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Lambton – the Golden Smile
Wellington has long been quietly smug about our best-in-NZ public transport. It’s time to make it really bear dividends for Wellington City. Guest author Guy M has been walking, photographing and thinking. Let’s Get Wellington Moving is a great idea, but it seems a little slow on progress. We’re assured that behind the scenes, great…
Read More“Let’s go for a walk!” But where?
Whether you’re hearing “Let’s go for a walk!” from someone excitable with four legs, or two, or both, it’s surprisingly hard to know where it’s OK to have the kids and the family dog. A Wellington mapper and data geek has come to the rescue. Here is data geek (and dog-lover and runner) Aimee Whitcroft’s…
Read MoreAs good as it gets
Naenae is, in many ways, a microcosm of contemporary New Zealand. Guest author Annanonymous writes about what you see in Naenae as an outsider, and what that means for all of us. This article was originally posted on THE END IS NAENAE, 7 MAY 2017 It’s about nine years since our family moved to…
Read MoreIt’s gonna get intense!
Wellington is finally starting to acknowledge how badly it needs more intense development. Isabella hopes we don’t have to suffer a Welly version of Auckland’s toxicity to achieve a good balance of density. The Wellington City Mayor’s Housing Taskforce report is just out and it’s got some great stuff. While it misses an…
Read MoreOcean vs locals (vs localism?)
Councils and ratepayers are grappling with coastal erosion. Coastal processes are complex, earthquakes add extra urgency, the stakes are high. TalkWellington wonder: are we expecting too much from local communities and local government? Looking out of the train along the Paekakariki Escarpment, Wellington’s tectonic and coastal origins hit you in the eye. The Pukerua Fault…
Read MorePronouncing History: place names in Kāpiti
Being at home in a landscape includes seeing the full story of its history reflected, not just one side. Scoop Wellington’s Lindsay Shelton reckons Kāpiti has taken an important, symbolic step. This article is cross-posted with permission from Scoop Wellington A working party of iwi representatives and a local historian have come up with a…
Read MoreOne Year hurry up for Cuba Street
What’s happened with earthquake strengthening our beloved fragile heritage buildings in Cuba St? EyeoftheFish asks – and gets an answer This article is cross-posted with permission from EyeoftheFish. It’s taken over 5 years since the first Canterbury quake for some actual real action to be taken on strengthening, and not before time. Now that the laws…
Read MoreFacing towards our water
Why do we love being near water? The best bits of Wellington’s towns bring people to water, and Riverlink is now turning Lower Hutt’s face to Te Awa Kairangi. The Hutt River, Te Awa Kairangi, has been engineered hard over the last century to reduce the frequency of flooding (and massively raising the stakes). Despite…
Read MoreWaterproofing Wellington
You’d be forgiven for thinking Wellingtonians are determined to spend more time knee-deep in water. TalkWellington looks at why our places are likely to flood more, and ways we can stop it. It rains quite a lot in Wellington, and floods quite a lot. And it’s very likely to rain harder in the near future…
Read MoreGetting around: Who wants what?
Wellington’s getting a lot of big new roads. TalkWellington, looking at Auckland, wonders if it’s wholly good news for Wellington’s future. So many new roads! They include what’s currently the nation’s single largest earthworks project, Transmission Gully. Most of them are funded by the NZ Transport Agency (NZTA). These roads will have a huge impact…
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