Social Planning For Auckland Housing

Social Planning Considerations To Urban Development

It is very likely that in the next few years City Councils around the country will add an aspect of Social Planning to their Planning and Building Regulations. This move will follow an increasing trend around the world of adding representatives from social and welfare organizations to Planning Committees.

Social planning will probably sound familiar to a handful of people with academic backgrounds, it will become more common for representatives of social and welfare organizations, today and in the future to participate in local and national Government planning panels.

When a Planning Committee is due to determine large scale planning and building decisions, it will be the roll of these representatives to raise the awareness of social aspects which have most likely never been considered before by these committees.

Going on what is evolving around the world, it is likely that urban design and social planning will be incorporated as one committee. Seniors in urban design and planning departments are also likely to be trained to qualify as representatives of the welfare and social departments.

In saying that, it would be first time a department is formed to consider and evaluate the social and welfare aspects of planning.

The Effect Of Social Planning

If Auckland Council is planning a neighborhood for wealthy people on Auckland’s North Shore, how would it affect West Auckland?

One of the important aspects of social planning is closing the social gaps within the cities and districts master plan. For example, when gentrification takes place in an area, it is important to consider the effect on the residents which fall into the lower socioeconomic category for that area.

Questions that could be asked are “Should we build new, upmarket shopping malls to cater for those with more money? How would it affect those who don’t earn as much? Is it right? Or is it creating larger socioeconomic gaps?”

In the past, environmental issues dominated for years, over social issues. There was great concern for the health of our land, flora and fauna, and social needs were overlooked.

Overseas Social Planning Outcomes

In Canada, the City planning departments carry out surveys of the environmental and social affects on residents whenever a large urban development is planned. The research helps them learn what social affects the plan could have on the local residents and the social gaps.

Social Planning – The English Module

In 1999 Tony Blair the Prime Minister of England formed an Urban Task Force, headed by Richard Rogers. The Task Force worked with social organizations, local authorities and academics.

The purpose of the Task Force was to study why English cities did not prosper. The team worked on 1,000 detailed proposals that outlined how to revive the cities. It has become one of the largest and most significant social planning studies ever done.

Some of the Task Force’s recommendations that have been implemented to date are:

• Planning of vacant lot within cities to take place prior to those outside the city boundary
• Encourage residents to walk or use public transport
• More integration of well-off and less well-off populations in the same areas
• Vacant warehouses in Central Manchester used exclusively for social and affordable housing

As Auckland House Buyers, Sellers or Renters we could benefit by staying up to-date with future affects of Social Planing in our area.