Abstract:
Current society spends an unprecedented amount of time behind the wheel of a singly occupied vehicle. Even with the environmental impact and depleting fossil fuel, the connection between home, work and recreation is still limited to private transports. However for a predicted future of Auckland, private transports would not be able to provide effective connection as congestion and pollution worsen by the day. Hence this thesis proposed to enhance the connection by introducing a new grow plan for Auckland which promotes the use of public transport. Buses are chosen as the centre of development for public transport, consisting express, inter-suburb and local connectors. Other modes such as walk and cycle are also included in the growth in order to providing not only options of travel but an arena for social collision. In this thesis, each component in the development of the network is identified as a "pattern". The term "pattern" is viewed as a set of guide lines in development of each situation. Although the aim is to improve the connections between the fundamentals, yet a pattern cannot merely exist in isolation, they are always part of a bigger pattern. And only by constructing a pattern of every aspect can the world at that one place become more coherent; such principle by Christopher Alexander saw the significance of connection between the different scales of patterns. Ranging from the development of the city down to a suburb, a building and to the modules of buildings, the thesis recognized the conflicting forces within each of the stage. With configurations that resolved all forces in harmony, the whole of Auckland's future growth pattern can then be accomplished. The growth of the plan was of organic nature; it focused on channeling the patrons onto the express buses by expand and populate existing suburbs. As a result of the proposed plan, the public will be provided with an addition option in travel, which preserves the effectiveness of public transport in moving large quantity of patrons with minimal factors, such as traffic conditions, affecting the travelling time, at the same time possess the freedom and ease of travel similar to private transport. Furthermore, the active modes also provided opportunities for an increase in social engagements through travelling. It is important for a healthy society to have a greater level of social engagement as it will improve the overall enjoyment of life for the population as well as decrease stress level, improve immune system, greater coping and resilience and greater life satisfaction. Therefore the proposed growth not only offered a healthy and sustainable future for Auckland in terms of less fuel consumption and pollution caused by private cars, but also a healthier population both mentally and physically.