Editorial

A very interesting report landed in my inbox a couple of months ago. Written by Sean Penrith, the executive director of the Earth Advantage Institute, a notfor- profit organisation in the USA that certifies green buildings, the report highlighted the author’s top ten green building trends to watch for in 2010.

Amongst such eco-friendly ideas as water conservation, net zero buildings and carbon zero construction was a topic titled ‘ecodistricts’. The city of Portland, where the Earth Advantage Institute is based, is already encouraging the creation of greener communities, the author said, where residents have access to almost all services and supplies within walking or biking distance. These areas also incorporate green spaces and green-certified buildings.

This whole issue of greener communities seems to be a hot topic at the moment. As I write this editorial, a brand-new conference is about to start here in Auckland. Titled the NZ Smart Cities Summit, it proposes to demonstrate how “New Zealand cities and regions can adapt, and are currently integrating, some of the smart city principles to solve urban challenges such as congestion, pressure caused by increasing populations and reducing the city’s carbon footprint”.

But what’s new about greener communities? Three years ago I attended a major conference in Christchurch that looked at the issues facing transport planners over the next 50 years. I was very fortunate to sit in on a presentation on how the designs for urban growth within Auckland have evolved over the years. Midway through, an image flashed up on the screen that immediately had me sitting bolt upright. “That’s my street,” I (almost) shouted out.

And there in black-and-white, reproduced from a Ministry of Works report dating back to the 1940s, was the town planning scheme for Tamaki, showing the proposed town centre, the foreshore along the river, and a series of inter-connected ‘greenways’ linking the heads of the cul-de-sac roads with the township and foreshore. It was possible for children to go to and from school through the reserves and thus avoid using or crossing the roads. In the same way, pedestrian access to the shops was planned using the reserves as footways.

Most of those ‘greenways’ still exist today. The city council maintains them, and most of them include paved walkways and park benches. While I’d hesitate to let my children use them to go to and from school, as there have been a couple of nasty incidents involving not-so-pleasant adults, they’re great places to go for a bike ride.

How wonderful would it be to have a system of linked cycle pathways between all Auckland’s town centres? How I would love to be able to ride to say Howick or Ellerslie without risking my life on our roads.

Until next time ...

Lynne Richardson Editor