Urban Policy Formulation Under Efficiency: The Case Of Auckland City Council'S Britomart Development

Abstract

This paper examines a local government initiated urban development under current New Zealand legislation. It finds that planning vision for the common good of the community has been replaced by urban policy objectives of economic efficiency and minimisation of public expenditure. These new objectives also appears to negate a range of amenity and civic rights, some of which are statutory responsibilities of local government that are necessary to ensure the ongoing process of local democracy. The paper then questions the future of planning in this environment and suggests one important task for practitioners must be that of the protection, facilitation and empowerment of diverse communities through civic debate, either within, or outside of institutional structures.

Key words::

• economic efficiency
• civic debate
• postmodernity
• power