3-D look at plans for city of future

Auckland City. Photo / Kenny Rodger

Three-dimensional images of how Auckland might look in 30 years will be available on public library computers for citizens to view, criticise and share their ideas with planners.

But first, on March 23, Mayor Len Brown will hold an Aotea Centre summit about the proposed Auckland Plan, to which international experts and leading thinkers will be invited.

The summit discussion will begin the "stakeholder engagement" phase of pulling together the spatial plan, or long-term vision and framework for making Auckland one of the world's most liveable cities.

As a provocative draft, it might be changed in light of discussion and what the Government thinks before months of public consultation until December.

It will go to the mayor and councillors for adoption as a guide to forming its 10-year spending forecast, which has a deadline of June 30 this year.

"The mayor wants to engage and excite the people of Auckland to have a say whereas in the past there has been low-level involvement," said chief planning officer Dr Roger Blakeley.

"It's a genuine opportunity for everyone to get involved and all these ideas will be brought together in a converging view of what 1.4 million Aucklanders think of the future of their city.

"We are getting a 3-D model of Auckland and elements of the plan will be added as they are developed progressively over the year.

"It will be a fly-by through the city centre. The plan will be like if you look down from a satellite in 30 years' time."

Dr Blakeley said work was "full speed ahead" on preparing the draft Auckland Plan, and was on target for June next year, despite some views that such a big task would take three to five years.

"It starts with future land use but it goes beyond that to look at social, economic, environmental and cultural wellbeing of the city."

He said the draft plan was based on evidence, including the work available in a stack of documents and studies done by Auckland's previous eight councils, on providing transport and other infrastructure, environmental protection, heritage management and boosting economic and social growth.