Infrastructure Report: A stronger business voice at the table to ensure liveability

Mayurie Gunatilaka, Arup New Zealand country leader. Photo / Supplied

In the 12 months at the height of the Covid pandemic, Auckland plunged from first to 34th and Wellington fourth to 50th out of 173 cities on the Global Liveability Index, run by the Economist Intelligence Unit.

Pandemic management (delayed vaccine roll-out and leakage of more infectious virus variants) and the lengthy border closure (it fully re-opened in July last year) was largely to blame for the fall between the 2021 and 2022 liveability surveys.

“The strength of New Zealand’s liveability is under threat as major cities around the world compete with each other to attract businesses, investment, talent and tourism,” says Mayurie Gunatilaka, New Zealand country leader for global professional services firm Arup.

“I’m worried that with Auckland being 34th on the list the international interest could be lower than what it should be. We have to do something about that,” she says.

The liveability index is based on stability (political, safety and crime rate), healthcare, culture and environment, infrastructure and education.

“Infrastructure is an important element,” says Gunatilaka. “We seemed to have scored not as highly on infrastructure this time. Vienna was named the No 1 most liveable city because of its effective social housing and public transport system based on collaborative city planning.”

She says New Zealand needs a long-term infrastructure development and investment plan that transforms cities. And business should have a strong voice at the table, bringing people together and helping to develop a pipeline of infrastructure that gives investors and developers the confidence to come into the country and move from one project to another with certainty.

“Financiers and developers need to see a programme of investment. There are plenty of intentions (in New Zealand) but have we committed to a plan? New Zealand is losing out on this.”

Gunatilaka says the Copenhagen Metro and the Crossrail network in London are successful examples of the private sector coming to the table and stumping up with investment. The London First business lobby group championed the need for infrastructure that attracts economic growth.

“We know the demand for public infrastructure is outstripping the traditional funding sources, and by having a stronger voice in the conversation business can help solve those issues including introducing investors.”

She says Auckland needs a transformational mass rapid transit system to race up from 34th on the liveability index.

“Planning is one thing but we need New Zealand Inc to get behind it and bring it to life.

“There is a fundamental belief that infrastructure development is needed. It’s the different elements of the system that cause arguments. We need to come together and understand what is in the best interests of everyone.

“Auckland needs a modern, multi-modal transport system that gives people more travel choices and tackles congestion. We need to have Auckland in our heart when making decisions and create that opportunity to transform the city — just like in Copenhagen,” Gunatilaka says.

The Koi Tu research centre, based at Auckland University, said in its March 2022 publication Reimagining Tāmaki Makaurau that Auckland needed joined-up decision-making, a unified vision and a coherent funding programme, all agreed upon with the central government and supported by Aucklanders.

UN-Habitat said cities like Auckland need more innovative and inclusive solutions to their urban challenges.

In an alliance with Aurecon, Arup has been selected to design and develop the 24km light rail system from the Auckland city centre to the airport, half of it underground. Gunatilaka is the chair of the alliance.

Arup has plenty of experience creating metro systems that become a catalyst for urban regeneration (housing, retail and recreation) and improving the quality of life. It is a key partner in developing the City Circle Line (Cityringen) metro which expands Copenhagen’s existing system.

Cityringen is the biggest construction project for 400 years in Copenhagen, which has the same population as Auckland. Now that more than 16km of twin-bore tunnels and 17 new stations have been completed, Cityringen ensures a majority of Copenhagen’s residents are within 600m of a train or metro station.

Cityringen provides a 24-minute — predominantly underground — loop around Copenhagen’s centre, interchanging with the existing metro, its mainline services, and buses.

Convenient cycle facilities are also provided at each station, allowing passengers to seamlessly switch from the metro to complete the first or last leg of their journey using a sustainable, active means of transportation.

For more than 30 years, Arup has been working as part of a team of experts to deliver the Elizabeth Line (now named Crossrail), 42km of giant bored tunnels under the busy streets of London and navigating through its congested subterranean of building foundations, London Underground tunnels and many other structures and utilities.

The east-west line from Abbey Wood and Shenfield to Reading is transforming travel through London. The project has provided years of economic stimulus to areas such as Thamesmead, Woolwich and Abbey Wood, and by offering radically faster access to the city it has connected their populations to new opportunities for work, education and leisure.

Arup was also involved in the Jubilee Line Extension which provided an additional 16km of track and six new stations to the Greenwich Peninsula, an industrial heritage site characterised by high unemployment, low-grade social housing and suppressed property and commercial rents.

The low land values there prompted Ravensbourne University, a specialist college of design and digital media, to relocate its campus to Greenwich in 2010. The Jubilee Line Extension was the catalyst for this move.

More than 1000 technology businesses have sprung up alongside the university, and the campus has become an anchor of the peninsula’s emerging design and innovation precinct.

In another London project, Arup led the infrastructure design to increase the capacity of the Docklands Light Railway (DLR) in time for the London 2012 Olympics.

This involved track enhancements to enable three-car trains to be introduced on the DLR network at 19 locations, many of which were constrained due to the urban environment.

The DLR project involved more than 200 Arup staff from international offices with a team ranging from the track, civil and geotechnical engineers to acoustics, environmental, planning and landscape specialists.

Liz Halsted from Arup convened a panel discussion at the Building Nations 2023 conference, entitled “Providing a catalyst for change and achieving urban transformation” that addresses the question of how to fund significant projects.

“We want to bring global talent to the conversation,” Gunatilaka says.

Roger Madelin, a director from British Land, provided examples on how developers can work in partnership with the government to deliver integrated infrastructure.

Halsted was joined by Katja Lietz, general manager urban planning and design at Kainga Ora, and Duncan Edghill, chief executive at ALTRAC Light Rail, to discuss how New Zealand can learn from the different ways cities and precincts can be used to generate investment.

The panel discussion explored the opportunities for transformational city shaping and urban development potential that rapid transit projects can create for cities evidenced by global exemplars, such as the revitalisation of King’s Cross in London, and the Sydney light rail system.

· Arup is an advertising sponsor of the Herald’s Infrastructure report.