Future implications of urban intensification on residential water demand

Abstract

Over recent decades Auckland, New Zealand, metropolitan area has vastly expanded as a result of rapid population growth and low-density housing developments. In order to manage the uncontrolled low-density urban sprawl, Auckland Council proposed a compact city model through promoting higher density housing developments. In order to understand the implications of this transition on future residential water demand, this study first evaluated water consumption in three major housing types in Auckland including single houses, low-rise and high-rise apartments. Using the geographic information system, the water consumption information, estimated from a large sample of 60,000 dwellings across Auckland, was subsequently integrated with the Proposed Auckland Unitary Plan outlining the future housing composition over different areas in Auckland. Through developing different growth scenarios, the study showed that the housing transition from single houses to more intensified multi-unit houses cannot considerably affect the average per capita water consumption in Auckland.

Keywords:

• residential water use
• housing types
• urban intensification
• data integration
• geographic information system (GIS)

Acknowledgements

Access to the census data used in this study was provided by Statistics New Zealand under conditions designed to give effect to the security and confidentiality provisions of the Statistics Act 1975. The results presented in this study are the work of the authors, not Statistics NZ.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

The funding of this research was provided by the Watercare Services Limited.