City Centre

George is a Chartered Town Planner, an Urban Designer and an alumnus of the King’s Foundation for the Built Environment. Currently George is a Principal Transport Advisor at Auckland Council, focussing on transport-land use integration.

George co-authored Kainga Ora’s Sustainable Transport Outcomes and was the lead author of its Masterplanning for Universal Design guide. He has guest-lectured at Victoria University of Wellington and has taught undergraduate and postgraduate courses at the University of Auckland.

But the particular reason we wanted George for this podcast is that he was the lead author of the 2020 Auckland City Centre Masterplan (CCMP).

Available on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.

Auckland's city centre is the most productive 4.3 hectares in Aotearoa.  Its service intensive economy has two essential inputs - people and the buildings they operate from.  And no one understands the role of, and issues facing, the Auckland property sector better than Leonie Freeman.  In this podcast Leonie discusses the health of our commercial property sector, as well as opportunities and challenges for growing our inner-city residential sector.

Available on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.

In this episode we talk to Simon Bridges about (among other things) his experience of green-lighting the City Rail Link in Parliament and his current role as a key shaper of the city’s prosperity.

Simon has achieved a lot in his 48 years and is showing no sign of slowing down. Currently, Simon heads up the Auckland Business Chamber, chairs the New Zealand Transport Agency – Waka Kotahi and sits on The Eden Park Trust Board. These roles combined with his upbringing in Auckland, previous roles as Minister of Transport, Minister of Economic Development, Leader of the House (Parliament) and Leader of the Opposition, give Simon broad and penetrating insights into Auckland’s issues and its relationship with Wellington. 

Available on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.

In this episode, we speak to Adrienne Young-Cooper. Adrienne is a currently a full-time, non-executive company director and trustee on a number of entities and organisations. This follows a leading public-sector career and running a medium-sized consultancy. She has specialised in transport (land, aviation and maritime) sectors, social housing and urban and property development and investment.

Adrienne shares her belief that Auckland's city centre would benefit from two things: increasing its residential population and turning it into the economic heart of the country by making it the primary location for our biggest companies.

As someone who spends time outside the city for work, she also acknowledges that the rest of New Zealand see that if Auckland does well, then the whole country benefits.

Available on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.

In this episode, we speak to Steve Armitage, Chief Executive of Hospitality NZ and former GM Destination of Auckland Tourism, Events and Economic Development, now Tataki Auckland Unlimited.

Steve has overseen the economic development aspects of many of Auckland’s major events, including the Cricket World Cup, 36th America’s World Cup, FIFA Women’s World cup and Rugby World Cup, and with this experience, he touches on the how important it is to keep Auckland visible on the world stage.

However, he says hospitality is all about human connection – we have great diversity and vibrancy in Auckland, and our quality built environment and improving accessibility supports that- but people still need an occasion, celebration or event to bring them into the city.

With 24 of the Top 50 Metro eateries in the city centre, Steve outlines how he believes Auckland can become a must-see international destination.

Available on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.

In this episode, we speak to Patrick Reynolds, Deputy Chair of the Auckland City Centre Advisory Panel, Director of Greater Auckland, and former board member of Waka Kotahi NZTA. Patrick is popularly known for his architectural photography and celebrated for his active role in urban issues especially transport in Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland.

Patrick talks about the origin of the Auckland city centre and the role of transport in shaping our economic and cultural centre from the mid twentieth century until now. He explains that there is a critical difference between a central business district and a true city centre.

His advice to mayors and ministers is that we have begun doing many of the right things, but we need to do more to make Auckland’s economic and cultural centre internationally competitive.

Available on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.

In this episode, Rory Palmer chats with Simon Wilson - award-winning senior writer for The Herald, and author of the 'Love This City' weekly newsletter.

This episode covers, among other things, the interplay between private and public sectors in transforming a city - the 'sweet spot' between disruption and progress - as well as Simon's favourite parts of the city. All this and much more besides. Listen here. 

Available on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.