New Suburbia: Creating a Sense of Neighbourhood

Abstract

The growth of cities is a global concern and the intensification phases of town centres, beginning at their core and spreading outwards, is becoming an increasingly studied phenomenon. This thesis is contextualised by urban growth trends and, through considering concepts such as fringe belt development and phased approaches to intensification, it is also focused on understanding how and why town centres grow. In considering the urban policy and strategy that is defining the urban growth agenda in cities such as Auckland, New Zealand, it can be realised that the additional goal of liveable outcomes for town centres is mandated alongside intensification imperatives. Furthermore, the concept of neighbourhood liveability is often associated in the literature with the integration of urban amenities in to urban areas. As town centres develop, and spread out in to the surrounding housing, how urban amenities are integrated alongside the housing is an area of research that needs more focus. This study is particularly interested in the third phase of town centre development. The third phase of development typically occurs at the neighbourhood fringes of a town centre and is where traditionally low density detached houses are the predominant typology. It was through seeking to understand the relationship between third phase town centre intensification and liveability that the key research question to be addressed in this thesis emerged. ‘Can the insertion of urban amenities alongside higher density living help to maintain liveability as town centres intensify?’ An iterative design process has been followed where literature has been studied alongside making processes, such as model making, drawing and mixed media installations, to explore the suburban context of and opportunities for intensification in the case study town centre of Milford, Auckland. By studying the urban growth policy of Milford and experimenting with opportunities for growth, the final design presented in this thesis creates a series of urban experiences through the integration of urban amenities at the town centre fringe. Each iteration has been refined and critiqued by establishing a process for questioning the relationship between density and how a sense of liveability can be assisted through design. In turn, this thesis establishes a design and design criteria that will seek to better understand liveability through the careful integration of amenities alongside higher density living.