This summer there’ll be roadcones, diggers and safety fencing aplenty in all Wellington’s towns, as councils dig holes to get the water (and poo) going where they should. So, what’s down there? First off, it’s harder than you think to simply find where the pipes are. And that matters quite a lot (cos if the...
Melbourne’s been working hard at urban greening. And they’ve learned a lot about how it can be done, what mistakes get made, and how the public reacts. We can probably all get behind more greenery and green spaces in our towns. But what does that look like and what considerations come up? Melbourne has a...
With unapproachable and expensive housing markets around the world, many young people are giving up on ever owning a house. Alice Capelle explores a theoretical system that rethinks the inheritance, owning, and buying of homes. Young people are feeling anxiety about the housing crisis. Prices are high, affordable housing is limited, and the market is...
Cities are always under construction. It’s unavoidable. But that doesn’t mean the sites have to be ugly. It’s a common sight for towns and cities to be full of cones and detours. It can feel never-ending. But just because something’s a construction site doesn’t mean it can’t be beautiful or even add to the community....
ICYMI, here’s the recording of the fascinating webinar by the University of Waikato’s Dr Iain White, talking about the new research that investigates this fascinating question in the 15-minute city. 15 minutes under your own steam is a fundamentally sound premise for arranging the stuff of life – so it’s no accident that it’s being...
It doesn’t matter how good everything else is: if your city’s wrongheaded about private car parking everything else will be in chains. But happily the converse is also true… tune in Wednesday 23rd for details! Parking of different kinds is an essential ingredient in a well-functioning city. And it can be a huge set of...
The 15-minute city is a powerful concept reshaping cities worldwide (and inspiring our own Quarter-hour Paradise!) But what would you most like to have within a short walk? What are the top two things *all* Kiwis seem to want, closest to home? Tune in to find out! Notice something about this picture – the classic...
French start-up Commune is creating cohousing for single-parent families in France and (in time) beyond. Coliving is already in huge demand. Why does Commune stand out among the rest? Commune is France’s first coliving development made just for single-parent families. This cohousing experience hopes to support the particular needs of single-parent households. Commune hopes to...
Different countries handle crossing the road differently: some with ease and others chaotically. Wherever you are there are subtle ways crossings communicate who’s entering whose domain. This video from Not Just Bikes shows how crossing design makes streets dangerous where it doesn’t have to be. Depending on where you are, crossing the street can be...
At long (looooooong) last, Wellington’s getting integrated electronic ticketing for our PT. And soon a nationwide system will replace it! Is it all worth it? We had a great time nerdily eavesdropping on an even nerdier Twitter debate, with some interesting takes on nationwide integrated ticketing, public transport operating costs, and government procurement. (For a...
Come along to the free webinar tonight (13/10/2022) at 6:30 pm! A talented panel will discuss our current crisis, lessons from overseas and what we need to secure quality affordable homes for our communities. Join us tonight for a fantastic online panel discussion, House the People! The event is free and starts at 6:30 pm,...
two/fiftyseven welcomes you to a free film series on the places we live, our relationship to them, and how we make them our own Wellington’s grooviest collaborative space – above Unity Books – is showing some ace movies! The next one is Wed Oct 19th – short NZ films about our place. November’s is called Ever...
Greater Wellington is setting its Regional Policy Statement, with some bold direction-setting. It needs and deserves a general thumbs up from us the citizenry – do it by 14th! TL; DR – tell me what to do while I wait for my coffee Good onya. Scroll to our faithful friend, the typing cat! Greater Wellington...
Money and effort goes in, lots of good sounding words are crafted, then… some strange stuff happens on the ground. What’s going on? GreaterAuckland’s Heidi O’Callaghan takes a look into the machinery This month we’re hearing a lot from wannabe local leaders about “doing this or that with transport money”, including “we’ll pressure Waka Kotahi...
This is a post from your friendly editor Isabella. If you’re like me, you’re putting off voting cos it’s complex and a bit depressing. This post gives you a broad steer, and some top tips. Go on, do the vote thing! A top tip from all voting advice is: have a broad sense of the...
When it comes to what’s safe on the roads, our perceptions are often far from reality. If you’re keen for some solid data, you’re in luck… “Main Street’s not that bad…” Dangerous things we interact with every day often feel less dangerous than they really are (and really very safe things we rarely do feel...
Good street change is stupidly hard in NZ, partly thanks to some weird little fossils in legislation. “Reshaping Streets” will fix those, making it a bit easier to improve our streets! But, surprise (sigh) it needs your help to get over the line… ***FAST SUBMISSION SHORTCUT: SCROLL DOWN TO THE TYPING CAT**** The “Reshaping Streets”...
District Plans are really important and pretty dense… Talk Wellington and friends have done the hard yards so you don’t have to! Just whack in a submission – by 5pm Monday 12th! All the councils of the region are updating their District Plans because the government, by bipartisan agreement, has decreed councils can no longer...
Looking internationally it’s clear Wellington’s delivery logistics could be improved. A lot of it comes down to that “last mile.” Improving this starts with freight distribution hubs. As Wellington car-frees larger parts of the city, we have the opportunity to rethink our logistics and delivery procedures. This could mean adjusting the times delivery vehicles are...
There’s an assumption that housing for elderly or intergenerational families can’t add any height. But with care accessible, tight-knit, multi-storied or even high-rise communities are more than doable. So, how do you achieve that? Multi-storey housing is generally considered automatically unviable for older citizens. Particularly if these structures have their bedrooms upstairs and don’t have...
What does it take to design a city that serves you for life? And why do many, including the World Health Organization, consider age-inclusivity particularly valuable? It’s easy for certain groups or dimensions to be overlooked when designing towns, neighbourhoods and facilities. Age is one such dimension; we often prioritise young and middle adults when...
The plans for Golden Mile are coming into focus! There’s still time to provide your ideas and feedback on their details. Hop on LGWM’s interactive map or flick them an email by August 14th to have your say! Let’s Get Wellington Moving (LGWM) has been moving slowly forward on a better Golden Mile for some...
Safe cycling and scooting between the Botanic Gardens and the harbour needs needs your support to become real – because of course “just being a no-brainer essential thing” isn’t enough. Biking and scooting safely between the Botanic Gardens and the harbour is something that’s vital for the city, a route identified by exhaustive analysis and an...
So why do we keep doing essentially the same stuff with infrastructure, when we know it won’t give us the change we need? An expert’s take… This is a guest post by freelance journalist Stephen Olsen of Palaver Media. Check out their great cities content on Medium. Geoff Cooper, GM Urban Strategy at the nation’s brains trust...
We’ve seen debate in recent months over protecting Auckland’s special character housing. These structures are important to some as a matter of history and identity. All this talk has some examining why certain areas get developed and others preserved. Auckland’s special character houses are protected from densification efforts. These buildings are said to provide history...
Finally, it seems, we may be getting less insane (in Einstein terms) in how we plan, build and experience transport infrastructure… “Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results” These great words (attributed to Einstein) come up a lot when we think about transport. You know the feeling: we...
Some influential voices are pointing out the climate weaknesses of Let’s Get Wellington Moving big-ticket programme. Will anyone listen? What’s new? Te Waihanga, the NZ Infrastructure Commission (lots of big brains, but no powers to compel the government to do anything) has just released some analysis. It’s here and here, and LGWM’s response is here....
Younger people will spend far more time in our towns and cities than those currently in charge (because time). So what if children were more involved in designing cities? Mara Mintzer has dedicated over a decade to working with children (people aged 0-18 years) to design cities. In her research she’s been asking them what...
As we approach big decisions about urban character and housing, and how to move in the city and things to get to, here are some guiding stars This TED talk with Peter Calthorpe is a great watch. It talks about how the best cities to live in foster community through their design – by creating spaces...
Young architects and urban designers can (A) slot into an established firm, enjoy a salary and consistent work, or (B) strike out on their own, using their trade to solve some of Aotearoa’s biggest challenges. The Studio Tēpu founders have taken the red pill… come hear them tonight! It’s ambitious for any design or infrastructure...
Simon Keller Marshall Clark is the long-time Wellington Scottish treasurer. Marshall will step down as treasurer when his term finishes in April, and we are looking for a replacement. I chatted with Marshall about the role and what it takes to be a good club treasurer. How long have you been Scottish treasurer, and how […]
Well done to our huge crew who raced at the Relay Champs. It was fantastic to see so many Pirates racing hard and having fun. Swim Wellington presented their awards for 2022 and we were the winners of. 2022 Club of the Year 2022 Trygve Cup Champions Steve Francis won Age Group Coach of the […]
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The squash interclub season is upon us, with the Autumn competition starting in late February – not to be confused with KTSC’s own in-house Innerclub competition which will run on Thursdays from 16 February through to 30 March. Autumn interclub has two competitions: Mens on Tuesday nights beginning 28 February, and Women’s beginning 1 March. … Read more Autumn Squash Interclub – call for entries
Over the Long Weekend our 13 and over’s raced at SW Long Course Champs. With over half the teams coming from outside our Region, Pirates had a close tussle with Christchurch’s Wharenui Club, to come out on top of the 32 competing Clubs. A huge moment for the club and a follow up to our […]
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Stuart will “lead” a walk-through of his exhibition The Hand of Dog, where
he will discuss how his beloved canine companion Roo has played muse to his
artistic output over the past 5 years.
