Our City Tomorrow
Tō Tātou Taone a Āpōpō
What’s next?
DRAFT for public consultation
In 2017 we carried out a series of stakeholder workshops, public surveys and engagement events to raise awareness of the long-term challenges Wellington is facing and start a conversation about what our city should be like in the future. 
The conversation started with a focus on the central city, as it drives the economy within the region, has a growing population, and faces significant challenges. In response we received feedback from a wide range of Wellingtonians who shared their aspirations for the central and wider city they want to live in, emphasising the need to consider the interconnectedness of the city. 
From this feedback five key goals emerged- that Wellington City should be: compact, inclusive & connected, greener, resilient, and vibrant & prosperous.
These goals have helped inform our decision-making, starting with our 10-year plan, but this is just the beginning.  What follows is a strategic response to your feedback in a form that sharpens and highlights the focus for Council by concentrating on the more commonly expressed aspirations for the city that you shared with us.

Our challenges
The significant challenges that motivated our recent engagement with you were:

1.	Population growth 
Over the next 30 years, 50,000 to 80,000 additional people are expected to live in Wellington City. That’s five times the population of Karori and would mean 20,000-30,000 new homes.  Providing for this growth presents a challenge for Wellington due to the need to protect areas we value and avoid increasing the risk of natural hazards. 
We wanted to know: How should we shape our city to accommodate growth?
2.	Earthquake risk
We live with an ever-present risk of seismic activity. As we learn more about the potential risks facing Wellington we need to ensure our city is planned to improve the resilience of our buildings and communities. 
We wanted to know: How should we develop our city so we are more resilient to the effects of earthquakes and can get back on our feet again quickly when we experience them?
3.	Climate change

Wellington City - like many of New Zealand’s towns and cities – is vulnerable to the effects of climate change, including sea level rise, more frequent extreme weather events, and changes to our biodiversity. The decisions we make today need to both prepare us for climate change impacts, and lower our greenhouse gas emissions. 
We wanted to know: How should we plan today for the effects of climate change so that we don’t leave an even bigger challenge as a legacy?
Purpose 
Setting the framework for future decision-making

Our City Tomorrow started a public discussion about how we shape the future of Wellington City to accommodate growth and increase resilience, while continuing to be a vibrant city. While our engagement was initially focused on central Wellington, your feedback highlighted the need to consider Wellington City as a whole and as a network of communities.  
The key messages from the engagement process have already begun to assist decision making by sharpening our focus on how we will house our growing population, ensure the city is resilient, and provide services to make Wellington a liveable city. Additionally, feedback highlighted the need to align transport planning with our wider city aspirations. In response to this we have reviewed the Let’s Get Wellington Moving programme principles and used these to help establish the new city goals. 
The goals within this document will act as interim priorities to assist with future public engagement and upcoming decision-making across the city.  They provide supplementary guidance to our existing policy documents referenced throughout the following pages and will evolve over time. 
They also set the starting point for a range of key programmes, including a review of how we provide for future growth, development and transport. This will begin with a review of the Central City Framework and Wellington Urban Growth Plan that will set the 30-year direction for Wellington City. This will include looking at how our existing suburbs might change over time, identifying where new houses will be located, what special values we will protect, how we will prepare against shocks, and what our future transport and infrastructure needs will be. This process will include new and innovative ways to engage with our diverse communities to set the direction for future funding and developing a new planning rulebook for Wellington.

Compact
Wellington continues to be an accessible, compact city with an attractive and vibrant urban environment where people want to live, work and play.
The Our City Tomorrow conversations reflected an understanding that the city needed to change to accommodate population growth, and improve housing choice and affordability. There was general support for the need to provide different housing types within our existing suburbs, but that it must be well designed.
This feedback has reinforced our existing goal of being a compact city and promoting sustainable growth, while emphasising the need to review how we encourage better design in new development. 
Decisions will need to be made in the future about how we balance keeping our city sustainable and compact, protecting the things we value, and improving resilience against seismic events and climate change. We will explore options for how to meet these needs including whether growth should be enabled in our rural areas, further encouraged in the central area, or change promoted in our existing neighbourhoods. Due to our complex challenges and opportunities, our future growth will likely need to include a combination of these options. 
Council policy documents to achieve this goal:
•	Wellington Towards 2040: Smart Capital
•	Wellington Urban Growth Plan 2014-2043 
•	District Plan
•	Housing Strategy
•	Northern Growth Management Framework
•	Low Carbon Capital Plan
•	Our Capital Spaces Plan
What you told us:
To manage population growth, our city tomorrow is a place where we…
“A mix of all options, designed intelligently, aesthetically, and thoughtfully”
“Both apartment living and higher density in existing suburbs”
“Find a balance of housing options”
“Live in warm, dry, safe homes that are earthquake resilient and inland from tsunamis”
“Apartments in city and higher density in the suburbs aren’t mutually exclusive”

Inclusive & Connected

Wellington’s streets will be prioritised for walking and cycling, and have public spaces all people can enjoy.

The Our City Tomorrow conversations reflected a desire for a quality, accessible transport system that prioritised sustainable, active modes of transport. Wellington’s compactness was one of the things people were most proud of about the city, because it made walking and cycling easy options. This was something that was also reflected through the concurrent Let’s Get Wellington Moving engagement.
Good public spaces and transport systems are built around the needs of people and communities. As Wellington grows we need to ensure that we retain a strong sense of identity that reflects our diverse population  As signalled in the Wellington Urban Growth Plan, the Council intends to implement a sustainable transport hierarchy, where active modes of transport such as walking and cycling are encouraged above other modes in order to provide a balanced transport system. Although there will always be a place for private vehicles, our intention is to move towards making active transport modes and mass transit opportunities a priority. 

Transport planning and delivery will be ongoing through the Let’s Get Wellington Moving programme. Additionally, the improvement of our public spaces will also continue through our laneways redevelopment programme. As we undertake future engagement on these projects we will ensure our conversations connect how we change where we live, how we move around the city, and the impacts on our wellbeing and resilience. 
Council policy documents to achieve this goal:
•	Wellington Urban Growth Plan 2014-2043 
•	District Plan
•	Accessibility Wellington Action Plan
•	Parking Policy (Under review) 
•	Our Capital Spaces
•	Positive Aging Policy 
•	Public Space Design Policy 
•	Open Space Access Plan
What you told us:
 “Pedestrianise the central city”
“Universal design for public spaces”
“Public transport subsidised by toll for the central city car users”
“Encourage car sharing/pooling”
“Bring back the trams”
“Give more road space to public transport, walking, cycling”
“More commitment to public transport and active transport”
“Have a reliable bus service in Wellington”
“How can we help people to cut down on their use of cars. They are choking this city”

Greener
As Wellington grows, the natural environment will be protected, enhanced and integrated into the urban environment.

The Our City Tomorrow conversations reflected a need to not only protect our existing green spaces but also provide more of them. People want to experience streams and wetlands in the city and make these elements part of our infrastructure. They also want more green spaces and trees, and for buildings to incorporate sustainable design features.
Wellington is surrounded by a diverse natural environment, which contributes to our unique sense of place, supports our quality of life and enhances Wellington’s attractiveness as a place to live and do business. Maintaining our natural environment and landscapes is key to maintaining the city’s identity and what makes it special. 
Many groups and communities across Wellington are already active in maintaining, protecting and enhancing our natural places. With more people calling Wellington home in the future, we need to ensure that we manage our activities, services and systems so our natural environment remains healthy, sustainable, attractive and accessible. Future conversations will explore how we can improve our existing green spaces and make sure new spaces are provided in areas experiencing growth. 
Council policy documents to achieve this goal:
•	Resilience Strategy
•	Wellington Urban Growth Plan 2014-2043
•	District Plan
•	Our Capital Spaces Plan
What you told us:
To cope with sea level rise, our city tomorrow is a place where we…
 “More people need more green spaces and trees”	
“Look after our water”
“I want to see more native plants and birds in the city”
“Keep waterways clean”
“More public spaces! We'll need more with population increase”

Resilient
Wellington’s natural and built environments are healthy and robust.

The Our City Tomorrow conversations reflected the high level of awareness Wellingtonians have about the city’s vulnerability to shocks and hazards. You told us we need to do more to make sure Wellington is a safe place to live and be able to respond to and recover quickly from disruptions. These messages reflect those that helped shape our Resilience Strategy, with this goal aligning with our existing strategic direction. 
Past development has located buildings and people in areas at risk of hazards. Future conversations will explore how we can improve safety within these areas and ensure new growth and infrastructure is resilient.  Our growth decisions will need to ensure our existing urban areas are robust against shocks, that new growth avoids significantly hazardous areas, and that we continue to encourage community connectedness and accessibility. 
Additionally, we will protect our natural areas to maintain land stability, retain carbon sinks and promote stormwater retention.  Integration of natural ecosystems into our built environment is vital to increasing the city’s resilience and reducing the need for costly infrastructure upgrades.
Council policy documents to achieve this goal:
•	Our Natural Capital: Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan 
•	Low Carbon Capital Plan 
•	Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan 
•	Our Capital Spaces  Plan
•	Open Space Access Plan 
•	District Plan
•	Resilience Strategy
•	Wellington Urban Growth Plan 2014-2043
What you told us:
To prepare for earthquakes, our city tomorrow is a place where we…
“The safety of people is paramount. We need to work together to ensure this”
“Accelerate existing plans for dealing with earthquake-prone buildings and incorporate a manageable plan to lift the standard of remaining buildings”
“Don’t put people’s lives at risk”
“Make sure there are public supplies of food and water throughout the city”

Vibrant & Prosperous
Wellington continues to be vibrant and prosperous, with a thriving economy that encourages creativity and embraces social and cultural diversity.

The Our City Tomorrow conversations reflected a clear sense of pride in Wellington’s ‘city vibe’, aesthetic, character, community and political scene. They also reflected a desire to see the city become more diverse and inclusive, with many people noting a current lack of diversity in the central city and the need for a wider range of ages living centrally so that it could feel more like a community. 
Opportunities identified through these conversations included: creating an attractive innovation hub, and having a greater variety of entertainment and arts events as well as recreation opportunities. There was also a desire to see the city gateway and pedestrian link to the current cruise terminals improved. 
As the capital city, Wellington makes a major contribution to New Zealand’s economy. Our future conversations will explore what we need to do to remain a globally competitive city and strive for sustainable economic growth that ensures the city remains a vibrant and prosperous place for people to live, work, study, visit and invest.
Council policy documents to achieve this goal:
•	Wellington Towards Wellington 2040: Smart Capital
•	Wellington Urban Growth Plan 
•	Central City Framework
•	Housing Strategy
What you told us:
“Wellington needs a creative hub to support local artisans”

“The best thing about the city is the people”
“More public art and placemaking”
“Enable bookable busking areas”
“Work with business owners on Cuba St to retain the unique character of the street”
“Bid for more international sporting events”
“Reduce the level of homlessness in the city”

What’s next?

The Our City Tomorrow engagement has been the start of our public discussion about how we shape the future of Wellington. Our five interim goals will be used to inform  future engagement and decision making as we update our key strategic planning documents. 
The goals formed through the Our City Tomorrow engagement will continue through to guide the development of growth options in our Urban Growth Plan, development proposals for the Central City, and the way we enable housing and manage natural hazards in our District Plan. 
Meaningful engagement will be a priority throughout all plan making and decision making processes  to ensure all Wellingtonians have the opportunity to shape our shared future.