A brief history of Auckland’s urban form

Cities are dynamic places, and as in Auckland’s case, are constantly evolving. Since its beginnings in the 1840s as a cluster of modest dwellings and businesses around the trading ports at Commercial Bay (now the base of Queen Street due to land reclamation) and at Onehunga, the built (urban) area in the Auckland region has expanded to over 45,000 hectares, now stretching from Orewa in the north to Papakura in the south, and to the foothills of the Waitakere Ranges in the west.

Urban expansion in Auckland has been driven by strong population and economic growth.  Originally enticed by the availability of land, accessible and safe harbours, rich fertile soils and temperate climate, people have been steadily migrating to the region over the last 170 years, transforming the landscape and creating a large metropolitan area. Auckland is now a nationally significant centre of commerce, trade, employment, education, and culture.

Historically, the development of Auckland’s urban form has been characterised by growth in suburbs and low density development, accompanied by a dependency on private motor vehicles to get around. As the supply of available land within the Metropolitan Urban Limit diminishes, and the social and environmental costs of dependency on private vehicles become more apparent, there has been some growth in the proportion of new housing developments that are medium and high density, and a rejuvenation of the central city as a place to live.

‘A brief history of Auckland’s urban form’ outlines the development of Auckland’s urban form, from early colonial settlement to the modern Auckland metropolis. It is challenging to encapsulate the growth of a city this size in 26 pages, and so the report aims to capture the key relevant drivers behind the growth in suburbs - including infrastructure provision, State housing and in later decades, major planning decisions.

A main feature of this report is the series of ‘growth maps’. The report is chronological in nature, and each section (with the exception of two time periods 1880-1899 and 1990-1999) includes a map that shows growth over time in the built-up areas, as well as the development of the rail and motorway systems. These maps replicate, and continue, a series of maps first included in a 1967 article by G. T. Bloomfield on ‘The Growth of Auckland 1840- 1966’.¹

There are several excellent local histories of the Auckland region and its neighbourhoods available, and the report includes a lengthy reference list for further reading.

¹: Bloomfield, G.T., (1967) ‘The Growth of Auckland 1840-1966’, in J.S. Whitelaw (editor) Auckland in Ferment. New Zealand Geographical Society. Wellington, New Zealand.