Hard News: Still not all that Super?
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Back in the day I recall hearing:
This land is your land, this land is my land
But we can't set foot on our own Somes IslandExcept now, thanks to te tiriti settlements and the removal of the quarantine station, you can.
Also old hippies never sang those songs, what you're after is old folkies. Folkies just don't have the drug-induced brain damage cred to be genuine hippies. Here's what happened to a young Woody Guthrie-influenced folkie once he discovered drugs:
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Rich, I declare you cant scan your own shout-
all you have to do is add *is*
"Great is meaning/large or immense!We mean it in/the perjorative sense!
And cool! I'd chant that!
Rich, I declare you to be hilarious.
Well, I did 'borrow' it from the Simpsons....
I have no creativity of my own. It was cauterised out of me when I started working for a law firm. On the upside, I did get a nice commemorative pen in return.
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I'm still quite skeptical of the whole Transport CCO idea, not because it won't have any advantages... In my opinion, many of the problems that Auckland faces at the moment are the result of a mismatch between our land-use planning and our transport planning - for example why the heck are we planning to put 40,000 people out in Flat Bush when there's no railway line, busway or motorway within cooee?
Joshua - This is not due to a mismatch between land-use planning and transport planning. Both land-use planning and transport planning are an attempt to look into the future and determine policies and plans that will meet our needs and preferences. The problem is our process of transport FUNDING which looks backwards into the past to determin historic transport flows, travel times and safety 'externalities'.
This means that the delivery of transport infrastructure and services is always trying to play catch-up, and to address your specific point... the ONLY way to fund a motorway or rail line to Flat Bush is to build and populate the suburb first.
But my question is - who the heck would do "shared streets" under the new syste,? A council might want to - to improve pedestrian quality - but they won't have the powers to. Auckland Transport probably won't give a damn because all their senior management positions are likely to be filled with road engineers... so we won't see that kind of integrated project happen.
You are probably right... as the roading CCO will control the whole road reserve - property boundary to property boundary (not just the road kerb to road kerb), that puts everything that happens in that corridor under the control of the CCO; pedestrians, cycles, children playing, parades, sidewalk cafes etc, etc.
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I guess it will be a good test of who's really calling the tune, given the disparity between the latest 30 year regional transport strategy and the govt's funding priorities - nice comparative graph.
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The first inkling of Livingstone vs Thatcher, NZ-style.
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Roger, yes I agree that even when the planners do their jobs properly and integrate land-use and transport, usually the funding isn't there to back it up.
I can't see that getting much better though, just look at the mismatch between the ARC and the government when it comes to transport priorities.
Sigh.
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For policy wonks only, here's a detailed summary assessment of the amended Bill by local government lawyers at Brookfields. PDF version of same.
Joshua, this part might reward further investigation (may refer to road reserve?):
The amendments make it clear that the Auckland Council may continue to act as a requiring authority in respect of areas that form part of the Auckland transport system, but only for purposes that are not transport-related.
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Sacha, thanks I'll have a good read through that.
Yes it does refer to the road reserve, and potentially non-transport activities that council might want to conduct on it. I can't think of too many examples off the top of my head, but I doubt "shared space" would be one of them (it really is transport after all).
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Still, might be more leverage
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Not super at all pretty dumb in fact.
New Zealand made a massive wrong turn in the 70's along with a few other countries in the developed world. Chief amongst them the USA and GB. It kind of sealed our and their fate into endless cycles of boom bust and anyone who can make a buck gets undue adulation.
And poverty gets to become an incurable self inflicted disease. -
The first inkling of Livingstone vs Thatcher, NZ-style.
Well, I guess I've got to give Brown credit for coming up with some actual policy -- but if the story on Morning Report is an indication of things to come. Oy: Brown and Banks can come up with any platitudinous "I like puppies and flowers" cack they please without fear of any scrutiny...
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Having listened to the Morning Report story (streaming broken, 3mins, MP3, 1.2MB) I don't see much scope for "scrutiny" of either Brown or Banks for committing to stronger control of the CCOs when that has been such an obvious source of public concern for Aucklanders - hence the government's backdown which involves the incoming Council agreeing on a formal accountability policy. The practical solutions Brown mentioned seem pretty standard governance material and hardly controversial.
I thought the story was a concise - and non-fawning - summary of the issue. What kind of probing and fearless rejoinder from the journalists did you have in mind?
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The practical solutions Brown mentioned seem pretty standard governance material and hardly controversial.
And practically indistinguishable from what Banks has already said on the subject, to be fair. But while they both rather fond of using the first person singular pronoun an awful lot, they've actually got to work with the whole council and work within the legislative framework that exists. Right? All too easy to make bold promises you can't actually deliver on when you're chasing votes on a populist issue.
What kind of probing and fearless rejoinder from the journalists did you have in mind?
"That sounds nice, but how would you actually deliver?" I'd also be rather interested to know exactly what both Banks and Brown mean when they talk about "direct political control" -- because that's three words that could take on a more authoritarian and secretive tint than either of us would like.
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At least some didn't go down that road
Thanks for depressing me. How is it that a city in a "developing economy" managed to achieve such far-sighted planning, with considered appreciation of public transport and other social services, when our "developed economy" is stuck with the mindset of roads, cars, roads, cars, roads, etc, ad nauseum?
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our "developed economy" is stuck with the mindset of roads, cars, roads, cars, roads, etc, ad nauseum?
Let's not forget Trucks, even Bigger Trucks and Bigger Problems they cause Councils
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"That sounds nice, but how would you actually deliver?"
I'm not sure how more concrete you are expecting them to be than for example having monthly meetings with the CCO heads as Brown suggested.
they've actually got to work with the whole council and work within the legislative framework that exists.
Neither candidate can promise to change national law but most of what I've heard them say does not require that.
I agree about working with the whole Council. Whichever faction wins the majority of Council seats is likely to be very influential in shaping the CCO accountability policy stipulated in the revised 3rd bill. That matters almost more than who gets to be Mayor, despite that office's stronger-than-in-other-Councils powers - which both candidates seem to be playing to so far.
Rejecting the blatant interference from government also explains the noise about political "control", to me.
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How is it that a city in a "developing economy" managed to achieve such far-sighted planning,
It seems to have been one man's vision as far as I can tell.
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Listening to Brown on bFM today I think he used the term 'Government Control Vehicles' to describe the CCOs, or the boards thereof?
Not quite as strong as 'direct political control', but it indicates concerns over who ends up pulling the strings. Much of what he said made a certain degree of sense, but whether he could carry it off in the event he becomes Super Mayor, who knows?
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andin, thanks so much for that! Muito obrigado! I am loving what I read about Curitiba and Lerner:
Like many cities, Curitiba is bordered by floodplain. While wealthier cities in the United States such as New Orleans and Sacramento, have chosen to build expensive, and expensive-to-maintain levee systems to build on floodplain. In contrast, Curitiba purchased the floodplain and made parks. The city now ranks among the world leaders in per-capita park area. Curitiba had the problem of its status as a third-world city, unable to afford the tractors and petroleum to mow these parks. The innovative response was "municipal sheep" who keep the parks' vegetation under control and whose wool funds children's programs.
When Lerner became mayor, Curitiba had some barrios impossible to service by municipal waste removal. The "streets" were too narrow. Rather than abandon these people, or raze these slums, Lerner began a program that traded bags of groceries and transit passes for bags of trash. The slums got much cleaner.
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We need a Jaime Lerner. If he stood for Mayor on those platforms here you wonder how far he'd get fighting the multi-nationals who control our waste management services and roading firms and their political supporters though.
The closest we've come to a local politician with great vision is Tim Shadbolt in recent memory I reckon. -
There are plenty of 'Jamie Lerners' around. What we need is a mash up of South American direct actions within governance contexts, chutzpah, exposure to COLOUR, and a hefty dose of NZ sensibility that says, yeah, that works.
(I'm in my 'colour mood: why are all our buildings so bland? Where's the colour?)
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(I'm in my 'colour mood: why are all our buildings so bland? Where's the colour?)
Try these. [Thread Jack]]
Guess it's not everybody's thang, but it is often colourful.
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(I'm in my 'colour mood: why are all our buildings so bland? Where's the colour?)
Ha! Did you see the lovely new architectural buildiing going up beside spaghetti junction, that adorned the front page of the Herald today. Wonder what colour that will be. my guess is, an enchanting grey like Watford.
Like this. -
There are plenty of 'Jamie Lerners' around
Well we all have the potential lets say..
and a hefty dose of NZ sensibility that says, yeah, that works.
Last seen round these here parts...and influencing govt decisions........
Oh you choose. -
Where's the colour?
where's our Radiant City when ya need it
or if not Le Corbusier, bring back Hundertwasser
I like that they both liked roof gardens too
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