Auckland CBD
The Auckland Central Business District, or Auckland city centre, is the geographical and economic heart of the Auckland metropolitan area. It is the area in which Auckland was established in 1840, by William Hobson on land gifted by mana whenua ''hapū'' Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei. It is New Zealand's leading financial hub, and the centre of the country's economy; the GDP of the Auckland Region was NZD$139 billion in the year ending September 2023.
The CBD is one of the most densely developed places in New Zealand, with many commercial and some residential developments packed into a space of only. The area is made up of the city's largest concentration of skyscrapers and businesses. Bounded by several major motorways and by the harbour coastline in the north, it is surrounded further out by mostly suburban areas; it is bounded on the North by Waitematā Harbour, east by Parnell, southeast by Grafton, south by Mount Eden, southwest by Newton, west by Freemans Bay and northwest by Viaduct Harbour.
Geography
Located on the northern shore of a narrow isthmus, the CBD extends from the Auckland waterfront on the Waitematā Harbour southwards along Queen Street and a number of other parallel-running streets. The CBD is generally considered to be bounded by the main motorways that surround all non-harbour sides, with State Highway 1 forming the southern and western boundaries, and State Highway 16 / Grafton Gully forming the eastern boundary.The CBD has an area of, similar to the Sydney CBD, and twice as large as the CBDs of Wellington and Christchurch. The CBD is to a substantial part located on reclaimed land of the Waitematā Harbour. For a closer discussion of this aspect, see the Commercial Bay and Auckland waterfront articles.
History
On 20 March 1840, paramount chief of the Ngāti Whātua Māori iwi of Auckland Apihai Te Kawau, signed the Treaty of Waitangi. Ngāti Whātua sought British protection from Ngāpuhi as well as a reciprocal relationship with the Crown and the Church. Soon after signing the treaty, Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei made a strategic gift of of land on the Waitematā Harbour to the new Governor of New Zealand, William Hobson, for the new capital, which Hobson named for George Eden, Earl of Auckland, then Viceroy of India. Auckland was founded on 18 September 1840 and was officially declared New Zealand's capital in 1841.The town of Auckland was created in 1840 with the first European colonisation of the area, marked by an official ceremony on the now non-existent Point Britomart. The initial centre of the new town was focused on what is now the corner of Shortland and Queen Street, which was at the shoreline of Commercial Bay. From approximately their junction, the main wharf ran north off the end of Queen Street, with Shortland Street leading up to St Paul's Church, Fort Britomart and Government House, around which many of the richer people built houses. Shortland Street tended to be the location of the more important businesses and most of the 'luxury' shops of the mid 19th century. The 1850s onwards saw an increasing number of businesses, and especially retail, locating further south along Queen Street, which still to this day forms the 'spine' of the area.
In 1841, one year after the European founding, the census counted approximately 2,000 people, with "mechanics" the largest group at 250, and other groups of note being 150 agricultural labourers, 100 shopkeepers, 100 domestic servants, and 125 "upper class members".
During the remainder of the 19th century, Commercial Bay was progressively filled in, allowing a northward extension of Queen Street and the creation of Fort Street, Customs Street, and Quay Street. The part of Queen Street north of Customs Street is today referred to informally as Lower Queen Street.
As well as being the location of a great many multi-storey warehouses, initially the Lower Queen Street area also contained many manufacturing businesses, though many of these started to move to other areas such as Freeman's Bay, Newton and Parnell, especially if they took up a large area or created noise or pollution. Up until the middle of the 20th century the centre of town still contained a large number of small factories including clothing manufacturers.
The relocation of industries to outlying suburbs became especially pronounced in the 1950s, partly due to incentives made by council planners to create industrial areas in Penrose and Rosebank Road and thus rid the inner city area of noise, pollution and heavy traffic. This was mirrored by the development of suburban shopping malls which enticed retailers to vacate the inner city as well. Attempts by the council to halt this pattern by constructing numerous public car parking buildings met with varying success. The rise of suburban supermarket and mall shopping that was created in places such as Pakuranga from 1965 onwards has been added to by the appearance of Big Box retailers in places such as Botany and the North Shore.
Residential numbers in the inner city were also declining in the 20th century. In the two-mile zone surrounding the CBD, there were approximately 70,000 people in 1926, with only around 50,000 in 1966 – a change made even more marked by the development of the remainder of Auckland's population, which grew more than fourfold in the same timeframe. In the 1990s, only a token population of around 1,400 was still residing within the CBD, though this was to grow substantially with a boom of new apartment buildings around the turn of the millennium. More recently, in the early 21st century the CBD has seen a resurgence with strong population growth. there were around 24,000 apartment units.
Characteristics
Overview
The CBD of Auckland has been the leading centre of New Zealand's business and economic development for nearly two centuries. The area of today's CBD was the site of the original European settlement of Auckland, oriented along the coastline and then Queen Street, in a southward direction. From those origins, it has grown progressively, and become much more densely built-up, now being an area of high-rise buildings mainly used for commercial and retail uses. It has the highest concentration of arts, culture and higher education institutions and venues in the country.Some commentators have noted that the recent decades have not been kind to the aesthetics and the community values of the inner city. The demolishing of many older buildings, often the prerequisite for low-quality or uninspired new office and residential developments, is considered by them to be due to a combination of developers uninterested in long-term outcomes and council planning direction being too weak.
In an attempt to reverse the decline of aesthetics in the CBD, previous Auckland City Councils and the current unitary Auckland Council have instigated several urban regeneration schemes. These include the recent redevelopment of Aotea Square in 2010 and the upgrade of Saint Patrick's Square in 2009.
The area east of the Waitematā railway station is currently undergoing major changes, with the development of new commercial buildings, the restoration of several heritage buildings and development of public spaces, including a new public square named Te Komititanga which opened in 2020. The downtown ferry precinct called Te Wanaga opened in 2021. Another major regeneration scheme currently underway is the redevelopment of Wynyard Quarter, which involves replacing industrial facilities covering a large portion of the CBD waterfront with residential or commercial buildings and public spaces.
The Auckland CBD is one of the few places in New Zealand that has skyscraper-sized buildings, such as the Vero Centre, Commercial Bay, ANZ Centre or the Metropolis, with the Sky Tower rising above them.
Population
Auckland City Centre covers and had an estimated population of as of with a population density of people per km2.Auckland City Centre had a population of 33,417 in the 2023 New Zealand census, an increase of 198 people since the 2018 census, and an increase of 3,705 people since the 2013 census. There were 17,061 males, 15,996 females and 360 people of other genders in 18,114 dwellings. 11.5% of people identified as LGBTIQ+. The median age was 30.7 years. There were 1,554 people aged under 15 years, 14,409 aged 15 to 29, 15,435 aged 30 to 64, and 2,022 aged 65 or older.
People could identify as more than one ethnicity. The results were 39.6% European ; 8.0% Māori; 5.0% Pasifika; 49.4% Asian; 6.5% Middle Eastern, Latin American and African New Zealanders ; and 1.6% other, which includes people giving their ethnicity as "New Zealander". English was spoken by 94.6%, Māori language by 2.1%, Samoan by 0.9%, and other languages by 44.9%. No language could be spoken by 1.2%. New Zealand Sign Language was known by 0.4%. The percentage of people born overseas was 64.5, compared with 28.8% nationally.
Religious affiliations were 23.5% Christian, 7.1% Hindu, 3.3% Islam, 0.5% Māori religious beliefs, 3.7% Buddhist, 0.6% New Age, 0.2% Jewish, and 2.2% other religions. People who answered that they had no religion were 53.6%, and 5.5% of people did not answer the census question.
Of those at least 15 years old, 14,454 people had a bachelor's or higher degree, 10,794 had a post-high school certificate or diploma, and 6,621 people exclusively held high school qualifications. The median income was $39,400, compared with $41,500 nationally. 4,284 people earned over $100,000 compared to 12.1% nationally. The employment status of those at least 15 was that 16,896 people were employed full-time, 4,308 were part-time, and 1,668 were unemployed.
Residential high-density buildings constructed since the 1990s have helped to substantially increase the population living in the CBD. Much of this growth has been driven by immigration to New Zealand, particularly from Asia, and the CBD is the area in New Zealand with the highest percentage share of the Asian ethnic group in New Zealand. Also striking is the high number of students, making up 27% of all residents and contributing to the relative youth of the city residents.
With increasing population, available services have also changed – from only about one superette in the early 2000s, this has ballooned to one supermarket and 38 superettes by 2011. In early 2012, two major supermarket chains opened a branch in the city centre, with Countdown opening on Victoria Street in January and New World opening a branch on Queen Street in early March. However, the population remains highly focused on ethnically diverse, mostly young and childless residents.