Wellington City’s Economic Wellbeing Strategy 2022

Final version adopted June 2022

Table of Contents
Introduction
Why do we need an Economic Wellbeing Strategy?
Shifting from Economic Development to Economic Wellbeing?
Roles in Economic Wellbeing
Wellington City Council
WellingtonNZ
Businesses and Organisations
Our Economy
Māori Economy
Global Trends
Urban Migration
From Fixed to Flexible Working
Zero Carbon and Zero Waste Economies and the Expansion of GDP to Wellbeing
Moving Online – from Transactions to Experiences
Corporate Social Responsibility
Engagement
Engagement Process
Challenges and Opportunities
Economic Wellbeing Strategy – Responding to the challenges
The Vision for Economic Wellbeing in Wellington
Outcomes for Economic Wellbeing
Outcome 1: Sustainable Business and Career Pathways
Why is this important?
Our Approach
Critical Influences
Priority Actions
What success looks like
Case Study 1: The tight-knit company using values to drive growth
Outcome 2: Transitioning to a Zero Carbon Circular Economy
Why is this important?
Our Approach
Critical Influences
Priority Actions
What success looks like
Case Study 2: Going green in the beating heart of the capital
Outcome 3: A Business-Friendly City
Why is this important?
Our Approaches
Critical Influences
Priority Actions
What success looks like
Case Study 3: Collaboration is the key to reviving our city
Outcome 4: Centre of Creativity and Digital Innovation
Why is this important?
Our Approaches
Critical Influences
Priority Actions
What success looks like
Case Study 4: Forging new realities
Outcome 5: Celebrate our Capital City Status
Why is this important?
Our Approaches
Priority Actions
What success looks like
Case Study 5: The mystic bringing te ao Māori to life
Outcome 6: A dynamic city heart and thriving suburban centres
Why is this important?
Our Approaches
Critical Influences
Priority Actions
What success looks like
Case Study 6: Let’s rev up central city and be suburban-proud

The Strategic Context
Introduction
This strategy was prepared in a time of change. It is intended to provide direction for Wellington City Council, businesses and communities to effectively collaborate and deliver a thriving economy for Wellington’s future, including supporting the recovery from the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The COVID-19 pandemic has created ongoing impacts to people and businesses. Working from home is changing visitation and spending habits, while border closures have exacerbated staff shortages, and the global impact is affecting supply chains. This has placed many businesses under pressure and compelled many people to think about how we live and how we do business.
There are also larger societal shifts in attitude underway on what economic success looks like. Increasingly economic success is viewed holistically and is expected to also deliver positive social and environmental outcomes. The current global economic model is widening gaps of wealth and income inequality and significant environmental degradation, and this will need to change.
Our response to these challenging times includes the development of this Economic Wellbeing Strategy. This Economic Wellbeing Strategy is focused on growing our creative and knowledge-based economy for the future. To do that requires supporting existing, and attracting new, skilled people and businesses to the city. 
Skilled people and businesses can usually operate from anywhere. They are attracted to places that offer business and career opportunities, a high quality of life, and importantly, the ability to do business in ways that also enhances social and environmental outcomes.
This is a fundamental shift in thinking. In Wellington, we are well placed to be at the forefront of this change. Our compact urban form and transport options provide a great low carbon base. Our economy is structured on knowledge-based, low-carbon businesses known for their ability to innovate, adapt and respond to challenges, trends and new opportunities. However, the goods we consume are produced and transported from elsewhere in the country and we must understand the full picture of our carbon footprint. 
In Wellington we’re already using our creativity and innovation to effect positive change.
Trade Me gives people and businesses a marketplace to sell used items, therefore it also plays a big part in reducing landfill waste. The Weta group of companies have shown Wellington has world-winning talent able to create epic digital and built worlds that entertain millions. Xero makes it easier for small and medium sized businesses to manage their finances so they can spend more time working on the parts of their business that deliver impact and growth. 
More recently, Sharesies has made investing and building wealth accessible to everyone. Volpara has pioneered AI software for early detection of breast cancer. CoGo helps people to track their carbon consumption by partnering with banks, so people can easily see the environmental impact of their purchasing decisions, giving them the data they need to make informed choices. 
We have gaming and tech companies developing solutions to improve mental and physical health, social enterprises providing employment for refugees and disadvantaged communities, and carbon negative tourism businesses. There are an increasing number of food and beverage businesses making change, from local sourcing to waste elimination, including local social enterprises like Reusa-Bowl and Again Again coffee cups. 
But there is still much more to do to ensure we have a thriving and equitable economy that provides opportunities for all to earn decent incomes and that nurtures the environment. 
The vision of this strategy is:
Wellington is a dynamic city with a resilient and innovative and low waste, low carbon circular economy that provides opportunities for all and protects and regenerates our environment.

The vision is supported by six outcomes which are our areas of focus to achieve the vision. These are: 
•	sustainable business and career pathways
•	a circular economy
•	a business-friendly city
•	a centre of creativity and digital innovation
•	celebration of our Capital City status
•	a dynamic city heart and thriving suburban centres.

The strategy also recognises critical influences that underpin the success of our economic wellbeing, such as our investment in making the city highly liveable and revitalising and regenerating the city.

Why do we need an Economic Wellbeing Strategy?
Our current Economic Development Strategy was published in 2011. A lot has changed since then –the 2016 Kaikōura earthquake damaged many buildings in the Wellington central city and caused displacement from many other buildings, the growing awareness of climate change and biodiversity loss, and a global pandemic – all highlighting the increasing inequalities in society (such as access to healthcare, the internet, green spaces, incomes, education, family connections and the environment). Reducing inequalities is directly linked with wellbeing and economic growth. Our Government is among world leaders in thinking about a wellbeing approach to policy making and budget setting. Balancing the four capitals of wellbeing – cultural, social, economic, environment - is central to the Economic Plan for New Zealand. COVID-19 has hampered progress and has also presented us with opportunities. Ongoing technological change and creativity presents further opportunities to make a difference.
A thriving economy is essential for the wellbeing of our people. A strong and sustainable economy provides better job opportunities, higher wages, and a higher living standard for residents. It also builds business confidence, provides business opportunities and attracts more investment into the city. 
A high performing economy is also important to Wellington City Council. It results in a growing ratepayer base and allows the Council to set rates at a level where it can invest in improved public services, from three waters to a new central library, better transport, events, enhanced biodiversity, and more dynamic art activities.   
In Wellington, response to and recovery from earthquakes and the COVID-19 pandemic, rising environmental standards, catching up with historic infrastructure underinvestment, and the transport and housing investment required for a growing population are driving the largest Government and the Council’s investment programmes in history, with a significant increase in expenditure being invested in the next decade. These investments will provide a large boost to the economy in the years ahead and reinforce the already strong bones of the city.  
Significant investment is also being made to ensure Wellington remains a vibrant and dynamic place. Wellington is famous for its compact and colourful central city, often cited in research as a key factor in what makes Wellington a great place to live, work, do business, study and visit. It’s essential this ‘sense of place’ is protected and enhanced, including ensuring it remains a great place to work as well as live. 
Shifting from Economic Development to Economic Wellbeing?
As a Council, we are shifting our thinking from economic development to economic wellbeing. It is critical to develop a holistic economic strategy to guide how we grow a more sustainable, balanced and inclusive economy. This means recognising the dynamic complexity of our economy and how the design of the system can be more socially and environmentally resilient and adaptable.
In line with the changing environment, we consider that social and environmental wellbeing must become a conscious part of how we manage our economy. The challenges are seen as opportunities. A holistic approach should be taken to enable our local businesses and our diverse communities to adapt to this fast-changing environment. We are building an understanding of how the wellbeing of our people, culture, environment and ecology are significant enablers of a thriving economy. Taking a wellbeing focus ensures our economic activities adds to our quality of life. Adopting a collaborative approach allows us to harness the creativity of different communities to solve complex challenges.  
The current economic model (focused on growth) has not always served all people well, and wider effects such as longer term environmental and social impacts have not been readily recognised or reversed by the free market. The divide between high, middle and lower incomes continue to grow globally and in New Zealand, and the environment has continued to be degraded.

A new model for economics has emerged called ‘doughnut economics’ that considers how we can maintain our lifestyles while respecting the Earth’s limits and ensuring all people are able to meet their basic needs. The doughnut economic model (pictured above) shows the global planetary overshoots and social shortfalls. This model has been used by the United Nations to develop the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Doughnut economics is also very aligned to the Māori worldview of considering our people, environment and economy holistically. A circular economy is another very similar model that focuses systems solutions for tackling global challenges such as climate change, using three principles of eliminate, circulate, and regenerate.
Wellingtonians have told us they want economic prosperity that is inclusive and doesn’t leave people behind and doesn’t negatively impact on the environment – which includes moving towards a carbon-free future. This is driving a shift in thinking from economic development to economic wellbeing – accounting for economic productivity growth alongside addressing social inequalities, depletion of natural resources, and the health and financial costs to society from pollution. 
We’re looking at how the Council’s provision of infrastructure and services enables our local economy and communities to achieve positive social and environmental outcomes. 
The Strategy provides direction for our Council activities and for the businesses and communities of Wellington City. This is about what the Council, and our Council Controlled Organisations can do, partnering with mana whenua and Māori, while also inspiring and empowering businesses for the future, and supporting businesses and organisations to partner with us to deliver economic wellbeing outcomes.

Roles in Economic Wellbeing
Wellington City Council
The council has many roles which are outlined below and described in terms of how we can influence economic wellbeing. How the Council carries out this work also impacts on economic wellbeing.
Provider – Our core role is to invest and maintain civic infrastructure and facilities that provides the foundations for businesses and residents to thrive such as transport, water and waste infrastructure and civic facilities and venues. 
We also deliver a significant range of activities that bring vibrancy to the city and enhance quality of life for our residents which also underpins economic success. Things such as providing tracks and trails, recreation centres, sportsgrounds, and art and culture activities. 
We can influence the economy through our procurement policies and practices.
Funder – Provide funding such as the City Growth Fund to support businesses and communities.
Partner – We also partner with others to achieve outcomes, recognising where local providers can deliver outcomes. We work together with Councils across the region to coordinate our work programmes and collectively solve problems. We also partner with mana whenua so that we can align with a Māori worldview and work together to achieve aspirations for Māori.
Facilitator – We bring people together to discuss issues, share ideas and connect people.
Advocate – We advocate on behalf of our communities where we have no direct control. We also advocate internally to ensure work across the council is joined up and aligned to our strategies.
Regulator – Our regulatory teams provide services such as liquor licensing and building consenting which are also important for business success. We can influence outcomes to achieve a circular economy through bylaws and consenting.

WellingtonNZ
WellingtonNZ is a Council Controlled Organisation 80% owned by Wellington City Council. It is the region’s economic development agency, supporting economic performance across the region. Their key role is:
•	Marketing Wellington as a destination for visitors, migrants, businesses, investors and students​, and conventions
•	Helping businesses grow and innovate​
•	Helping businesses attract the workforce talent needed for businesses to thrive
•	Attracting and promoting major events​
•	Running many of Wellington’s venues
•	Providing economic consultancy
Businesses and Organisations
Businesses and organisations are the main driving force behind the economy. They provide goods and services that people need or want – usually for a profit. In doing so, they create jobs for the community and add vibrancy to the city. Businesses add value to the economy by transforming inputs into higher value outputs. Businesses use their resources to innovate, improve efficiency, and achieve a purpose.
Overtime, expectations of businesses has changed, and they are now expected to address social, economic and ecological challenges. 
Businesses have a lot to offer to shift the economy to a circular economy that enables waste free, carbon free living and provides equal opportunities. Businesses have a huge influence of their local communities, but business cannot succeed where society fails. Their key role in influencing social and environmental outcomes through their economic activity is:
•	Providing a workplace that is safe and inclusive, and offers career development and progression
•	Influencing their supply chains for social and environmental good
•	Collaborating and innovating to solve complex problems
•	Providing fair and liveable wages
•	Engaging with communities and government to help address social and environmental issues that most align with their business

Our Economy
Wellington City is at the heart of the Greater Wellington region, and our economy is vital to the economic wellbeing of the region and to New Zealand as a whole. The city represents New Zealand’s most creative, productive and carbon efficient economic environment – two square kilometres of our CBD produced 6.4% of New Zealand's GDP in 2020. This compact, easily walkable central city is a huge strength for our economy, creativity, and lifestyle. Having a strong economy gives our communities choices and options to invest in their social, cultural, and environmental wellbeing. And if we fail to have a strong, productive economy we will end up debating how to redistribute a relatively declining income. 
Whilst central government and the public service forms a significant part of Wellington’s economy, it’s increasingly evolving to a more diverse, resilient economic mix, with strength in professional and financial services, digital technology, and creative industries. This concentration of creative businesses, including culinary offerings, entertainment, arts and culture, technology, innovation, education, scientific research, gaming and film, have underpinned a strong destination brand, aided by festivals, the arts and events. Wellington boasts a strong and diverse hospitality and retail sector, and a significant and increasing number of quality local food and beverage producers and purveyors. This in turn has led to strong business and leisure visitor numbers, which will be further enhanced when Tākina, the city’s new conference and exhibition centre, opens in 2023.  
Wellington is a great place to do business and is globally recognised for its progressive and creative economic evolution. As a nation we are recognised for high ethics standards, which creates trust in doing business. The World Bank ranks New Zealand as the easiest place to do business in the world, and Transparency International ranks New Zealand as equal least corrupt country in the world.  Wellington’s highly skilled population supports the creation of new businesses. New businesses are being established, at a faster rate than they are closing.  Many of these are small to medium enterprises and are focused on low-carbon knowledge-based industries. 
Larger organisations, the Government and state sector have provided stability for the Wellington economy – and public sector workers bolster the economy with their comparatively high earnings and their consumption of cultural products in their spare time. This stability contributes to the relatively strong position the city and economy has enjoyed for many years. The city has a relatively high productivity, and a well-educated and relatively well-paid workforce, with New Zealand’s highest proportion of people working in creative industries. Compared to the rest of New Zealand, Wellington has a comparative economic advantage in:
•	post-production services and other motion picture and video activities
•	business and professional services 
•	central government administration
•	superannuation funds
•	publishing (except software, music and internet)
•	museum operations.
Wellington’s economic growth over the past decade has been driven by four main industries: 
•	public administration and safety 
•	professional, scientific, and technical services 
•	financial and insurance services
•	information media and telecommunications.  
These pillars of growth are forecast to continue to make the biggest contribution to Gross Domestic Product (GDP) over the next decade. Central government and professional, scientific and technical services continue to be the biggest employers. 
Wellington City’s GDP by sector:
•	Public administration and safety – 15.2%
•	Professional, scientific and technical services – 13.9%
•	Financial and insurance services – 13.3%
•	Unallocated – 7.8%
•	Information media and telecommunications – 7.4%
•	Owner-occupied property operations – 5.7%
•	Manufacturing – 5.3%
•	Electricity, gas, water and waste services – 4.2%
•	Health care and social assistance – 4.1%
•	All others – 23%
Wellington City’s employment by sector:
•	Professional, scientific and technical services– 17.9%
•	Public administration and safety – 17%
•	Health care and social assistance – 7.9%
•	Education and training – 7.5%
•	Accommodation and food services – 7.1%
•	Financial and insurance services – 6.4%
•	Retail trade – 5.5%
•	Administrative and support services – 5.4%
•	Construction – 4.5%
•	All others – 20.9%
Our previous economic strategy (2011) aspired to create 10,000 jobs by 2015. We have achieved an additional 23,552 jobs by 2020, as shown below.
Industries which created the most jobs 2010-2020:
•	Public administration and safety – 7,382
•	Professional, scientific and technical services – 4,973
•	Accommodation and food services – 2,956
•	Health care and social assistance – 2,171
•	Education and training – 1,994
•	All other industries – 4,076
•	Total increase in employment – 23,552

The biggest contributors to growth in the past decade:
•	Public administration and safety – $1,139m
•	Professional, scientific and technical services – $1,026m
•	Financial and insurance services – $658m
•	Information media and telecommunications – $499m
•	Electricity, gas, water and waste services - $298m
•	All other industries – $2,380m
•	Total increase in GDP – $5,999m

Māori Economy
The Māori economy is an important part of the economy and is mostly interwoven within the general economy. Māori make up 8% of the population in Wellington City. 21 percent of Māori in the region are employed as professionals, compared to 16 percent of Māori nationwide. The (18–65-year-old) employment rate for Māori in Wellington is 68% compared to 70% for non- Māori. Wellington City’s non-Māori population has a relatively low self-employment rate of 17% (compared to 22% in NZ), while Māori self-employment is at 11% (compared to 10% across NZ). Māori in Wellington City have the highest levels of bachelor’s degree (25%) and post-Graduate qualifications (16%) compared with the rest of the region. 
Across the region the highest proportion of Māori work in Social Services (34%, 32% non-Māori), Retail Trade (22%, 20% non-Māori) and Business Services (22%, 30% non-Māori). There are slightly more Māori working in Manufacturing (7%, 5% non-Māori) and Primary industries (3%, 2% non-Māori).
Wellington has two iwi which both have resources and plans to play a bigger role in the region’s economy. There is an opportunity to embed the outcomes of Te Matarau a Māui: Collaborative Pathways to Prosperous Māori Futures to realise the region’s aspirations for the Māori economy at a city level.  Employment opportunities and skills development are both needed to promote the growth of the Māori economy. The goals of Te Matarau a Maui are high level, to allow flexibility and adaptability, and signals the start of a journey of discovery where Māori co-create, co-design and co-implement with other key players. We will work with Māori to foster ongoing progress in the Māori economy.  

Global Trends
Urban Migration
The world population continues to grow, albeit unevenly, and is expected to continue to grow until approximately the end of the Century. Migration from rural areas to cities remains strong, although there is indication that people are preferring the suburbs and provincial areas due to the increasing trend of working from home, and rising housing costs.
The appeal of smaller cities has grown in recent years as people opt for a different lifestyle, and to reduce their housing costs. This gives Wellington a potential advantage in attracting skilled, talented people, as we are a small and compact city, connected to the outdoors. Whilst this makes Wellington an attractive destination for international migrants, housing affordability is leading to an increasing number of people moving out to the regions.
Wellington’s population is made up of around one third born in Wellington, one third who migrated from within New Zealand, and one third who migrated here from overseas. As city migration continues, housing affordability and therefore inclusivity of being able to live in cities is becoming a global issue and is certainly the case in Wellington.
From Fixed to Flexible Working
Work-life balance and flexible work arrangements have been on the rise, and COVID-19 lockdowns have accelerated this trend as the world enforced a ‘work from home where possible’ experiment. There are benefits and opportunities associated with this trend, such as reduced carbon emissions, opportunities to convert office space into residential buildings and growth of suburban centres.  
However, the trend is presenting a challenge to the vitality of central city economies. Studies have found that most people prefer a hybrid of working at home and the office, but younger people have missed mentoring and networking opportunities. Wellington is no exception – our CBD is experiencing reduced footfall, while suburban centres have higher than usual retail spending. 
The challenge facing us is how to maintain the gains achieved in the suburbs and the Greater Wellington region while also rebuilding central city activity.
Zero Carbon and Zero Waste Economies and the Expansion of GDP to Wellbeing
Consumers and businesses have increasingly become more environmentally conscious, and the COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated this trend, resulting in a noticeable reduction in pollution. 
City leaders throughout the world are considering how they can achieve outcomes that are good for people, the environment, and the economy. This means products need to be designed to be reusable, repairable, recoverable and recyclable, and every aspect of an organisation needs to be considered, including transport choices, heating and cooling of buildings, and the supply chain. This approach presents a significant challenge, but it is essential for our zero carbon and zero waste aspirations. We must all play our part by influencing our supply chains and changing our consumption behaviour.
New Zealand’s Treasury has developed wellbeing indicators which align with the global movement towards considering social, cultural, and environmental outcomes as part of economic activities. This movement is highlighted through the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, the European Union’s shift towards a Wellbeing Economy, and the doughnut economics theory designed by Kate Raworth. Increasing consideration of wellbeing is about trying to identify how to sustainably meet the needs of all people within our planetary boundaries, while noting that the current global consumption patterns mean we are already beyond those boundaries. There is a clear desire and need for economies to become circular and to work within resource limits to be sustainable.
Moving Online – from Transactions to Experiences
Developing and emerging economies are shifting away from primary industries to higher value-add economic activities. Online shopping and service transactions have been trending upwards since the early 2000s, but the global COVID-19 pandemic (resulting in world-wide lockdowns) has accelerated this trend. Consumers are seeking more experiences (such as travel, dining, arts and culture, and entertainment) rather than products. Where consumers do want to purchase products and services in person, they are more focused on the experience. Tradeshows, workouts, education, and even travel (virtual reality) moved online during COVID-19 lockdowns. The traditional bricks and mortar shops are particularly impacted by the changing face of retail, although people do still want to touch and feel before they buy, which presents a great opportunity to build online presence while ensuring the physical retail experiences are enjoyable and memorable.
There has been an increasing focus on the consumption of time – time well-saved (such as from more efficient transactions) or time well-spent (such as from engaging or entertaining activities). Entertainment and hospitality business have really felt the pain during lockdowns, and some didn’t make it through while others are balancing on the edge of survival. Future investments must consider how the city will be experienced and create opportunities for businesses to thrive.
Corporate Social Responsibility
With greater choice and more information available for decision-making than ever before, consumers are more conscious of the impacts of their spending behaviours. Conscious consumers use their purchasing power to endorse businesses with environmental and social practices that align with their values. This shift in consumer demand is driving change at a corporate level, with more businesses seeking to actively demonstrate ethical and sustainable practices as a point of competitive advantage. Wellington has a few examples of social enterprises and businesses which are increasingly reinvesting their profits into social good, rather than simply delivering dividends to shareholders, such as Thankyou Payroll (an organisation that considers the social, environmental and business impact in their day-to-day decisions, are certified climate positive and provide free software for charities), and NISA (uses organic cotton and recycled nylon to make luxury underwear, and provides employment opportunities for refugees and migrants). Social and community responsibility is increasingly embedded in business outcomes, for example through sponsorship of community events, programmes and donations.

Engagement
Engagement Process
To help us develop this strategy, we endeavoured to understand the economic challenges and opportunities from a wide range of viewpoints. Over a two-year period, we engaged with more than 40 different organisations, groups, and individuals, including business groups and individual businesses, from retailers and hospitality to digital tech, finance and property development. We also met with students, young professionals, education providers, and Councils in the region; and engaged with the Council’s advisory groups, and central government.
We specifically asked whether this new strategy should focus on post-COVID-19 recovery or address longer-term challenges and opportunities. There was overwhelming support for not just dealing with the challenges of today but looking into the future – and we agree.
High-level issues include the cost of housing, transport congestion and reliability, skills gaps and climate change. 
Finally, we formally consulted with the community in March and April 2022. Feedback from this consultation has helped to shape the final strategy. The overwhelming message from the community was to do more to activate the city and drive a circular economy, alongside getting our housing and infrastructure sorted.
Challenges and Opportunities
The following provides a detailed look at the key themes raised in the conversation we’ve had through our engagement. 
City Liveability
Our strong sense of place – Wellington often ranks highly as one of the most liveable cities in the world. Wellington’s access to nature, biodiversity, cultural offerings, and its compact design and strong café culture, offers a great sense of place and identity, and a high quality of life. This is a place where you can work, live and play all in one day. We love our easy access to natural amenities such as mountain biking and walking tracks, swimming in the harbour and surfing at Lyall Bay – so close we can access before during and after work. This is an internationally unique offering that attracts talent, businesses and students to the city.
Our city values inclusiveness and diversity – We’ve heard that Wellington is seen as an inclusive place where people can come to find themselves and learn how to be themselves comfortably. We have a variety of ethnicities and a strong programme of cultural festivals to celebrate this. Our people are proud to be unique and spirited while enjoying the opportunities the city provides.
We have close engagement with all parts of our community and advisory groups that support us to understand how we can do better. Disabled people have told us it is difficult to get around. Sandwich boards placed on the footpath, lack of ramps and level entries to access buildings, and lifts and signage without braille, all make it harder to access our city. Tactile markers and a clear wide path would make it easier to walk through the city and access our green spaces. 
People with disabilities have asked for improvements to our infrastructure to meet basic needs. We have heard there is a need for more accessible bathrooms that suit wheelchair users, and ‘Changing Places’ facilities for people with complex needs. The Rainbow community has asked for adequate gender-neutral bathrooms, and young families want to see more baby change facilities that are also gender-neutral. 
Our young people have described future Wellingtonians as people who feel safe, enjoy the natural environment, kōrero Te Reo, and live and play close to work. Different marginalised groups want safe inclusive spaces and opportunities where they can be themselves and participate in learning and employment. This might mean offering services for specific groups.
Housing affordability and city safety – We’ve also heard that many students, young people and low to medium income earners, including creatives, are struggling to access affordable and quality housing in the city. For these people, more money is going into housing costs and less into participating in other activities the city has to offer for a high-quality life, so people are moving further out of the city to the region and beyond. Businesses are concerned that housing affordability is contributing to staff shortages. We have also seen increasing homelessness and use of emergency housing, and perceived safety concerns in the CBD. The Council has responded to this by partnering with Government, business and social agencies through the Pōneke Promise. Property developers also say that the consenting process is part of the problem for housing affordability.
Our Built Environment – The Kaikōura earthquake response has sped up the process of strengthening and rebuilding the city. This is contributing significantly to the very high level of construction activity in Wellington and will continue to do so for some years. It is notable that Wellington City Council and the business and residential communities are doing this work in advance to reduce the human, physical and financial impacts of future major earthquakes without national funding, as was required following the Canterbury earthquakes. However, we have heard from many businesses that the temporary closure of buildings (including several prominent Council buildings and venues, notably Te Ngākau Civic Square) has impacted city vibrancy. The Courtenay Place entertainment precinct has become less vibrant and is perceived to be less safe.  Wellington is known for its independent stores and compact shopping experiences, but ground floor retail is under pressure because of the COVID-19 pandemic and the related loss of international visitors and increasing online shopping. Working from home has significantly reduced footfall in the city, significantly decreasing business activities and while the loss of venues from the earthquakes have impacted on the number of things to see and do in the CBD. A strong events programme has been significantly impacted by COVID-19 restrictions. Now that the borders have reopened the events programme will return, adding to the vibrancy of the city. 
Access to Skills and Capital
Wellington City boasts skilled residents with higher-than-average incomes – We have the nation’s most educated population and renowned education institutions, and we have a thriving entrepreneurial population. We have a large knowledge-based economy with central government, professional services, digital technology, the creative sector, and financial services making up a significant proportion of our economy. 
Our competitive advantage – As the capital city of New Zealand, we are the home of central government and the core public service. We are also home to many Crown Research Institutes and professional service organisations that contribute to the public sector. Wellington is arguably best known for its creativity. The city boasts many national and local arts and culture institutions. We have world leading expertise in film and game development, and a large cluster of successful creative, digital companies known for innovation and sector disruption. Many people within the business community comment on Wellington’s collaborative, creative, and supportive business environment that actively supports entrepreneurs and start-ups. New Zealand’s public entities are committed to enabling innovation and development, through collaboration and partnering with businesses. The Wellington community regards diversity as an advantage for economic development, as well as being a social strength.
Our talent pool – We have a significantly higher proportion of 19–30-year-olds but a lower proportion of 30–65-year-olds, indicating that this group is choosing to buy a home and have a family in the wider region or elsewhere in the country. Businesses are telling us they are losing younger talent to larger employment centres, both nationally and globally. We have heard that skills shortages in the city (and in the country as a whole) have become more severe due to the increased competition resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic and closed borders. We are also lacking clear career pathways and pipelines of talent coming though for many industries in the city.
Some employers have told us that many graduates are not work-ready, and students are feeling unclear about what to do next once they have completed their studies. There is a desire to attract domestic and international students and talent to the city’s tertiary institutions and businesses to fill skills gaps in the short term. Addressing skills gaps is a core element of iwi strategy and Te Matarau a Māui. There is a significant opportunity to nurture talent by working collaboratively with Māori through the Council’s procurement policy and other initiatives. The feedback we have received so far includes a strong desire to look after Wellingtonians in need of opportunities by:
•	identifying pathways from training to employment
•	understanding, communicating and building sustainable career pathways
•	supporting young employees to develop and grow their skills in their workplaces. 
It is important to have a pipeline of talent entering our workforce, equipped with the skills needed for the economy of today and the future, to reinforce our economy.
Access to Capital – We are also aware of the challenges for businesses (particularly for start-up and scale-up businesses) to access capital for operation and growth. Businesses have asked for more assistance to identify and overcome barriers to accessing capital and for taking the risk to start a business. 
Infrastructure and Disruption
As our population continues to grow, we expect to see more people living and working in the city. We need to manage the additional pressure population growth puts on the city’s resources and ensure the city has the infrastructure expected of a modern, internationally competitive city. This requires significant infrastructure investment to ensure it is fit for purpose, reliable and resilient. 
Transport and water resilience – Many of the region’s jobs are in Wellington City, and a growing proportion of the city’s workforce are housed beyond the city’s boundaries, as residential growth has slowed in Wellington City and accelerated in regional areas. The Council’s planned transport and water infrastructure investment in the CBD is anticipated to cause further disruption to businesses in the years ahead. Businesses have asked for certainty about what to expect so they can plan for it, as well as involvement in delivery to minimise disruption.
We have heard that greater regional coordination and communication regarding infrastructure and housing is required to ensure Wellington and the region’s businesses have confidence to invest and supply jobs for the population growth projections. In 2021 a Regional Leadership Group was established to advocate for and coordinate growth and economic activities. This Group includes all nine Mayors of Wellington region plus Horowhenua, the Chair of Greater Wellington Regional Council, relevant Cabinet Ministers, and iwi representatives. 
A central city neighbourhood – Wellington’s inner-city population has grown over the last 25 years. People living in the central city have requested that the central city is also thought about as our largest residential neighbourhood. For residents this means a vibrant mix of businesses including retail, hospitality, entertainment, services and green spaces. We have heard a desire for the Central City to be more family friendly and are investing in new and improved green spaces and playgrounds.
Our Venues and Facilities – Our venues infrastructure includes the Convention and Exhibition Centre Tākina (due to be completed early 2023), and existing venues such as Sky Stadium, St James Theatre (reopening in 2022 after strengthening), the Opera House, the Town Hall (reopening 2023/24 after restrengthening), the Michael Fowler Centre, TSB Arena, Shed 6, and a planned new performance and rehearsal venue. These venues enable the important arts, cultural, and economic conference and events activities that our city relies upon for its vitality and reputation as a great place to live, work, play and visit. We have heard that our venues need to be repaired and reopened as soon as possible to provide more opportunities. Many of the venues need modernising to meet the needs of the entertainers. That work is well advanced. Te Matapihi Central Library is also an important facility providing a ‘third space’ for liveability.
Working from home and city centre footfall – Technology continues to change how our economy functions. The ability to complete many of our day-to-day tasks online has created greater flexibility and choice around where people work, live, and socialise. Further disruption has been caused by the COVID-19 lockdowns – our CBD has experienced a 10-22% decrease in pedestrian footfall with the rapid uptake in working from home. Despite the decreased footfall, Wellington City’s GDP per capita increased 4.5% from 2019 to 2020 and retail trade increased 7.4% – although this hasn’t been consistent across the retail sector or all locations in the city.
More people are meeting their daily needs closer to home, which is changing patterns of demand in central city areas. It appears the change is here to stay. The role of our central city is changing from a place where people must come to make transactions, such as purchases and using services, to a place where people can choose to come for experiences, such as entertainment, dining, and social contact. This is a key challenge for this strategy, to identify the future for our central city and suburban centres and actions necessary to deliver that outcome. 
Social Impacts and Climate Change 
Environmental impacts must be respected – Over the past thirty years we have developed a proud record of World leadership in ecological restoration, through a remarkable and ongoing restoration of the City’s natural environment. In 2021 The Economist rated Wellington the number one city in the World for environmental security. 
The biggest reductions in emissions will be achieved through the urban form of our city, how we get around, and how we reduce and manage waste.
Many of the region’s economic and personal activities have a widely acknowledged negative impact on the environment. Governments, councils, iwi, businesses, and communities all need to take action to slow the progress of climate change and reverse negative impacts on the environment. Businesses and communities have repeatedly told us that this cannot be ignored. 
The social, environmental, economic and financial costs to the city of not acting on climate change are significant. In comparison, a city that quickly transitions to a low, and in turn zero, carbon and waste economy will have a competitive advantage in the years ahead, as a place where skilled workers, students and progressive businesses want to be based. We have heard how proud Wellingtonians are of our low carbon city. The ability to live a low carbon low waste lifestyle is increasingly important and a factor in where businesses and people decide to locate. 
Our citizens are conscious consumers – Wellingtonians are actively supporting businesses that can demonstrate sustainable and ethical practices. In Wellington we have a large community of socially conscious enterprises which are already building a circular economy. 
Māori customs in business – Māori businesses have asked for a different approach to Local Council and central government procurement that is more inclusive of Māori customs such as relationship building, while also providing assistance to participate in formal tendering processes.
Complexities and Costs of Doing Business
Increasing costs of doing business – Businesses and property owners have raised concerns about the increasing costs of doing business. These costs include insurance and rates for the property sector, regulatory costs, and start-up costs. These increasing costs may stifle investment and operations if they are not well managed. As mentioned previously, businesses find it challenging to access the capital they need to progress beyond the start-up stage. Businesses and property owners also feel the legislative and regulatory constraints are adding to the costs of doing business.
Business resilience is being challenged – COVID-19 has had a material impact on the viability of many businesses. The ongoing response to, and recovery from, the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted every part of the economic system, from the dynamics of immigration to tourism, logistics and financial industries, and we’ve already noted the impact on working patterns. Border closures mean international tourism is non-existent and domestic visitor numbers are only partially compensating for this. Many businesses are also struggling with skills shortages, particularly those sectors which have traditionally relied on international migrants.
Council responsiveness – Some businesses and property owners have raised concerns about the time it takes to get the Council decisions they need before they can make an investment decision and would like to see the Council improve its timeliness and relationship management. Others would like to see more services and assistance for small businesses by connecting businesses with people, tools and knowledge, and helping them to transition to future business models and systems. The film sector has praised the Council for the ease in which they are able to get permits for filming – which is a competitive advantage for this sector. We are currently working with the hospitality sector to enhance the use of pedestrian pavements and in part to enable social distancing, although the alcohol legislation is a limiting factor.

The Strategy

Economic Wellbeing Strategy – Responding to the challenges
This strategy is intended for the Council, the region’s economic development agency Wellington NZ and the businesses and people of the city. 
The Vision for Economic Wellbeing in Wellington
Vision: Wellington is a dynamic city with a resilient and innovative and low waste, low carbon circular economy that provides opportunities for all and protects and regenerates our environment.
Outcomes for Economic Wellbeing
While we have ambitious economic goals for Wellington, we are conscious that we need to set a clear and specific direction. This strategy identifies six strategic outcomes for the city to focus on for the next 10 years. This ensures our economic funds are directed towards the most effective activities.
Based on engagement with our communities, we have outlined why each outcome is important and what it means, our approach and actions to achieve it, and how success will be measured under each of the outcomes. See the Appendix for the more detailed action plan. 
The overarching measure of success is to have a strong performing economy that also delivers equity, environmental regeneration and sustainability.
We want to achieve six outcomes.
•	Outcome 1: Sustainable Business and Career Pathways
•	Outcome 2: Transitioning to a Zero Carbon Circular Economy
•	Outcome 3: A Business-Friendly City 
•	Outcome 4: Centre of Creativity and Digital Innovation 
•	Outcome 5: Celebrate our Capital City Status 
•	Outcome 6: A Dynamic City Heart and Thriving Suburban Centres  
The outcomes are critically influenced by city liveability, infrastructure and building resilience. It is important to recognise critical influences that are essential foundations for economic success in cities – things like reliable infrastructure, safety, the ability to live a high quality of life and housing.
These areas are important to the success of the Economic Wellbeing Strategy and are being progressed through other Council strategies and plans. They are noted within the most relevant outcome, as many of the aspects were raised by businesses and communities and are vital to the overall success of the economy. 

Outcome 1: Sustainable Business and Career Pathways
We aim to enable Wellingtonians to have equal opportunities to find meaningful, fairly paid and inclusive work
Why is this important?
Continuing to offer the best city for students is a factor in attracting and retaining young people in the city, for employment, creativity, and innovation. As a city we are good at attracting skilled migrants and students due to our city’s great tertiary providers, walkability, entertainment offerings and overall quality of life, but we don’t always manage to convert them into long-term Wellingtonians. Housing costs and job opportunities are the main barriers. We want our city’s businesses to easily access people with skills, experience, and knowledge they need to drive productivity and innovation. And we want people (particularly young people) to be able to see their future career paths and opportunities in the city.
With a culture of focusing on hiring experienced staff, some students are struggling to find their first job after education (both secondary and tertiary). Concurrently there’s a shortage of employees with intermediate level skills. It’s a consistent theme across many sectors in Wellington including hospitality, construction, digital technology, research, policy, and screen. Some employers have said that young people are not work ready when they emerge from education. Nation-wide there are a growing number of young people not in education, employment or training (12.3%) but for Wellington this sits lower at 6.7% in 2021 (up from 6.3% in 2020). The number of people in Wellington that are underutilised has been increasing since 2017 from 9.4% peaking at 10.2% in early 2021, and positively has since decreased to 9% at the end of Quarter 1 2022. It is important that we think about long term solutions that support our own people into employment. As a city we have a collective responsibility to develop the talent pipeline in each industry and ensure students are work ready.
The city’s talent shortage has increased in severity because of the COVID-19 pandemic, with the closure of our national borders significantly affecting the city’s access to migrant labour. This highlights numerous skills gaps that must be addressed to enable our businesses and economy to reach its full potential. 
Furthermore, people with disabilities continue to be underemployed and unemployed, and despite unemployment dropping for the wider population, unemployment for people with disabilities has remained unchanged. In the greater Wellington region, 22% are disabled, which equates to an estimated 114,000 people. These percentages are even higher for Māori when considering age adjustment, with 32% of Māori adults represented in disability data. Women, Rainbow communities, and ethnic minorities are all also marginalised and face issues in employment. This is a significant proportion of our population who are skilled and capable workers but often overlooked. It is important that we collectively break down barriers and change collective attitudes.

Our Approach
Facilitate connections and collaboration between Wellington City Council, employers, educators and others
We need to enable kōrero between employers and educators in Wellington City to identify skills gaps, and to develop collaborative approaches to closing them. We can assist businesses and educators where intervention is needed and can advocate to influence central government regarding its policies. A cohesive Wellington City voice will be represented at the Regional Skills Leadership Group (RSLG), but this group will only focus on sectors that are regionally significant. We know that trades have been undervalued, and there are critical shortages in the health and tech sectors, and we have heard the need for more coherent film sector training and clearer career paths in the film sector including the need for producer training. We must also prioritise construction, digital tech, healthcare, engineering, and hospitality, and collaborate across the region where regionally relevant. 
Building a strong relationship between the Tertiary Education Institutes and the city can assist in achieving good outcomes for the providers, students, and employers. We must connect the people within the education system such as academics, teachers and students with employers to facilitate the development of the right education programmes which enable students to gain the right skills for successful employment and career development. We must build trusting relationships that enable commitment to crafting education that delivers skilled workers for current and future jobs. Internships are a great way to create connections and develop skills. Additionally, it is beneficial to work together with academics and city staff to achieve changes in social, cultural, environmental and economic outcomes for the city through sharing of the most current knowledge and research.
Additionally, as technology and other labour market influences evolve, future jobs will look different to what they do today, and we will need the skills to contribute to a circular economy that keep materials in circulation including reuse, repair, remanufacture, and recycling. These jobs will come in many forms, such as science and engineering, digital technology, logistics, and manual labour. Ensuring sustainable career pathways and the ability to evolve as systems change will require enabling the provision of opportunities for lifelong learning (such as short courses and on-the-job development) and recognising online learning and micro credentials. Each industry will need to have clear career pathways and development opportunities, including the need for skills and knowledge in environmental and social outcomes across all industries. 
Facilitate and enable rangatahi, young people and the disabled community into sustainable and fulfilling careers
A key feature of sustainable career pathways involves the encouragement of hiring and developing local people and supporting local people to thrive. Everyone needs to at least earn a living wage. We must consider how to implement a ‘train local, employ local’ approach and enable young people to progress in their careers and into leadership, including by embracing young people’s creative ideas to deliver improvements and change. This is about Nurturing Human Nature – the Third Way of Doughnut Economics Thinking and delivers on the social foundations of education, income & work, and social equity. All employers in the city must take responsibility to nurture and develop our young people and enable successful career progression. This means mapping career pathways, understanding development needs, and giving people the opportunity to get started and maintain their careers. It also means paying decent wages to attract and retain staff and maintain diversity of employment opportunities.
We will work with mana whenua and the Ministry of Social Development (MSD) to facilitate rangatahi, young people and disabled people into sustainable and fulfilling careers, with a focus on sectors with skills shortages. We will participate in the education sector early interventions initiatives such as working with schools from primary upwards to share new ideas about career options, and encourage employers to engage with the curriculum, connect with trainees and graduates, and identify career pathways and ongoing development opportunities within their own organisations.
As an employer, the Council will lead by example to contribute to the delivery of sustainable career pathways. For example, Wellington Water has opened an Infrastructure Skills Centre in conjunction with Fulton Hogan to help people take their first step into working on water infrastructure. Through this approach, learners earn while they are upskilled and then have access to job opportunities when they graduate.
Encourage safe and inclusive workplace environments
To address the gaps in employment opportunities for marginalised groups such as the disabled, rainbow, women, Māori, Pacific, and other ethnic minority communities, we must encourage changing attitudes and breaking down barriers. It means providing knowledge and capability development for organisations across the city to ensure they understand how to provide the welcoming environment, wage equality, and other support that may be needed to build their own understanding of their workplace culture. It may require external input and advice, staff discussions, and changing expectations.
This is about organisations being culturally responsive within the workplace, understanding their people and the things that make them feel included or excluded, safe or unsafe. It’s also about taking a wellbeing approach to staff, and recognising different people have different experiences that can impact their physical and mental wellbeing. 
These approaches also go a long way towards retaining existing staff and attracting new. Happy and healthy staff are also more likely to remain loyal, more productive, and creative. Which is all good for business.
We are encouraging employers and employees to challenge their workplace practices and attitudes and review approaches to employment and workplace culture.
Critical Influences
Addressing housing affordability, supply and quality
Attracting and retaining talent often comes down to the liveability of a city and affordability of housing. We are at risk of losing the perspectives and creativity younger people bring to industries due to the prohibitive cost of housing. Many young people and low-income earners are struggling to make Wellington their home due to the lack of affordable housing. To support our environmental and social goals, we must provider denser affordable housing in walking or cycling distance to employment or public transport. In dense cities you need mixed-use activity, neighbourhood spaces, local quiet spaces, and common green spaces, especially where there are many apartments without backyards. 
Housing is a critical factor in enabling people to live work and play in Wellington. Our population profile indicates that people leave Wellington in the 30-to-40-year age bracket, the age most people want to buy a house and start a family. Many people in the Wellington community have told us that people are leaving because they can’t afford to live here, or they can’t find a place to live. Wellington is becoming a place affordable only to those on higher incomes. If this trend continues, Wellington will continue to struggle to fill roles at all income levels and skill types. We also have an increasing homelessness problem which is more complex, and the council has a Homelessness Strategy to address this. Regardless, housing quality and supply requires an equitable and inclusive approach. 
When people’s housing needs are met, they can fully participate in social and economic activity. We have a vision of ‘all Wellingtonians are well housed’, where all residents in Wellington can live in good quality affordable homes that meet their needs (refer Housing Strategy). 
Housing supply is being enabled through the Spatial Plan, District Plan, and our Housing Strategy and will be enabled through the Let’s Get Wellington Moving (LGWM) programme. This is a significant opportunity to deliver the right housing in the right locations, whilst minimising the negative effects of growth on our environment. The private sector provides most of the housing supply, and we must develop new approaches to raising the quality of our existing housing stock and increasing the supply of affordable housing – particularly for essential workers in our health, education and service sectors and talent that supports local companies to thrive. We want to encourage safe, well-built apartments and stable housing for different community groups – encouraging universal design that improves accessibility. Co-housing and collective housing are potential opportunities for more inclusive affordable housing, and development of smaller retirement appropriate housing will free up housing space. The Council has already opened the first of a targeted 1000 apartment conversions through our Te Kāinga Affordable Rental Programme. 
More consideration and partnerships are needed to provide accommodation for other low wage workers and students. To accelerate this, we may need to investigate establishing a delivery entity for urban development and LGWM, and potentially a partnership with tertiary education providers.
An attractive place to live
Housing affordability is only one part of the picture when it comes to attracting and retaining talent. Our city also needs to have the ability for people to live close to where they work, things to see and do, green spaces, and good public and active transport infrastructure. These are addressed in Outcome 6: A dynamic city heart and thriving suburban centres.
Priority Actions
•	Career Matching – Connecting educators and employers to develop the right skills for the city and provide opportunities for students gain experience.
•	Practice what we preach – Ensure the council’s procurement strategies, career pathways, sustainability practices and activity programmes are supporting the delivery of the Economic Wellbeing Strategy, including leading by example to break down barriers to employment.

What success looks like
Description	Measures	
Employment opportunities for all	•	Unemployment of disability sector 	
Students are supported to shift from education to employment	•	Number of NEETs – declining trend 
•	Unemployment rate – decreasing trend 
•	Underutilisation rate – decreasing trend	
Employers are well-connected to primary, secondary and tertiary education	•	Number of employers actively involved in Inspiring the Futures, Secondary Transitions, and Tertiary Education programmes – increasing trend	
Our city’s businesses can access the skills, experience, and knowledge they need to drive productivity and innovation	•	Businesses can attract and retain talent – business perception survey	
Increasing diversity of work / roles / careers available in the city	•	Economic diversity (HHI sector diversity) – increasing diversity	
People choose to live here and can have successful and meaningful careers	•	Inward migration – increasing trend 
•	Number of houses under construction / housing affordability improving 
•	Number of people staying in Wellington (30-65yo) – increasing trend
•	Mean individual earnings – increasing trend	
Critical skills shortages are identified and being addressed	•	We understand skills shortages for different sectors

Case Study 1: The tight-knit company using values to drive growth
The founders behind Hnry – the thriving accounting firm serving Australasia’s gig economy – have gone from strength to strength because of their location, they reckon. Now they’re keen to give back to the city that has served them. 
In many senses, Londoner James Fuller fell into the classic Kiwi love story. His wife Claire was doing her big OE in London when they met. They worked at the same firm, and before long they were shacked up with a baby, dreaming of settling in Wellington. 
“Clare grew up here,” he says. “We always came back to Wellington for holidays, and it was everyone’s happy place. As soon as I got off the plane, I was at home.”
They made the big move in 2012 – and some huge successes were on the horizon for the couple. Fresh in the city, they did their time at different firms, and it was when James was self-employed that he tinkered around creating a system to help him do his taxes. Just like that Hnry was born. James is the Chief Executive of what is now a 50-strong company, and Claire is the Chief Operating Office. 
“It’s really cool to have a tech start-up in Silicon Welly. Claire and I would never have founded Hnry if we’d lived somewhere else – it just wouldn’t have felt possible. When you’re around people that have an endless sense of possibility and opportunity, it’s infectious.”
Retaining company culture amidst a pandemic
Despite their rapid growth – in February they secured USD16 million in investment funding to expand – the pandemic has been hard on company culture. 
“We’ve always had a big culture of working together and collaborating as a business. It was quite difficult when we went into lockdown. We got a decrease in productivity – everyone missed working with each other and missed the vibe of being in a scaling business and collaborating every day.”
Staff still have the option to work from home, but many prefer the camaraderie they get from being together in the office, a beautifully designed open space in the heart of the CBD. But the city, James says, is dying at the government end where they’re located. 
“The hardest thing for us is the impact that the empty city has had on the vibrancy of our own office. As a citizen of Wellington, you need to feed and water your city. It’s not going to be there if you leave it in a cupboard and walk away. It’s going to die. We all need to do our part in being citizens of the city.” 
There’s a dangerous knock-on effect of embedding a WFH culture in our city, James says. He points to companies overseas viewing our WFH populations as cheap labour they can capitalise on – which will only reduce our local labour force. James thinks of his friends back home in London, who have no company culture – they only have to point their laptop at a different company, that might offer better pay, and move on.
Live your values, and the people will come
James attributes Hnry’s success to their company culture and lived values. Any candidates for jobs need to demonstrate values around fairness, doing the right thing, and being respectful. 
“I’m excited about doubling or tripling the size of the company but still maintaining those values. We don’t hire people just to put bums on seats – we’re employing them because they already embody our values.” 
Thinking ahead to Wellington’s future, and the future of his growing business, James is excited about the burgeoning tech community, start-up to scale-up businesses and education sector, which create the perfect microcosm of creativity and innovation. 
“How does Wellington accentuate the things that it already does really well? We should be looking forward instead of looking backward and wondering what we don’t have. We have an amazing community and economy supporting so many businesses, entrepreneurs and creatives, and government workers. In Wellington, if you’ve got ideas, people say ‘oh, you should totally go and do that, and here’s how I can help you.’” 
With so much support behind them, they’re now paying it forward to the next generation of tech start-ups.

Outcome 2: Transitioning to a Zero Carbon Circular Economy
We aim to be regenerative by design
Why is this important?
Wellingtonians are proud of the city’s achievements in biodiversity and the transition to a low carbon economy. However, there is still more to do as outlined in Te Atakura – First to Zero Strategy, and the Regional Waste Management and Minimisation Plan. We want to create a further step change by transitioning to a circular economy, and by moving quickly the city will have a competitive advantage and attract people to live in, visit, and set up business in the city. The circular economy aims to decouple growth from finite resource consumption and has the potential for positive employment opportunities. The pandemic has demonstrated social inequalities, and environmental impacts as well as the risks of lengthy supply chains on economic resilience, particularly for small business. We have a role to play in enabling more localised, diversified and distributed production.
Two of the 7 Ways of Doughnut economics thinking is to be “regenerative by design” and “think in systems”. This means sharing, repairing, regenerating, stewarding and being climate smart, as well as experimenting, learning, adapting and aiming for continuous improvement. As Wellington City Council, we want to ensure we are leading by example, and collaborating and supporting others to achieve our ambitious goals for the environment. We have heard that it is challenging to establish recycling, repair and reuse facilities when the option of landfill is far cheaper and easier for people. By all stakeholder groups working together, we can design and implement new solutions to waste management which will leave our environment in a healthier state and reduce the city’s carbon footprint. We already have several organisations and businesses delivering regenerative outcomes such as kai composting, and waste recirculation. It requires expanding the scope of sourcing considerations and being innovative.
We will enable, encourage and promote taking responsibility for environmental, social and cultural impacts to build an economy that is regenerative, inclusive and promotes equality.
However, the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) has resulted in companies trading emissions rather than taking real climate change action. We’re advocating for the ETS to change. The Climate Commission report Ināia tonu nei: a low emissions future for Aotearoa provides policy direction to deliver strong market incentives to drive low emissions choices.

Our Approach
Enable a circular economy through zero waste, zero carbon initiatives and capability development 
Zero waste and emissions reduction strategies will enable the transition to a circular economy and contribute to economic wellbeing. Wellington City Council has already prioritised this through our long-term Smart City 2040 strategy, Te Atakura First to Zero Strategy and contribution to the Regional Waste Management and Minimisation Plan. Living beyond our planetary means is threatening how safely the planet can function. A circular economy must be embraced around the world to reach climate and sustainability targets. This means using less raw materials, extending the life of resources, regenerating resources, and designing for recyclability. We will work with businesses and sectors to better understand and enable the transition to a circular economy. Sectors with high carbon/waste footprints, such as building and manufacturing, will be a priority, but all businesses and organisations have a part to play. Environmental outcomes can be delivered through partnerships, influencing supply chains, product design, high quality recycling, reusing materials, designing for collective use, and avoiding unnecessary use, to name a few. 
In addition to transitioning our services and infrastructure to enable a circular economy, we’ll aid businesses in the form of capability development programmes and knowledge sharing to help businesses transition to a circular economy.
Enabling and supporting the development of the emerging zero waste ecosystem in Wellington will form the foundation for the circular economy. Many enterprises and organisations are already piloting innovative systems, processes, tools, techniques and behaviour change programmes and could expand and replicate with the right tools and support. A strong network of local Zero Waste Hubs could form the backbone of this ecosystem, combining reuse, repair, recycling, composting, product stewardship takeback, behaviour change and community engagement. There are local projects that are already bringing the circular economy to life in communities across Aotearoa and could make much faster progress with systemic support. The relationship between local scale zero waste initiatives and social, environmental, cultural and local economic benefits are well established. The 61 members of the Zero Waste Network Aotearoa use a community enterprise business model to deliver resource recovery and behaviour change services. They collectively employ 1200 FTE, turn over $75m and recover 35,000 tonnes of resources each year.
Facilitate the social dimension of a circular economy
A circular economy also recognises the social impacts and develops ways to be socially responsible. For example, improved social outcomes can be achieved through living wages and ethical purchasing, and design for affordability. Procurement can provide broader value beyond the things being procured; it can drive social and public value, building local eco-systems and community resilience. A study in Australia quantified that for every social procurement dollar spent, it generated $4.41 social return on investment. Social procurement is about deriving greater value with the same amount of spend.
The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted inequalities, with Māori and Pasifika communities being disproportionately affected. We can enable sustainable and meaningful career opportunities in the Māori and Pasifika economies and for the creative sector, for women, disabled communities and others, while also realising social and environmental outcomes, through the way the Council, its Council Controlled Organisations (CCOs) and partners undertake procurement. In 2021 the Council adopted a procurement strategy that acknowledges our responsibility to ensure good public value and enable the long-term wellbeing of our communities including, health and safety, cultural equity, supporting local and regional businesses, social equity, and encouraging innovation. Businesses, central government and the Council can all use their procurement processes to contribute to wider social outcomes including Māori business aspirations, as articulated in Te Matarau a Māui. This can be achieved through actions such as breaking contracts into parts, providing opportunities for smaller enterprises to work with us; providing a 30-year plan for investment to signal the resources and capabilities required by us over the medium and long term; forming longer-term relationships with contractors to provide the certainty required to undertake investment in equipment and capability; developing relationships with local Māori/Pasifika businesses; hiring local; and building an ecosystem of Māori and Pasifika businesses.
Promote Wellington businesses to attract investment, spending, and tourism that delivers a circular economy
Promoting our city is important for attracting investment, tourism, and talent. Tourism and investment both bring new money into our economy and help build a stronger ecosystem for our local businesses. As the country’s borders reopen, we want to encourage a new future for tourism that is sustainable, climate-friendly, and socially responsible, and provides significant benefits to the city and region. We also want to encourage investment in our core strengths of innovation and creativity, particularly in science and digital technology, in ways that encourage and contribute to a circular economy approach – designing out waste and pollution.
Hospitality is part of Wellington’s culture and an important characteristic for city vibrancy and visitor experience. Hospitality offers a way of celebrating Wellington, through locally sourced produce, and has significant potential to contribute to a regenerative quality of life. And indeed, all sectors can achieve this by looking at their activities and identifying alternative ways of delivering their goods and services.
The Wellington Destination Management Plan (Destination Pōneke) promotes a regenerative tourism approach, considering our role in spreading the peak tourism load in New Zealand, managing environmental impacts, and delivering social and cultural gains. While larger organisations have the resources to change, many smaller and medium sized businesses struggle to shift from good intentions to action. WellingtonNZ has successfully delivered a trial programme to assist in building capability, where businesses discovered they could make meaningful change. We need to consider how best to roll this out further.
Being a connected city is incredibly important in attracting/retaining talent & businesses, in driving visitation to the city, in encouraging international students to study in Wellington, and supporting many of the attractions and events the city hosts. Regional growth projections and planning identify up to 250,000 additional residents over the next 30 years and the region will need to generate an additional 100,000 jobs. Good transport networks and connections by road, rail and air helps with making it easier to live, visit, and do business. The majority of visitors travelling to and from New Zealand travel by air, and travel between the North and South Island is also significantly air travel. The climate change commission notes that aviation will continue to play an important role in New Zealand’s transport network. We recognise that the airport is a critical piece of infrastructure not only for the city, but for the region and lower North Island. The aviation sector will transition to more sustainable technology over the next 10 to 20 years, particularly at the Wellington airport where short distances are common. We will work with WellingtonNZ and Wellington Airport to improve connectivity, grow services to support the growing population and economy, while also reducing the impact on the environment. 
Critical Influences
Transforming our transport system and social spaces
To respond to the challenges of climate change, we need to fundamentally change the ways Wellingtonians live in and move around the city. It’s about enabling good social, environmental and economic outcomes by providing the infrastructure and services to live a lifestyle that is healthy for people and the environment and enables businesses to reduce their carbon emissions. Our capital works programme is driving climate and ecological emergency response outcomes. This investment will enable higher density living; reliable, accessible, zero carbon transport networks; and resilient and reliable water services, to enable the city to provide the services for our people now and in the future by ensuring a compact, resilient, vibrant, and greener Wellington city to live, work and play. Wellington City Council has a key role to play in facilitating behaviour change in our transport, housing, and waste systems. 
We will reclaim streets for people by pedestrianising some streets, providing safe cycling facilities, enabling efficient public transport that connects locals and visitors, and reducing central city traffic. We will balance the loss of parking by maximising existing parking availability – this means ensuring we use the right communication channels, and maximise the use of remaining parking spaces, recognising that some business types will continue to need delivery vehicles, and customer parking. Spatial planning to accommodate different activities will be crucial. Wayfinding to help visitors and locals to find their way around is also important for a stress-free experience of our city. Options to promote a great transport experience are being delivered through our transport programmes, Bike Network Plan, Let’s Get Wellington Moving, Green Network Plan and partnering with operators of off-street parking facilities. 
Embed accessibility and inclusion practices in infrastructure and services 
Accessibility and inclusion are important to ensure equal access to participation in social and economic activities. We need our streets to have tactile pavers and smooth kerb crossings to facilitate safe crossing for disabled, elderly pedestrians and people using pushchairs. Footpaths need to be kept clear and wide. We should also advocate for free or low-cost public transport for students and the disability sector (a critical human rights issue to enable equal access to services and jobs). Bathrooms need to facilitate inclusion by offering accessible, family-friendly and complex needs changing places and gender-neutral facilities. Digital inclusion and accessibility are also important to ensure no one is left behind. These are all important for enabling people to successfully participate in social and economic activities, and are included in our Accessible Wellington Action Plan, to be delivered through facilities and infrastructure upgrade projects.
Transitioning to circular waste systems
We also need to consider how we can invest in better waste management systems to facilitate a circular economy. The Council has contributed to and is actively delivering the Regional Waste Management and Minimisation Plan, and is developing a longer-term Waste Minimisation Strategy. We already support many organisations and businesses who are working across the city to reduce waste, including the Sustainability Trust, Kaibosh, Kaicycle, Second Treasures, the Formary and Para Kore. Centreport has taken the lead in reprocessing and reusing demolition materials following the Kaikoura earthquake.
A key enabler adopted by the Council recently is the commissioning of a Sludge Minimisation Plant at Moa Point which will enable changes to managing the Southern Landfill and enabling a circular economy. We have also recently implemented a Solid Waste Bylaw, changing waste management requirements for property owners and developers, and waste collectors and operators. We could consider ideas such as zero waste hubs for community recycling, repair, remaking and reuse services. Being able to access such services gives people and businesses the confidence to change behaviours and know that they are making a difference.

Priority Actions
•	Co-create business sector plans – Work with business sectors to develop a plan for the sector including transitioning to a circular economy.
•	Partner with Māori and mana whenua – Partner to build the Māori economy and explore a Māori worldview of a circular economy. 

What success looks like
Description	Measures	
Businesses, education providers, researchers, mana whenua, Council, and government agencies are working together to reduce our collective carbon footprint and eliminate waste	•	Volume of waste diverted from landfill (tonnes) – increasing trend 
•	Total city greenhouse emissions per capita (tonnes) – decreasing trend 
•	Kg of waste per person to landfill – decreasing trend	
Māori economic success is supported through Te Matarau a Maui
	•	Māori economy percentage contribution to GDP increasing trend 
•	Successful delivery of Te Matarau a Maui actions
•	Procurement Strategy target of 5% contracts with Māori businesses 	
Buy/love local (Businesses are supported by locals)	•	Business survey – increasing trend 
•	Percentage of locals buying local – increasing trend 	

Case Study 2: Going green in the beating heart of the capital
For Kowtow founder Gosia Piatek, Wellington’s future has got to be about building a sustainable economy and thriving local businesses.
When Gosia founded fairtrade clothing label Kowtow 15 years ago, she had no real inkling of how successful it would become. For the first few seasons, she produced colourful and graphic t-shirts, with CDs showcasing the music of local artists swinging from the clothing tags. 
Her dogged determination and sparkling vision have grown Kowtow into an international success story – and she’s still headquartered in Wellington, with stalwarts like Commonsense Organics and Caffe L’affare right on their doorstep. 
Social beings need connection
“I absolutely adore where we are. As far as our location, it couldn’t be more perfect,” Gosia enthuses. But it’s not the same, she says, “if people don’t come into the city.”
From that perspective, the pandemic has been hard on Gosia’s staff and her local ecosystem of business-owners and entrepreneurs. 
“All my employees are back at work. They get to choose – but everyone wants to come back into the office, because we’re social beings. It’s nice to be together. We need interaction. I don’t think the idea of working from home full-time is considered wellbeing. The pandemic has taught us to be flexible and embrace trust. We’ve still grown year on year but’s it’s a full-on hustle.”
Going circular for the environment
The fit-out for Kowtow’s Wellington store and workroom is clean, crisp and organic – leaning into the environmental values she holds so dear. 
“Most people look at the care label and see the fairtrade organic cotton – but that’s not exactly what a garment is made up of.” In fact, it’s not just the shell of Kowtow’s garment that tread lightly on the earth but all the trimmings, swingtags and care labels too. They also offer free repair, and they take weathered garments back to recycle the fibres. Even their office is structured to adhere to principles of circularity, with a zero-plastic policy (“we don’t use pens, only pencils”), organic fruit for staff, and compost collected by a local dude from Kai Cycle. 
“People think that circularity is this really complicated thing, and it isn’t. As someone who produces a product, you just have to take full responsibility of taking it back and making it easier for your customer to return it. It’s all about design.”
Make the city alive again
Despite her elan and love of the city, Gosia’s feeling weary after the last few years, and believes that the full impact is still to come for small and medium-sized businesses. But she has a few ideas.
“Some people are living hand to mouth, there are doors closing. Wellington is the cultural city of interesting boutiques and independent-run stores, this isn’t how we get through. We need to get people to the city first, make the city alive again. Bring back all the cultural events – what the city relies on, and what independent businesses rely on, pivoting off the fact that we’re a cultural capital.”
She’s also embracing colabs with other creatives around Wellington – like her recent partnership with City Gallery on products for the Hilma af Klimt exhibition and artist Ed Bats from Page Galleries.
“It sparked something outside of the everyday of what we do. And I think that you need that in fashion. I think we can build something up in Wellington and create more of a scene for people to want to stay here and develop their careers in the arts. It’ll have such a massive payoff.”

 Outcome 3: A Business-Friendly City 
We aim to be Aotearoa New Zealand’s city partner of choice for businesses, investors and developers
Why is this important?
According to the World Bank, New Zealand is ranked number one for Ease of Doing Business. With a small population and domestic market, we are reliant on exports to enhance economic prosperity. However, the distance to market requires our businesses to be highly productive and to be competitive internationally. At a city level, we can do more to attract, retain and care for businesses. 
In the constantly shifting environment that the city currently faces, it is necessary for the Council to review key interactions with our business community to ensure we meet the needs of our city.  The Council’s regulatory role in maintaining a safe and welcoming city is crucial to the health of our community. Our regulatory processes are not always customer centric or joined up. Some businesses are also finding it challenging to navigate the Council’s services and regulations and feel like their voice isn’t heard. There is a need for the Council to build on what we do well and strengthen our relationships and responses to business needs, including re-design of the regulatory system in a way that makes it more efficient and less costly for the customer. 
We want Wellington to be the partner of choice for the business community because of its sustainable approaches, collaboration, reliability and forward thinking. The Council, businesses, organisations and communities can creatively work together to solve complex problems. A recent example of this form of collaboration is Pōneke Promise, which has developed a unique partnership model with stakeholders to deliver city safety and vibrancy outcomes. There is an opportunity to do more like this and involve more community, government and business groups – ongoing structured business engagement is required.
The global COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted issues of inequality, changed the way we work and travel patterns, and resulted in knowledge businesses doing really well, while face-to-face businesses such as retail and hospitality have struggled, particularly in the central city where we also experienced mass working from home during the protests in February / March 2022 which coincided with the red alert level. Until that point, Wellington had been impacted far less than Auckland and other cities around the world, and so have been slow to adapt to alternative operating models. We have provided immediate support to businesses through our pandemic response plan by reducing licencing fees and creating a fund for those most impacted. It’s time now to accept the changing working models and transition our economy in a living-with-Covid environment.
Our Approaches
Deliver business capability and assistance programmes
While we work to attract people into the city, we will also encourage and assist businesses to explore other ways to maintain, develop or shift their business models – supporting them to develop and grow, creating more jobs in ways that deliver a circular economy (refer to Outcome 2: Transitioning to a zero-carbon circular economy). Ultimately, we want businesses to have the confidence and help they need to start-up, change-up, and scale-up and to generally thrive. This is particularly important for our small businesses, which make up 69% of Wellington’s businesses (higher than the national rate of 63%). Small businesses are often overlooked in government contracting – we can provide an advocacy role to enact change in government practices. We have recently been promoting ‘buy local’ and reviewed our Trading in Public Places bylaw. Through Wellington NZ we provide capability and development programmes, but there is an identified gap in what is offered to small and medium enterprises (SMEs). We want to ensure SMEs are supported by infrastructure and targeted programmes, and the right programmes are available and utilised to enable them to establish, uplift business capability, and gain scale – and that they have the knowledge and capability to do this using a circular economy business model.
Different marginalised communities also want to be supported in their self-employment journeys. For example, disabled people are finding self-employment a viable option when they have otherwise found it difficult to gain employment. Self-employment can also provide the building blocks for future employment. Offering programmes that are tailored to different groups such as the disabled, women, Māori and Pasifika, young people and Rainbow communities would be helpful for these communities to also build support networks and share experiences in a safe environment.
With flexible working now well established, retention and recruitment are the number one challenge for most businesses and organisations. We also need to enable businesses to build their online presence so that they are visible, especially so that residents can easily find local stores to make their online purchases from and continue to support the local business eco-system. We also encourage businesses and organisations to improve their digital offerings to be accessible to a wide range of people and potential customers. This includes ensuring user experience design is inclusive to reach different communities.
All these actions will add up to a more resilient future for businesses and communities.
Refocus and re-design regulatory services and interactions to be customer-centric
We’ve heard of challenges in consenting and interacting with businesses. Our culture and approach need to adjust to be more empathetic and proactive, and recognise the impact on businesses, communities and the wider economy. To be a more effective regulator, we will be more responsive by putting the clients at the centre of whatever we do. 
We will reduce ‘red tape’ as far as possible to expand the ‘one stop shop’ regulatory function in the years ahead to enable and encourage businesses. We have some great examples that provide us with a competitive advantage, such as Wellington’s easy permit process for access to filming locations. Wellington is a playground for filmmakers, and we want to ensure this remains a key feature of our city.
We will continue to grow our business-friendly culture and endeavour to understand businesses’ ambitions, pressures, and pain points, so we can provide the types of care and assistance that will enable them to deliver the outcomes we all strive for. We will act with transparency and accountability, so businesses can have confidence in our decision-making, and understand how and where they might invest in future. In doing this, we also need to consider the needs of the wider community – which are often affected by the aspirations of business and development activity. The Council needs to make good judgments related to these potential conflicts. We will explore a relationship/case management approach to contribute to the delivery of positive outcomes for businesses and the Council. We will continue to connect with WellingtonNZ when dealing with screen businesses for better outcomes, and to facilitate information sharing and engagement. We also have Business Improvement District (BID) programme that has been working to build relationships will businesses in suburban centres. This has greater potential, and we’ll identify how we can enable outstanding relationships and collaboration.
Strengthen existing international relationships
Sister-City relationships were extensively developed after the Second World War with the objective of creating positive international people to people relationships. They are also an opportunity for building international friendships, relationships and trade opportunities. In some markets in particular Mayors can open doors for business and educational opportunities.
Sister-City relationships are established through the Council and involve our education, business, and cultural communities, and connections with Embassies and High Commissions. We invest time in face-to-face relationships and have had online meetings during the COVID-19 border closure period. We continue to encourage and enable cultural, educational, sporting, and art exchanges to build positive friendships. We have regular civic engagements with our Sister-Cities to exchange knowledge and promote trade. Our Sister-Cities are Beijing (China), Sakai (Japan), Sydney (Australia), Xiamen (China), and Canberra (Australia). We also have Historical-City relationships with Harrogate, Hania and Chanakkale and a Friendly-City relationship with Tianjin. We are also building upon our Friendly-City status with Seoul (Korea). Our aspiration is to deepen these relationships so that they are not merely City-to-City but people-to-people. We also aspire to build constructive relationships with Wellingtonians abroad.
Critical Influences
Minimise the disruption of major capital works 
Cities are always evolving. Wellington is going through a significant transition period, which needs to be managed well. 
We know that many businesses are worried about the disruption coming with all the capital works planned. To minimise business disruption and uncertainty, we will ensure that planned capital works are well-coordinated to prevent multiple disruptions. We manage all the works activity, both horizontally and vertically, and ensure that the city continues to function as the city evolves. We will ensure engagement with business owners is early, regular, two-way and provides clarity regarding anticipated changes, impacts, and the timing of infrastructure delivery. We are investing in Digital Twin capability to enable collaboration for better services and coordination of capital works. 
Through the capital works programmes we will:
•	Coordinate implementation and efficient sequencing of infrastructure delivery. 
•	Build and maintain relationships with impacted businesses and providing regular two-way communication. 
•	Ensure contract arrangements and resource consent conditions minimise disruption, both on-site and in surrounding areas. 
•	Proactively engage with impacted businesses, learn from the experiences Auckland City Rail and Sydney CBD Trams construction and provide suitable temporary assistance for impacted businesses. 
•	Identify how to manage and communicate parking options for private vehicles and bicycles by identifying, procuring and implementing Smart Parking technologies.

Priority Actions
•	Become more customer-centric – Deliver customer-centric Council processes, systems and interactions.
•	City champions – Find business leaders across the city that can engage strategically with Council staff and lead the city narrative.
•	Building business relationships – Build enduring relationships with businesses throughout the city, providing opportunity to listen and help navigate within the council’s departments.
•	Nurture small businesses – Provide assistance through tailored training and transitioning to a post-covid circular economy.
•	Advocate for insurance improvements – Work with the Wellington business community and Wellington NZ to advocate for better insurance outcomes.
What success looks like
Description	Measures	
Wellington’s economy is productive 	•	Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per capita – increasing trend 	
Start up and Scale Up businesses are well supported 	•	Business perception survey – improving trend	
Reliability of core infrastructure (water supply, energy supply, transport) supports business productivity	•	Water supply interruptions 
•	Time it takes to travel across the city – decreasing trend
•	Business perception survey – improving trend	
Business satisfaction with core council services (including regulatory services)	•	Business perception survey – improving trend	
Good user experience (including accessibility) is baked into digital platforms	•	TBC	
A business-friendly city that results in a stronger economy that leads to higher quality of life for residents  	•	Average household income – increasing trend
•	Residents’ perception of their quality of life – increasing trend 	

Case Study 3: Collaboration is the key to reviving our city
The hospitality business is in Sarah Meikle’s DNA, so it’s no surprise she has strong views on what needs to happen to get our food and drink sector back on its feet after two difficult years. For her, collaboration is the key.
As head of Wellington Culinary Events Trust and festival director of Visa Wellington on a Plate, Sarah is deeply connected to the hospitality community in the city. And for her, community is the key to breathing the life force back into the sector and the city.
“Wellington is fantastic at taking a community approach to things. We have seen that in the last two years in hospitality – the sector collaboration really shone through: Areas like Te Aro, where you have a whole range of businesses who supported each other. The At Yours Visa Wellington on a Plate click-and-collect service was another great way of helping businesses keep trading through tough times.”
Collaboration needs to go to a new level
But Sarah says the collaboration needs to be lifted to a whole new level, and she sees the city council as having a vital role to play which is currently untapped.
“I want to see us be in a position where we get our confidence back. We are all part of that, creating a positive, collaborative environment where businesses can thrive.
“People can choose to set up their business anywhere they feel appreciated. We have amazing business people wanting to do awesome stuff – so let’s make it easy for them!”
“Everyone needs everyone else”
She would like to see red tape slashed, and the council and hospitality businesses really start to partner with each other. “One thing the pandemic taught us is that everyone needs everyone else. The council provides a service to our sector in the same way we provide a service to our customers. How can they regulate to make it easier to set up and operate here?”
Sarah also wants to see more courage in the city. “We need risk-takers, and we need to be gutsy. We’re about to have visitors come back – are we proud to welcome them to our city? Let’s invest in city vibrancy and events. Let’s clean up our city, get the pipes laid and buildings upgraded and get on with it. I want to feel proud, and I want to be in love with Wellington again.”
Sarah is excited about the potential of the new events and conference centre Tākina, and there are standout success stories including the craft beer sector in Wellington – but she wants the city to step up and truly be able to support international growth for the food and drink sector.

Outcome 4: Centre of Creativity and Digital Innovation 
We aim to be Aotearoa New Zealand’s centre for creativity and innovation
Why is this important?
Wellington is the heart of New Zealand’s creative economy, with many internationally recognised individuals and businesses in sectors such as digital technology, film and screen, health and medicine, financial services, science, and online professional services. Creativity and innovation are our city’s competitive advantage. Content made in Wellington has entertained billions of people around the world. Concepts explored here have revolutionised institutions such as museums, seismic resilience, and global health outcomes.  The digital industries pioneered here have established new export sectors for New Zealand.  We are Te Upoko o te Ika a Māui (the head of the fish) and the Capital of New Zealand – the centre of conversation, thinking, creating and innovating with purpose for New Zealand and the world. 
The city combines creativity, innovation and technology to solve local, national, and global problems such as climate change and transitioning to zero waste and zero carbon across many sectors. The arts including through exhibitions and events, has a role to play in communicating climate change and climate action. By playing to this strength, Wellington is well positioned to enable game changing opportunities in many sectors, and to utilise this knowledge to create more empathetic, responsive environments. In general, there is a need for the Council to better understand the digital sector and all its unique subsets (e.g., IT consultancy, Advanced Materials Manufacturing, Intellectual Property generation, Software as a Service, Gaming, and Screen). Based on a better understanding, we can better target our assistance, share success stories, facilitate collaboration amongst creative and talented people, work to attract more local and international investment, and nurture export and commercialisation efforts. 
Our Approaches
Utilise creativity and innovation to pave the way to economic wellbeing
Wellington’s City Council, businesses, organisations and communities can creatively work together to solve complex problems. Our ‘Digital Twin City’ is a powerful open-source computer tool which will progressively allow anyone to visualise our city, and proposed and potential changes notably in transport, urban development, city safety, and responding to climate change. Wellington has gained recognition as one of 15 cities worldwide which have won the Global Bloomberg Mayors Challenge, for designing the boldest and most ambitious urban innovations that address current issues including economic recovery and growth, health and wellbeing, climate and environment, and gender and equality. 
This investment contributes to the creation of better street environments and city spaces through better community engagement in the planning of our city. Wellington is also home to many Crown Research Institutes and Tertiary Education Providers. These organisations undertake significant research and innovation projects that could potentially solve some of our major climate change issues and have potential to be exported to the world. Facilitating opportunities to co-locate, collaborate and commercialise innovations will help the city and its communities to transition through the disruptions caused by technologies such as autonomous vehicles, new manufacturing technologies and changing climate. We will drive innovative solutions through smart technology by partnering with businesses and Crown agencies. For example, research into solar panels and hydrogen power could significantly reduce carbon emissions and provide economic opportunity in the process.
Wellington attracts creators, makers and innovators. We have over 100 amazing Digital and Tech companies which generally start out very small. They have been internationally successful in many sub-sectors such as gaming, medical tech, FinTech, and business technology. Our digital communities demonstrate strong collaboration which is what’s needed to cross-pollinate and innovate across industries. They often grow quickly when their innovations land successfully. Subsequently, they are required to compete internationally for specialist expertise. They need facilitated technical assistance to establish, commercialise products and services, and access capital to successfully move to the next phase in their development. The Council can act as a facilitator through targeted programmes to provide the connections required to scale up. Wellington City Council currently supports companies to incubate, accelerate and grow via Creative HQ and WellingtonNZ and we’re investigating options for tech hub/s to see what’s needed in the different sub-sectors.
Enable our Screen Sector 
‘Screen’ represents: Film, television and online content including all genres – factual and fiction; interactive and immersive stories and digital games with a myriad of associated applications. In 2019, Wellington City achieved a UNESCO Creative City of Film status. We are home to Weta Workshops, Wingnut and Park Road Post. Lane St Studios and Avalon are in the Hutt Valley. Victoria and Massey Universities, Whitirea Weltec, and Yoobee all deliver tertiary education in film. The screen sector has significant opportunities to further develop beyond being a service provider for large incoming projects. While we do need to attract those large companies, who procure the services created in Wellington, we are also a fantastic filming location because of the variety of scenery and urban environments available in close proximity. Our big opportunity is for intellectual property (IP) and content – to explore the convergence between film, TV, game and interactive development. We will need to find appropriate ways to assist the screen sector, including the rapidly growing gaming sector, to overcome the challenges of skills shortage. This may include better equipping people to enter the sector, improving employment conditions, and facilitating partnerships to enable authentic storytelling. These opportunities include location specific storytelling through apps. We have already developed a Wellington Screen Strategy, and robust Wellington Regional Screen Protocols.  
As with other digital tech businesses, there is a need to facilitate connections between small screen and gaming businesses and potential investors. And there are plenty of opportunities to utilise our local talent pool in local story telling, promotions, and education. We will continue to work with Screen Wellington to realise screen sector goals.
Modernise our city venues 
Our city venues have typically been used for business conventions, sports events, and cultural activities. A new convention and exhibition centre (Tākina) is currently being built and will open in 2023, which will provide a purpose-built venue for our business conventions. Our venues are in good locations well serviced by public transport, but they lack integration with their surroundings and in some cases have more than one purpose. Limited foyer space, food and beverage vendors, and amenities, as well as outdated services systems, are common issues. The venues need updating to meet the needs of prospective event organisers. 
Much of this work is well underway. The St James Theatre will reopen this year and the Town Hall in late 2023 or early 2024. For remaining relevant venues achieving this will involve establishing a clear pathway forward for each venue, that enables a variety of interesting and sustainable events to take place across the city’s venues network. A great example is bringing the National Music Centre to Te Ngākau Civic Square as part of the civic centre redevelopment and moving the Council back into the Municipal Building. We already have a Major Events Strategy and a Venues Refurbishment proposal. We have also reviewed our city venues to clarify their purpose and increase their use and are now developing an investment plan for our city venues. This includes applying creativity for flexible uses, and consideration of how to accommodate a mid-sized venue for performing arts rehearsal and performance space to support local shows and concerts – we’ll focus on utilising existing investment such as the Opera House, a new Fale Malae, and the Michael Fowler Centre. This will contribute to enhancing the vibrancy of the city’s entertainment precinct. 
Significant private investment is also occurring, particularly in new mixed-used commercial and accommodation developments. But there are still gaps that need to be filled, including business-orientated co-working, incubation, shared-services and ideation spaces. We need to communicate with investors and developers about the plan for the city to give them greater confidence and ability to plan their investment activity.
We also need to provide affordable access for local community events, such as revitalising Hannah Playhouse and looking at grant funding or community pricing.
Critical Influences
Invest in the regeneration and activation of empty buildings
Wellington City suffered in the Kaikōura earthquake of November 2016 when many multi-story buildings were damaged. Other buildings’ seismic resilience was professionally reviewed because of the Kaikōura earthquake, and resulted in the need for repair, strengthening or demolition. Many of the Council’s own buildings are also earthquake prone and are being strengthened. At the same time the city’s underground infrastructure requires significant investment to incite growth and provide security of supply, and we need to invest in an efficient, accessible, and low carbon transport system that is fit for the future.
We are rebuilding and strengthening our civic buildings such as the St James Theatre, Town Hall, and Central Library. Planning is advancing for the redevelopment and rejuvenation of the rest of Te Ngākau Civic Square. Our new convention and exhibition conference centre, Tākina, will open in 2023 and private business and building owners are also investing. We also want to work with businesses and building owners to rebuild and activate earthquake-damaged and earthquake-prone buildings and help remove barriers. Once the buildings are opened, we want to see them occupied and well-used.
Taking the opportunity to deliver Zero-carbon and Zero-waste outcomes including meeting passive heating as part of the building process as per our Te Atakura strategy is also a priority. The Council’s venues and developments principles already specify that we do this. Tākina has been awarded 5 Star Green Building certification and we want to encourage other building developments to achieve green building status as well.  

Priority Actions
•	Nurture small businesses – Provide assistance through tailored training and transitioning to a post-covid circular economy. Broaden the reach of targeted programmes to assist emerging digital tech companies to scale up. (Note, same action in Outcome 3, as this is important to all small businesses and specifically to tech businesses as well).
•	Vital venues – Redevelop Opera House to meet audience needs for a wider mix of entertainment, including filling the need for a mid-sized venue and the upgrading TSB arena into Wellington’s premium arena, to stage a wider mix of performance events and provide an enhanced customer experience.
What success looks like
Description	Measures	
Wellington City is cemented as the place to be for Creativity and Innovation 	•	Number of people employed in creative sectors – increasing trend
•	Number of people employed in ICT jobs 	
Our screen and film sector are recognised for its creative and innovative talent 	•	Number of people employed in gaming and film – increasing trend	

Case Study 4: Forging new realities
Artist-researchers Raqi Syed and Areito Echeverria know a thing or two about creating new realities, having worked in and around the film industry for decades. To make Wellington a true cultural and creative capital, they propose getting kids into art early and introducing a universal basic income for artists.
Raqi and Areito live on one of Wellington’s windswept coastlines. It’s a place that has seen a lot more of these busy souls recently. Despite the easy hop over to the Miramar Creative Centre where they teach visual effects, working from home became a necessity rather than a nice-to-have when the pandemic nudged the capital. 
“It’s been a bit of a rollercoaster, good and bad things came out of it,” Areito reflects. “Turns out you don’t have to be in the office all the time. But it’s made personal relationship-building and communication far more challenging.”
Raqi nods in agreement: “We are far away from Europe and America, so we were already working remotely with people in France when the pandemic happened. We knew how to do that, but we coasted on the relationships we’d made in 2018.”
Alongside their teaching, the couple collaborate on projects – like Minimum Mass, a virtual reality interactive story that made it onto the Tribeca Film Festival line-up in 2020. It’s about a couple who experience miscarriages and believe their children are being born in another dimension. The story draws on some of their own experiences and helped them navigate love and loss in a tangible way. 
Creating a Wellington love story
The couple aren’t born and bred Wellingtonians. But they found their own love story here. Areito first moved to Wellington in 2005 after a long stint away from Aotearoa.
Areito’s eyes soften as he thinks back: “I had been homesick for a good chunk of the time I was away. Coming to Wellington was really cool because I’d never been here before but it was like coming home. Judy Bailey was still on TV, so it was familiar.”  
Raqi is a US citizen who happily just claimed her New Zealand citizenship. She arrived from LA in 2008 where she had been working for Disney, and the experience was life-changing. 
“I’d actually never been to the Southern Hemisphere. I came to Wellington because I wanted to be in the place where the best visual effects in the world were made. I came for the visual effects, and I stayed for the weirdness.”
Access to art – and to other creatives
As New Zealand recovers its pace after being knocked down by the pandemic, the couple are keen to share their ideas about how to make Wellington a city where artists and creatives can thrive. 
Raqi says it needs to start with young minds: “Young people need access to art education. We have to start super early if we’re going to have any meaningful change in the industry down the line. I think that’s really important. A universal basic income for artists could be a magic paintbrush. That and art education would make Wellington the absolute city of the future when it comes to creativity.”
Areito sees events as a way for everyone to participate in that cultural and creative vibe that Wellington had previously become so well-known for. 
“One of the superpowered things about virtual reality is that you can create these visceral shared experiences and the same thing happens in real life when you bring people together – magic happens. It’s community building. I would like to see more of that – more events, arts, culture and science that bring people together to share experiences.”

Outcome 5: Celebrate our Capital City Status 
We aim to raise the profile of our Capital City
Why is this important?
Wellington has been New Zealand’s capital since 1865. Wellington is the home of political decision-making, the place of big conversations, and a place where New Zealand meets the world, with more than 50 ambassadors, high commissioners and consular generals locating here to represent their nations. Traditions of protest, ceremony and the realities of administration have all shaped how the city has grown over the past 150 years. This government footprint gives the city a unique relationship with New Zealanders in that we are the city where every New Zealander is represented, and every international visitor can explore the stories of Aotearoa New Zealand. This is now a national objective with the development of a compulsory national history curriculum.
This relationship can be seen in the taonga and memories that are kept in the archives, museums, and parliament buildings. There are significant opportunities to make more of our Capital City status and heritage, and for the Council to partner with our national cultural heritage institutions including the National Archives, Te Papa, Ngā Taonga Sound & Vision, National Library and Pukeahu National War Memorial Park, and Parliament to encourage visitors and enhance learning experiences. It is important that the Council develops a close and lasting partnership with Government to facilitate enhancing the Capital City concept.

Our Approaches
Celebrate our Capital City identity 
We are the place of big conversations and the keeper of the nation’s treasures. We are also home to an extensive range of nationally and sometimes internationally significant local heritage: Katherine Mansfield Birthplace, Zealandia (world leading fenced eco-sanctuary), Ōtari-Wilton’s Bush National Plant Museum, Weta Workshops, Wellington Museum, Cable Car and Carter Observatory, and the Cricket Museum. 
There are opportunities for the Council to partner with mana whenua and our national and local cultural heritage institutions to tell stories of national and local Māori heritage, attract visitors and enhance learning experiences. Much conversation has been had in this space – the introduction of Tākina to showcase local stories, and connecting with Te Aro Pa, Te Wharewaka, the waterfront and other heritage and cultural sites and locations will strengthen our capital credentials by tying these experiences together into a coherent story. 
We want to promote and celebrate Wellington as the Capital of one of the world’s oldest and most successful national democracies. We have recently applied for UNESCO world heritage status for the Parliamentary precinct as the venue for world-leading social legislation. With the inclusion of national history within the compulsory school curriculum the case for adopting the Australian education model which aspires to have every child visit the Capital as part of their school learning becomes even stronger.
Wellington has also been very progressive in Rainbow / Queer inclusivity. Queer and Rainbow organisations have important stories they want to share but have often been overlooked in the past. We should consider how we can better celebrate our city as a Rainbow Capital and continue to attract rainbow communities to Wellington. This will strengthen the Queer Capital status and have clear benefits for the economy through tourism while promoting positive attitudes.
As a city we could provide history tours and walks, and packages that make it easy for people build their itinerary.
Leverage being the home of Government 
More than 30 government departments, the Governor-General, high-level courts, other national institutions and 50 embassies call our city home.  This creates employment opportunities for residents, attracts talent and helps local businesses to connect with international opportunities. It has also made Wellington into a place with a progressive mindset, having been the stage for protest, reform and positive change. Our connections to embassies located here can also present opportunities to promote Wellington.
Being home to Government also brings global interest to Wellington, for businesses and organisations wanting to work with New Zealand. It attracts thinkers and researchers and makes Wellington an ideal stage to host international forums, conferences and events that link back to being the centre of government. We can work with government departments to transition their organisations to a zero waste zero carbon circular economy operating model. As a city, leveraging Wellington’s climate action reputation, we can profile the innovative businesses leading the way. As a leader in the country on so many fronts, we have a strong potential to be leaders again as the world grapples with the realities of climate change and identifying actions. We could become an education and training centre for careers in the circular economy.
As the Capital City, we also have an opportunity to enable people to develop stronger engagement with government processes and establishments and offer an environment where people of all ages and backgrounds feel welcome to engage with Wellington’s political and historical establishments.
Priority Actions
•	Capital connection – Work alongside central government agencies to develop education tourism.
What success looks like
Description	Measures	
Our identities and stories engage the world and give us unique and authentic experiences that enables a well-connected and celebrated capital and enhanced sense of national and local pride	•	Successful delivery of proposed actions
•	Pride in the look and feel of the city – increasing trend 	

Case Study 5: The mystic bringing te ao Māori to life
Creative and musician Te Awanui Reeder has always cut his own path – and each fork in the road has brought him closer to his tupuna, or ancestors. He may have left Tamaki Makaurau nine years ago, but he’s found community, connection and a way to give back in Te Whanganui-a-tara.
Te Awanui aka Awa (Ngā Pōtiki, Ngāti Raukawa) first came to live in Wellington for love. His ‘missus’ and three young children are his inspiration for his work, and he feels compelled to push his limits out as far as possible so that their future is brighter. 
All his life, Awa’s had this burning motivation to lift up his people, and that massive work ethic has paid off. His hip-hop outfit Nesian Mystik celebrated Pasifika culture and rhythms with tracks that have become enmeshed in the fabric of Aotearoa’s musical identity. Now it’s his creative agency, Big River Creative, that’s putting Māori and Pasifika in the limelight. Their recent success is fuelled by a government that is trying to help improve wellbeing outcomes – but for Awa, it runs so much deeper than that.
“Our main priorities are Māori, Pasifika, the rainbow community, disabled whānau. If we do not have Māori in those positions then those campaigns will not land, they will underserve our people in every category. I headhunted the best in the country. They are all Pasifika-Māori, they’re all parents so they get things done.”
What it’s like to be invisible
Despite his success, Awa has many stories of what it’s like to be invisible. When he wanted to buy a house at the tender age of 20, he walked into a real estate office and said, “Oh hey, kia ora, I’d like to buy a house today. No-one would serve me. They must have thought I was taking the p*ss.” 
He wasn’t as unprepared as they thought. He’d done his research, completed courses, sorted his finances, and was ready to “go shopping”. He bought a place on Weymouth Road, Manurewa, and that’s how he first started his investment portfolio, which is now based in Wellington. Awa started with the idea that he could: “But then it takes the discipline and the vision and the plan. I am happy to put in the mahi when no-one else is.”
Today he uses that same focus to solve problems in health and education where he sees that Māori and Pasifika are mightily underserved. 
“When I look at my children, I don’t want that to be the case. My job is to fix that for my kids. If I do that from a Te Ao Māori perspective, it will help everyone. Whereas, if you try to help everyone, Māori always get left at the bottom.” 
Harnessing the voice of community
Here in the city, Awa is radiant about the vibe and potential: “Wellington city is amazing. Where I think we can improve is in harnessing the voice of community more. The answers are with the people as they always have been. Let them figure out what they want for themselves and then facilitate that. When you have community, you have people that will help one another, and it will do wonders.” 
Awa talks about a beautiful concept in Samoa called ‘tautua’ – which means ‘authority through service’. “It’s a really cool way to remind us to be humble about how we do our mahi,” and he constantly tells himself to “use your skills, and use your expertise, and use your opportunities and privilege to help those you care about. What we do is not for us.”
Having aced so many fields, you’d think he was fearless, but he had this humbling analogy to share with us: “When I get scared, I think about what my tupuna did, what my ancestors did. How can I not get out of bed and attack the day when they navigated and traversed the biggest oceans in the world and fought for our land with taiaha and tefa tefa in the face of cannons. What have I got to complain about? Who am I to be scared?”

Outcome 6: A dynamic city heart and thriving suburban centres
We aim to be a compact city with a dynamic CBD and thriving suburban centres that are economically productive

Why is this important?
A compact city contributes to a more inclusive and vibrant city where people can access quality jobs, housing, education, food, health and social care, and recreation. It also ensures we have infrastructure to support our population and their personal and business needs from roading and water, to cultural and recreation venues. A high quality of life also attracts students, migrants and businesses. A thriving city will require that more people are able and willing to live and work downtown, and appropriate spaces and activities are available for day and night, such as outdoor dining, green spaces, and quiet spaces.
Wellington attracts people who care for the community, our environment and biodiversity, and living a low-carbon lifestyle. Access to open and green spaces, and the ease of moving around via active and public transport are very important for our mental and physical health. Wellingtonians and visitors to the city love the easy access to natural amenities such as tracks and trails for walking, running and cycling, a regenerating native bird life, the Wellington Waterfront and our coastal environment. We need to continue to progress developing our trails infrastructure so that it is inclusive to all age groups and abilities and remains a competitive advantage in attracting people to visit, live and work here.
The economic activity in Wellington city provides 64% of the region’s GDP and the Central City (or CBD) contributes almost half (48%), showing the central city’s importance to the city and region’s economies.
Vibrancy matters too, to keep people interested and active in the city by day and by night and contributing to a high quality of life. This in turn keeps businesses thriving and confident to invest and do more. Part of a healthy and active community and economy is the opportunities for participation in festivals and events, cultural experiences, clubs and community organisations, and community facilities and recreation opportunities. Wellington needs a range of offerings from international scale to community level events. This supports a dynamic and diverse community to enjoy and be part of a dynamic community vibe as well as attracting people to visit and live. We need to ensure we have a range of recreational, cultural and event products and infrastructure to support this. Creating interesting spaces using the city fabric to bring life to art and culture. We want our neighbourhoods, suburban centres, and city landmarks to deliver placemaking and storytelling of past present and future that enables our communities to relax, feel safe, connect, participate and belong. People feel safe and proud of their inner-city neighbourhood, with welcoming shared playgrounds and green spaces.
We are nearly two years into the global COVID-19 pandemic, and uncertainty remains around mandated restrictions regarding how people can live, work and travel. The reduced footfall in the CBD driven by an increase in people working from home is affecting many businesses, while others have flourished in the online world. Suburban centres have benefited from the shift, which currently appears to be stabilising at around two days working from home per week for many people. It is important to ensure we have programmes and activities that encourage people into our CBD area to revitalise the city, and to assist businesses in the transition to the post-covid environment. The government has recently announced full re-opening of Aotearoa New Zealand’s borders, and time will tell as to how quickly migration and visitation will redevelop.
Our Approaches
Actively create experience precincts 
We have heard there needs to be more for families to do in the city including rainy day activities, places to play and rest. People are wanting better shopping experiences and retail hours, especially in the evenings and on weekends. Calls for more alfresco dining and utilisation of green spaces and trees, with suggestions for weather protected options such as retractable partitions. We want to work with businesses and building owners to identify and develop a range of experiences for locals and visitors by day and night. 
This is an opportunity to create precincts that enable our local cultures to shine, through entertainment, events, festivals and hospitality – reminding ourselves and showcasing to the world what it is that makes us uniquely Wellington. We will continue to invest in major events for the city as well as supporting local entertainment options. We will enable opportunities to transform spaces to outdoor dining and places people want to be in and feel safe walking through. We also have a Destination Management Plan which seeks to use the investment in Tākina to revitalise Courtenay Place and create destination precincts. This approach can be taken to the central city and suburban centres and must also include universally accessible design for disabled community inclusion. Ensuring a full complement of spaces, activities, and services will go a long way towards building a 20-minute city and neighbourhoods.
We need to review any city policies and bylaws that may be holding the city back, including reviewing the Easter Trading rules. We’ve also heard that certain areas feel unsafe, dirty and unsanitary. We want people to enjoy their experiences of the city, whether they come for work, socialising, or just being in the city. We will review our operational levels of services for street cleanliness and beautification. And we’re working together with the Police and other agencies to address homelessness and safety concerns.
Celebrate our creative culture, Te Ao Māori and Te Reo Māori 
We are inclusive of diverse personalities, abilities and ethnicities and encourage people to be themselves and to share their cultures. Our rich multi-cultural population from the Pacific, Asia, Europe and around the world is welcomed and encouraged to inject their creativity, and form part of our city’s placemaking, entertainment, hospitality, heritage and intrigue. We want to enable our diverse cultures and subcultures to thrive, by supporting their traditions and celebrating their history. 
We will lift the presence of mana whenua and Māori in our city by creating places and spaces that tell authentic local and national stories in creative ways. This could be through artwork, landmarks, digital technology, narratives and using our civic infrastructure. This will be delivered through Aho Tini – our Arts, Culture and Creativity Strategy, as well as our placemaking projects and our Storytelling and Heritage Strategies which are currently under development.
Creativity needs to be injected into the city by activating places and spaces through street art, creating unusual spaces, education and authentic storytelling, and increasing the opportunities for celebrating our creativity and diversity are important for creating a vibrant and inclusive place to live and for providing the ecosystem for our creative economies to thrive. This can be achieved authentically by embracing local pop cultures including Wellington’s food story, café and craft beer cultures, and supporting people with ideas, including through community co-design of placemaking, and creating a neighbourhood feel throughout. It also provides opportunities for local employment in the creative sector.
We will support and promote local community initiatives to deliver street performances such as music, dance and theatre, allowing our emerging talent to be seen and heard in our city. We encourage more gigs by day and night.
The night-time economy
People are really concerned about personal safety in the city, especially at night. It can be easy to take an overly regulatory approach to mitigate adverse activity in the night time. But a thriving night-time economy is an important part of a vibrant city; it’s about creating a city for all ages, cultures, ideologies, and genders. We need to turn around the narrative and recognise that night-time activities need the same level of regulation and careful planning as the daytime. To achieve this we must carefully regulate, plan and strategically identify the offerings for the city, including bars, music and quiet spaces, indoors and outdoors. It’s possible to mix economy and residential areas when planned well. We will collectively collaborate with residents and community groups, business owners and investors to plan, design, build and manage the night-time economy in the city centre and suburban town centres. This will enable us to add uniquely Wellington vibrancy, social cohesion, and nurture artistic and creative sectors.
Our communities are missing the facilities such as Reading Cinemas, Molly Malones, Opera House, and others that we lost during the Kaikoura earthquake and subsequent red stickered buildings. We’ve heard some great ideas such as restaurants staying open with late night gigs and events, night food markets, keeping shops open, and ensuring safe transport is available. Creatively mixing the use of spaces, such as a café that closes at 4pm turning into a restaurant in the evenings, or large ground floor office foyers becoming art galleries at night. Broadening the offering for people removes the reliance on alcohol consumption as the only night-time activity, and effectively suppresses unsavoury night-time behaviours.
Critical Influences
Placemaking and Third spaces
Suburban co-working spaces, relaxation and quiet spaces and thriving entertainment venues are essential for supporting liveability. Completing the Te Ngākau Civic Centre redevelopment including Te Matapihi the Central Library, Town Hall and the new Michael Fowler Centre carpark building, and activating the square by creating great people spaces and programmes are important ways to do this. Te Matapihi’s redevelopment will make it an even more valued resting, learning and working base.
‘Activation’ involves reallocation of city spaces to encourage people to make more use of them, so they feel more at home in the city. This can include more trees and green areas, cafe and restaurant seating, street markets or community activities. Activating and modernising the use of community spaces (such as libraries and community centres) will inspire our communities to connect and enable creative enterprise. Reopening other buildings including St James Theatre, Molly Malones, and Reading Cinema will not only activate those spaces but also make Wellington more vibrant and enhance city safety as we continue our collaborative programme Pōneke Promise to improve people’s sense of safety and their experiences of the city. Green spaces and other outdoor spaces can be developed or enhanced so that people can connect with nature within the city. Each place has its own identity and stimulates people. 
In our role as a place maker, we are developing plans for increased central city living and more vibrant, low traffic streets. This is a common approach for cities wanting to improve access for all, walkability, air quality and tourism, and this is also good for business. We can facilitate and encourage green walls, murals, street art, sculptures, rooftop gardens / playgrounds / bars. Our bike network plan, green network plan, Children and Young People Strategy, and Social Wellbeing Framework, Civic centre rebuilds, and Let’s Get Wellington Moving will all contribute to the placemaking needed to create social spaces. 
Enable our community to achieve aspirations for nature
Wellington is one of the only cities in the world that has regenerating native bird populations and other species such as lizards and insects – native birds are now thriving beyond the boundary of protected areas.  Zealandia, Wellington Zoo, Ōtari-Wilton’s Bush and local trails enable people to enjoy our native bird life and forests. As a key pillar of our city identity, we want to build on this, enhancing access for all ages and abilities. 
The proximity of our tracks is a unique selling point for living in Wellington and provides an opportunity to attract more visitors. However, there are gaps in the levels of difficulty and information about the tracks is sometimes hard to find. We have a trails website that provides useful information about the trails, including entry and exit points, time required, toilet availability and opportunities for ice creams or drinks nearby – wellingtonregionaltrails.com – which needs to be promoted more. Through our Destination Management Plan, we have also identified the need for better wayfinding and public transport to connect with our existing trail network.
As the city intensifies it is essential to retain as much street and garden vegetation as possible (for humans and wildlife) – which is often the first casualty of development and necessary in some areas to foster bird corridors between larger public areas. It’s also important that our community and businesses are strongly engaged in biodiversity projects in their catchment areas.
This can be delivered through our Regional Trails Framework, Our Natural Capital Biodiversity Strategy, Open Spaces Strategy, completing the Green Belt Network and work programmes such as Predator Free Wellington and the reintroduction of native species such as kiwi. We can also encourage greater community involvement in restoration and predator control programmes.

Priority Actions
•	A Curated City – Provide strategic overview and coordination. Share a compelling vision for the regeneration of the city centre, collaborate to drive action, investment and engagement, and mitigate the impact on businesses whilst work takes place.

What success looks like
Description	Measures	
Our central city and suburban centres are vibrant and dynamic	•	Safety in the city (increasing trend) 
•	CBD lively and attractive (increasing trend) 
•	Local Suburb attributes (increasing trend) 	
We have a diverse range of things to see and do	•	Wellington has a culturally rich and diverse arts scene 
•	Wellington is the events capital of New Zealand	
A rejuvenated economy and community	•	Survival rate of businesses (increasing trend) 
•	Retail activity 
•	Business Confidence (increasing trend)	

Case Study 6: Let’s rev up central city and be suburban-proud
What does Wellington look like beyond the pandemic? For Ralph Johns of integrated design studio Isthmus, it’s about a resilient city and suburbs that create amazing experiences, so people want to stay. 
When Ralph swam with dolphins in Wellington Harbour and broke the surface to hear plane engines screaming overhead, he knew he had found a place to belong.
“I thought, ‘sh*t, you don’t get this back in Wales!’” More than 20 years on, he’s deeply, happily entrenched in the city and its land, people and culture. 
He literally ‘put down roots’ in Ngaio, planting the family section with native trees and edibles. The whenua of his three children are buried deep in the ground, in a gully where they have all grown up to be connected to nature through food and play.
‘Business for good’ is key to success
Ralph says he and his colleagues at Isthmus are all about making our places better. “We are an active part of the change Wellington’s been going through. There’s been some amazing change in the natural environment – connecting to the harbour, restoring the town belt and gullies, the resurgence of native bird. And the fact our central city is how our biggest neighbourhood shows urban and natural environments aren’t mutually exclusive.”
But there are more opportunities and there’s more to do, he says.
Ralph’s a huge believer in ‘business for good’, and he sees this as a key opportunity for Wellington. Isthmus sources lots of its office essentials locally. Milk, coffee, beer, biscuits and fruit are all locally produced. Staff use Mevo shared cars and the office e-bike – or their own bikes and skateboards - to get around. Deliveries arrive by sustainable transport where possible, and composting is taken care of by a local provider. “When we build sustainable networks it’s good for us, for other businesses, for the community and the environment,” Ralph says.
Nurturing relationships with mana whenua is another key to future success. “Integrating matauranga Māori concepts from the inception of planning and design gives much more meaningful engagement.”
Isthmus has a long association with the Victoria University of Wellington, and it’s a relationship that benefits the university, students and Wellington employers including Isthmus. “We have interns working with us while they study, and we have employed dozens of graduates. It’s a great opportunity for them to build their careers in Wellington, and we benefit by building our knowledge and intellectual property from these amazingly talented people.”
‘A centralised city is not resilient’
Ralph wants to see two key opportunities realised in Wellington in the next 10 years.
“We need to be ‘suburban-and-proud’. A centralised city is not resilient. There’s so much potential in places like Johnsonville, Karori and Kilbirnie. I want to see the city set the agenda without being held to ransom by ‘land bankers’.  Most of the city is privately owned, so I want to see the council help build business confidence and catalyse private investment. A lot of property is languishing.
“And our streets are the places with huge potential. Let’s focus on the experience we want to create, so we can attract and then retain people. Yes, we should be making our city more resilient and environmentally friendly – but let’s create a radically different ‘surface’ to our streets.”