KEY POINTS:
Life in New Zealand's big cities is getting better with strong economies, decent job prospects, good housing and ready access to health and education services.
But there is a growing gap between the haves and have-nots and some cities are beginning to feel the strain of booming populations.
The Quality of Life project, released today at 1pm, paints a comprehensive picture of life in the country's 12 biggest cities.
Nine out of 10 city-dwellers say they have an overall positive quality of life.
"This report shows that urban New Zealand is essentially a great place to live, work and play," said Jim Harland, Chief Executive of Dunedin City Council and Quality of Life Project sponsor.
"City residents feel that they enjoy a good quality of life, are happy and satisfied with their lives and report that they are in good health. On the whole, they have a sense of pride in their city and consider that their cities offer them a culturally rich and diverse arts scene."
The report started with six cities in 1999 and has been expanded to 12 this year. It provides data on people; knowledge and skills; health; safety; housing; social connectedness; civil and political rights; economic standard of living; economic development; the natural environment; and the built environment.
It is a project run by the local authorities in Rodney; North Shore; Waitakere; Auckland; Manukau; Hamilton; Tauranga; Porirua; Hutt; Wellington; Christchurch; and Dunedin.
The 2007 report shows most residents in the 12 cities are generally satisfied with their lives, enjoy clean air and water and have ready access to employment, housing and services such as health and education.
The economy is strong, median personal and household incomes have increased, and there has been an increase in jobs and a drop in unemployment.
The 12 cities account for nearly two-thirds of all economic activity in New Zealand and the economies have grown, on average, by 4.3 per cent per year over the five years to March 2006.
Aspects of safety in the cities have also improved. The rate of serious and fatal road crashes has fallen, there has been a decline in the rate of workplace accidents and the overall rate of crime has declined.
However, the report also highlighted a number of challenges. The key issue for the cities is how to accommodate growth in a sustainable way.
Mr Harland said: "Our cities make up more than half of New Zealand's population and are continuing to grow rapidly. Most of New Zealand's total population growth in the next 20 years is projected to take place in the 12 cities."
Such fast growth placed pressure on city infrastructure. Traffic congestion, some instances of poor air and water quality, graffiti, vandalism, litter and noise were all issues that needed to be addressed.
The local authorities also acknowledged that not everyone experienced all the positive aspects of New Zealand cities and the gap between those with a better or poorer quality of life was widening in some instances, Mr Harland said.
"Action is now needed to plan for long-term growth in our cities, to improve access to key services, and promote economic and environmental sustainability."
Mr Harland said the aim of the report was to give decision-makers more information to improve the quality of life in major New Zealand urban areas.
He said the 12 cities would work together to identify the priority issues and which agencies needed to address them. It was essential that infrastructure and services supported the continued population growth in cities, and the increasing social and cultural diversity, he said.
"An even better quality of life for all city residents will come about only if local government, central government and our communities work together."
Key findings - good news:
* 90 per cent of residents felt they had a positive overall quality of life, rating it as good or extremely good.
* Life expectancy has increased across all 12 cities.
* Over the next 20 years, the majority of New Zealand's total population growth is projected to take place in the 12 cities.
* 88 per cent of New Zealand residents felt they had a positive emotional well-being, responding with a rating of either 'very happy' (36.0 per cent) or 'happy' (52.0 per cent).
* During the past five years, all 12 cities have experienced growing levels of estimated Gross Domestic Product, low unemployment levels and an overall increase in inflation adjusted earnings.
Key findings - bad news:
* The pace of growth is placing considerable pressure on the environment, infrastructure and social fabric of our cities.
* Some cities are facing environmental issues such as traffic congestion, poor air quality, poor beach and stream quality, the management of waste and protecting the cities' biodiversity.
* There are continuing and, in some cases, increasing disparities between groups of people in our cities.
* The burden of socioeconomic disadvantage is borne largely by Maori and Pacific Islands people, teenage mothers and sole parent families.
* Home ownership has been declining. Maori and Pacific Islands people are least likely to own their own homes.
