Abstract

Growth Misconduct? Avoiding sprawl and improving urban intensification in New Zealand.
Edited by Karen Witten Wokje Abrahamse & Keriata Stuart
Wellington, NZ. Steele Roberts Aotearoa, 2011, 219pp., ISBN 978-1-877577-44-4
Starting from such a small population, in comparison to cities in other developed countries, there has been a time-lag for the full impact of urban growth patterns in New Zealand to be realised to the extent that it warrants a book such as this. Many of the questions being raised in this book are questions that were faced by other countries well into the last century. However, New Zealand is different and with the lack of industry, city growth has few similarities with European and North American cities. New Zealand cities, in particular Auckland and Wellington, have expanded across greenfield sites experiencing growth of detached homes along the fringes with consequent issues that include the excessive use of energy for transport as well as many other environmental and social consequences. New Zealand also has a very different culture with a history of immigrants drawn to the country by its open spaces and the aspiration of owning and, sometimes, working on the land. While New Zealand faces similar problems of peak oil and climate change as the rest of the world, it also has its own specific issues that are analysed in this book.