Identity and architecture : the impact of urban intensification

Abstract

RESEARCH QUESTION: Taking into consideration the social aspects of living at higher densities, how can affordable medium density infill housing be designed on unused and difficult land in Auckland’s suburbs?

This project investigates the impact urban intensification in Auckland suburbs has on the social aspects of identity (the individual and the community). The scheme, a medium or higher density infill housing development for a non-profit housing association, is proposed on an undeveloped site in Auckland. The project tests the principles of increasing densities to satisfy both the sustainability objectives of current planning policies and the social and spatial needs of residents. It also studies ways of using vacant sites that have not been previously developed for urban use.

These sites are left undeveloped because they have been deemed too difficult for the standard low-density suburban housing model that has always been preferred in Auckland. Factors such as slope, aspect, access and drainage are the main reasons for these sites being left unoccupied. Policies to intensify Auckland continue to dominate strategic planning therefore; these undeveloped sites become significant and attract attention because of their ability to increase the density of an area without interfering with the current living conditions of built suburbia. Where they occur within walking distance of a town centre and good public transport nodes a design-led approach to suitability for housing use provides the basis for this study.

SITE: Pleasant Road in the suburb of Glen Eden.