Urbanism never sleeps… and despite NZ’s traditional shut-down and quiet period over the summer, it’s been a big time! Here’s some urbanism-relevant stuff you may have missed (and please add stuff we’ve missed – especially from Porirua, the Hutt valley and Kāpiti!)

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Just before Christmas:

• The new Transport Minister cancelled central funding for a slate of (shovel-ready) active and public transport projects, with impacts already reverberating around the motu as communities start to realise what’s been canned (credit)
• A major Māori Day of Action, led by Te Pāti Māori, fills several Wellington streets (and streets around the country) with people – here in pictures

And in 2024: 

• The new government scraps the levy on high-polluting vehicles and the Clean Car Discount, and a new “level playing field “ for RUCs now means EVs get a tax double whammy)
• The government commits to a single national ticketing solution (and Wellington’s mayor smooths over earlier sass about the new Minister)

• Several centres go on increasing water restrictions due to hot dry weather and leaking networks, and Taumata Arowai are ready to take steps 
• A swathe of new and higher-frequency Wellington bus routes are announced, starting end of January 
• Over Christmas and January, loads of rail maintenance region-wide, and some cool upgrades for all our rail lines (whole new bridges! third tracks! turnbacks/turnouts! new platforms –  more and better train services!  
• Emergency inspections of trains’ overhead power are done to avoid a repeat of January’s paralysing fault, and staff shortages continue to affect whether your train’s a bus (albeit much improved)
• Wellington’s PT patronage has bounced back well from the pandemic (better than Auckland!) – summary graph here from this GWRC briefing
• 221 homes get the go-ahead for Tasman Street, Te Aro near the Carillon, their design supported by the RSA – despite some remarkable opposing arguments 
• the new stopbanks of Riverlink (the OG instigator project) are underway, while the priciness of the proposal for the other components raises red flags – yet the Infrastructure Minister is determined the full project will go ahead (with cost-cutting) 
• The post-LGWM transport project landscape of Wellington City is revealed 
• Wellington City releases the commissioners’ recommendations for its draft District Plan – see here (amongst loads of great info including a “WCC’s ideas vs commissioners’ ideas” mapviewer
• A great new Wellington campaign launches to make the District Plan properly enabling of more homes and good neighbourhoods – City for People – in the midst of a by-election for a new Pukehinau/Lambton ward councillor (despite its big importance, these normally get low turnout, so get thee to the polls local people!)
• A new bus route, number 4, starts in Wellington city
• Kāpiti Coast residents, thanks to their water meters and mostly-volumetric water rates, enjoy freedom from the water restrictions in force in Wellington, Porirua and the Hutt Valley (and the council is justifiably smug)
• An independent review on Wellington Water reports back to its client, Wellington City Council

What else happened in January / December that’s related to how towns and cities work?

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