highway 16a / Grafton Gully forming the eastern boundary.^[1]

The size of the CBD is 433 hectares, similar to the Sydney CBD, and twice as large as the CBDs of Wellington and Christchurch.^[1] The CBD is to a substantial part located on reclaimed land of the Waitemata Harbour. For a closer discussion, see the Commercial Bay and Auckland waterfront articles.

[edit] History

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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 Street, which still to this day forms the 'spine' of the area.

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.^[2]

Residential number in the inner city (including the inner suburbs) was 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.^[2] 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.^[3]

[edit] Characteristics

[edit] 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 todays 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. The CBD is also notable for having the highest concentration of arts, culture and higher education institutions and venues in the country.^[4]

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.^[5]

An apartment block typical of the new inner-city accommodation built in the last decade.

[edit] Population

Residential high-density buildings constructed within the last decade have helped to increase the population actually living in the CBD to around 16,000 (2004 estimate), a massive growth from only 1,400 in 1991.^[1]^[4] Much of this growth has been driven by immigration to New Zealand, 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.^[6] 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.^[7]

According to an indepth 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 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.^[8]

The CBD economy is dominated by Ports of Auckland and by business and financial support services.

[edit] Economy

With 8,500 businesses, the CBD accounts for 18% of all businesses in Auckland City, with the largest being Ports of Auckland, and the largest employment sectors being financial services, ICT and business 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,^[1] while the total 'turnover' is around 270,000 people per day.^[9]