Opinion: The importance of community and partnership for development

Jaine Lovell-Gadd, Centre Development Manager at Kāinga Ora and one of our valued Property Council Auckland Regional Committee members, shares her view on the importance of community and partnership for development.

Introduction

It’s not just housing we need, it is homes close to the things we value, such as transport links, jobs, education, services, retail and green spaces. To achieve this, and get more people living in these areas, we often have to change the landscape of a neighbourhood significantly.

Through large-scale urban development projects, Kāinga Ora is taking a suburb wide approach; upgrading the infrastructure to the levels needed to enable thousands of new social, market and affordable homes and creating great amenity. Of course, this is not done in isolation, it is through the partnership and collaboration of many public and private organisations, and community organisations, that together breathe life into older neighbourhoods and shape a thriving community for all to enjoy.

Transforming Northcote

The Auckland suburb of Northcote was the first Kāinga Ora Large-Scale Project, starting in 2016, and the area has subsequently undergone a huge transformation.  

To date, around 317 older houses have been removed or relocated, making room for both Kāinga Ora and its private construction partners to deliver around 1,700 new social, market and affordable homes of different sizes and types. Over 700 of these new houses and apartments have been delivered as of 30 June 24.

The work goes beyond delivering new housing; it aims to improve the urban environment for everyone that lives there. Together with partners, around $150 million of essential infrastructure has been delivered across the neighbourhood, including 14,700m2 of new and upgraded roads.

Over 12kms of utility lines have been undergrounded and significant stormwater infrastructure upgrades have been completed, including the installation of over 6.6km of stormwater piping and the daylighting of streams.

These critical upgrades are preventing the town centre and many homes from the flooding they were historically prone to. This was best demonstrated during the 2023 Auckland Anniversary storms when the detention basin at Greenslade Reserve collected and safely redirected around 12 million litres of water over just a few hours. This important infrastructure will continue to safeguard new and existing homes from severe weather events long into the future.

Through this development there have also been three new parks and two public greenspaces created at Northcote, including the award-winning Te Ara Awataha and aforementioned Greenslade Reserve, that also doubles as a sports ground.

Partnership and planning

Northcote’s redevelopment had been advocated for by the community for decades. The project combines the Kāinga Ora mandate to deliver more housing, with that of Auckland Council’s urban regeneration agency, Eke Panuku Development Auckland to redevelop the town centre, to make the required changes.

Existing relationships Kāinga Ora held with both public and private sector organisations helped ensure the right teams were involved. This included working closely with mana whenua, Kaitiaki Forum, Auckland Council and its associated organisations, Chorus and Vector, Isthmus, Eke Panuku, LEAD Alliance, WSP New Zealand, Kaipātiki Local Board, Northcote Business Association, Ministry of Education, local schools and community groups such as Kaipātiki Community Facilities Trust and Kaipātiki Project. Together, an award-winning master plan was created, acting as a blueprint for the development, ensuring everyone was on the same page and working together to achieve mutually desired outcomes.

Community engagement and placemaking

The beating heart of Northcote is its community spirit! The continued involvement of the community in the design and placemaking processes was, and still is, integral to the ultimate success of the development programme.

Locals of all ages and from all walks of life have been involved with the project. A notable example is Te Ara Awataha, a 1.5km blue-green corridor stretching along the historic path of the Awataha Stream, linking existing parks, the town centre, schools and homes in Northcote. Delivered by Kāinga Ora, Eke Panuku and Auckland Council’s Healthy Waters, it has been described as ‘the backbone of the community’. The greenway connects people not just with their destination, but with their neighbours, friends and with nature. The vision for Te Ara Awataha came from a group of local students during a workshop over a decade ago, when they first considered the possibility of the Awataha stream as a connected open space through the middle of Northcote.

The stream, piped underground for over 70 years, is now a place where wildlife can flourish, children can play and learn, and the community can connect, while also being an integral part of Northcote’s stormwater network.  Through our partnership with mana whenua, the enhancement of the mauri (life essence) of the stream was at the forefront of the project.

With the success of the greenway fresh in mind, when it came to redesigning Cadness Loop Reserve, the project team made the decision to call upon local rangatahi once again. Their designs have helped create a new basketball court, learn-to-ride track, and covered BBQ.  

Both these projects will leave a legacy for generations to come.

Fostering community connection

While the development programme has brought significant improvements to Northcote, it has also brought a lot of change. The suburb will now be home to more people, some of whom may be new to the area. This change to the community may take some adjusting for both newcomers and those who were there long before Kāinga Ora and its partners turned up.

Throughout this change, the focus has been on fostering community cohesion with the Connecting Northcote work programme, seeking to strengthen community connections and highlight the positives the new neighbourhood is providing.   

Northcote is rich with organisations, people and community groups wanting a thriving community where people live, work, learn, visit, and play. Opportunities are facilitated so people can see their hopes and dreams for the community become a reality.

Kāinga Ora partners with local environmental group Kaipātiki Project and Eke Panuku to foster ownership, pride and connection in Northcote. Kaipātiki Project has been hosting regular working bees and planting days along the Te Ara Awataha, building up a strong network of local volunteers. Community rooms in two of the newest complexes are also becoming a hub for people to meet, get to know their neighbours and feel welcome in the community. Recently these rooms have hosted lantern making for Matariki, a regular waiata group, drop-ins for customers to know what’s happening locally, music jams and residents teaching English to their neighbours.

Building community capacity and working with key community advocates is important for the success of Northcote. Stakeholder network meetings are successfully bringing groups and organisations together to share and look for opportunities to collaborate. For example, a group of locals from around Northcote are starting up a residents’ group for all who live in the area. Their newly formed vision ‘fostering strong and vibrant community connections’ and commitment to the area, will help bring Northcote residents even closer.

Conclusion

Now the first Kāinga Ora large-scale project has completed the necessary civil and infrastructure work, and hundreds of people are settling into their new homes in Northcote’s vibrant community, it is time to reflect on what has been learnt throughout the urban development process. I would suggest that the strong partnerships were essential to coordinating and driving the necessary transformation, and facilitating and enabling local connections has really been key to ensuring the community flourishes.

While developing appropriate infrastructure and providing warm, dry homes can create a neighbourhood, it is people that build a community. He aha te mea nui o te ao? He tangata, he tangata, he tangata!   

Jaine Lovell-Gadd

Centre Development Manager

Kāinga Ora – Homes and Communities

My professional working life combines central and local government experience. I have had the pleasure of planning and building community and commercial precincts and contributing to transforming these spaces for people to live, work, and play in.

I have enjoyed capturing the requirements of the local community and the businesses to enable this to happen.
A Stadium, a Marine precinct, a Museum, City Centre Tidal steps, a Health Centre, a Town Centre, and Civic and Public spaces, creating activation and commerce have been a privilege to lead.

My professional qualification is a BCom and Business Diploma (Marketing) from Auckland University. I am a champion for integration and strong connections between People and Property and believe that this enables city shaping, so that businesses and communities thrive.  

I am a cycling adventurer around the world.

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