City Planning

Introduction

Covering an area of 36,700 hectares, approximately one third of Waitakere City is urban, one third rural and one third wilderness area. More than 40% of the City’s land area (17,149 hectares) is in parkland and the Waitakere Ranges.

Demonstrating the fact that land use and transport are inter-twined, early development in the City was focussed along the rail line. Later, growth was spurred by the development of the North Western Motorway, with the first section from Auckland City to Te Atatu being opened in 1956. Successive extensions of the motorway to Lincoln Road and Massey North (Westgate) enabled the development of dormitory suburbs linked to workplaces mostly in central Auckland.

Growth since the 1950s, fuelled by government initiatives to stimulate industry and housing, combined with the post war baby boom to produce rapid urbanisation in the area.  Waitakere’s population has increased by nearly 500% since 1956, to reach an estimated 168,750 in 2001.

Development Areas

New development is occurring rapidly in many parts of the city.  To find out detailed information select a town centre or development area from the list below.

Town Centres

• Council Civic Projects
• Henderson Town Centre
• Massey North/ Westgate
• New Lynn

Local Centres

• Glen Eden
• Henderson Vineyards Business Campus (Lincoln Rd)
• Lincoln Rd Development
• Ranui
• Swanson
• Te Atatu Peninsula

Other Areas

• Hobsonville
• Northern Strategic Growth Area
• Upper Waitemata Harbour Study
• Waitakere Ranges Protection
• Westpark Marina
• Whenuapai Air Base

The City also participates in significant regional projects to integrate land use and planning.

Additional information

Note: For the following you will need to have Adobe Acrobat Reader installed on your computer in order to view and print these documents.  For help opening PDF files or tips on copying information see Helpful Tips.

Urban Villages (Size 520K)
Waitakere City Council's Urban Villages Strategy

The Heart of this Place - Arts Design in Waitakere City
(Size 1013K)

Urban Growth (Size 165K)
Future trends document on urban growth in Waitakere

City Form & Design (Size 360K)
This document outlines the growth pressures affecting the City, and Council’s approach to achieving a sustainable city form and design.

Transport & Communication (Size 128K)
This document highlights the following key issues: transport infrastructure, transport patterns, communication infrastructure and communication patterns.