Auckland
could risk losing more of its young professionals overseas if parts of
the council’s proposed Unitary Plan aren’t handled properly, some
students warn.
More than 100 University of
Auckland students and recent graduates met last night to discuss their
views on the Unitary Plan with city councillors, Auckland mayor Len
Brown and deputy mayor Penny Hulse.
Among the major concerns raised were the city's poor public transport system and access to affordable housing.
In
the year ending March 2011, 7773 people aged between 15 and 34 left
Auckland intending to be gone for 12 months or more, according to
Statistics New Zealand. In the previous five years before that numbers
were well over 10,000.
Second-year planning
student Sarah Burgess says she always planned to move overseas, but that
desire has grown since she started her degree.
“It [a degree] opens your eyes to how much better things are overseas.”
The
19-year-old, who spends more than an hour on a bus getting from her
Botany home in east Auckland to the university's city campus, says the
public transport system is “terrible” and the housing developments
aren't sustainable.
“Housing is critical," she says. "If it’s not carried out with proper restrictions I would consider leaving.”
Ms
Burgess says she would be open to apartment living, but the current
apartment blocks on offer were “not very nice” and she would not want to
live in the CBD.
Human Geography student Sophie Emson, 19, plans to move to London once finishing university in a couple of years.
One of Auckland’s major problems is affordable housing, she says.
“I’ve
been looking to move away from home, but the rent is too high.
Preferably I’d like to live in the city, but it’s more expensive. It’s
the difference between travelling ages to get into the city and living
close by and not being able to live well.”
Dr Sudhvir Singh is sick
of going to farewell parties for his friends leaving New Zealand. He
says many young people, including his classmates, are frustrated at not
being able to find housing close to where they work, which is compounded
by the transport problems.
“Young people growing
up in Auckland have seen these frustrations first-hand. Many of them
have travelled overseas and seen what it’s like in international cities.
There are cities overseas competing for our talent which offer vibrant
communities close to where people work.”
Dr
Singh, who works at Auckland Hospital, moved to a Grafton apartment
because it meant he could walk to work and “spend time outside doing
what I want to do”. He became frustrated by the commute as a university
student when he used to live in Torbay on the North Shore.
He
prefers apartment living in the city despite the high rent because he
does not have the time to properly maintain a backyard.
“Convenience is a factor which trumps everything else.”
Dr Singh says the Unitary Plan in its current form will not keep people in Auckland because it is “business as usual”.
Around
160,000 dwellings are planned for outside the urban boundary which
would make the city more car dependent, cause motorway congestion and
more urban sprawl.
Deputy mayor Ms Hulse says the
idea of young people owning their own home “is a fading dream”, but the
Unitary Plan will provide more choices in the housing market.
She
says most young people who travel overseas want to live in a “vibrant
community with good public transport”. The ideal situation for Auckland
would be to have jobs close to where people work, building more density
around transport hubs, but also retaining commercial and industrial
zones.
Permanent and long-term departures from Auckland:
- 2006: 12,540
- 2007: 12,476
- 2008: 13,785
- 2009: 14,259
- 2010: 12,101
- 2011: 7773
Statistics
NZ defines permanent and long-term departures as New
Zealand residents leaving for an intended period of 12 months or more
and also includes overseas visitors leaving the country after at least
12 months.
3 News
No comments:
Post a Comment