Gaps in density fix need work

Labour and National’s plan to lift urban density will not, on its own, solve the housing crisis, says Eugenie Sage.

Everyone should have a warm, dry, affordable place to call home, to put down roots, and raise a family. The fact that so many people do not is something that should concern us all.

New Zealand’s housing crisis is a legacy of decades of policy failure: a building code that caused tens of thousands of leaky buildings; gutting of apprenticeships; tax rules that favour property speculation over productive investment; insufficient support for social housing; quantitative easing that pumped more cash into an already eye-watering property market; and planning settings that create costly sprawl instead of intensification and renewal.

There’s no silver bullet to fix this, but enabling density can help. So it was a step forward that political consensus was achieved recently that allows more housing to be built in our urban areas.

The intention of Labour and National’s Resource Management (Enabling Housing Supply) Bill is to improve housing choice and affordability. But we also need to make sure our urban areas are designed well and are liveable.

The proposed change to the law would apply blanket standards that will allow infill intensification of three homes of up to three storeys across residential zones in our largest cities without the need for resource consent. But if this is to achieve the requirement in the National Policy Statement on Urban Development of ‘‘wellfunctioning urban environments’’, then changes need to be made.

The bill should better recognise how building standards for new homes affect the health and wellbeing of people living in and around them; and ensure new homes are provided in areas wellsupported by public and active transport, water infrastructure and community services such as shops and schools.

The Government also needs to ensure that new homes are designed and built to a high standard.

Changes to the bill could be made to ensure redevelopment retains more usable green space and street connection. As the bill is currently drafted, there is a risk it could encourage more blocks of flats built at right angles to the street overlooking neighbours, rather than to the front where they connect with the street. This can be fixed by some targeted changes to the standards.

To really address the housing and climate crisis well, the Government must incentivise the redevelopment of whole blocks in a co-ordinated and comprehensive way to enable perimeter block apartments and units, rather than relying only on

infill on single suburban sections.

The Green Party wants to see much more publicly-led, comprehensive development of large sites through master plans that provide affordable housing and a mixture of dwelling types such as mid-rise apartments and terrace houses together with other mixed uses and public green space.

Efforts to put up more housing need to protect nature. Labour and National’s proposed bill allows for greater intensification but currently has no protection for existing trees. As we transition to denser cities, it’s important we protect urban trees and streams and provide more green spaces.

Urban trees provide habitats for wildlife, reduce the urban heat island effect, reduce the pressure on stormwater systems, improve air quality, and make our cities pleasanter places to live. It should be easier to build townhouses and mid-rise apartments facing the street, and harder to cut down our taonga rā kau.

If we can change the law urgently to promote more housing development we can do the same for nature.

Alongside this bill, an overhaul of our building code needs to happen to ensure we’re building sustainable, accessible, energy-efficient, warm, dry homes. Kā inga Ora is already building to Home Star 6 standard, and it’s time to raise the bar for private

developers too. And we need a plan to support more social housing, and empower community housing providers and iwi to build more homes.

The Green Party wants cities and towns where people and nature thrive. Where people can get where they need to go by walking, cycling and public transport. Where people have decent, affordable homes with everything they need to live comfortably with low energy costs. Where housing is accessible for seniors and disabled people, and close to jobs and community amenities. Where iwi Mā ori can build papakā inga on their land. Where stormwater is managed, so waterways are healthy, and we can swim at the beach. Where urban trees are protected, and we can walk to neighbourhood parks.

More planning certainty can produce these outcomes when the settings are right. However, when essential aspects of liveability and the urban environment are ignored, we’ll all miss out. Urban density alone will not be enough to address the runaway housing market and inequality.

As well as making the changes to the bill that the Greens propose, we need to build on the recent political consensus and develop a comprehensive plan for housing that also includes taxing property wealth.

Efforts to put up more housing need to protect nature.