Innovation, sustainability, affordability: How Auckland stacks up against other cities around the world | RNZ News

Auckland has been found to be a more sustainable city than Copenhagen or Amsterdam but it is lagging well behind when it comes to innovation.

The State of the City report reviewed areas like culture and experience, as well as sustainability and innovation.

Auckland was found to be firmly middle of the pack, excelling in some areas but doing poorly in others.

The report compared Auckland to cities like Portland and Austin in the United States, Fukuoka in Japan, and Tel Aviv in Israel.

Tāmaki Makaurau measured six out of ten for prosperity, seven out of ten for culture, and eight out of ten in sustainability.

It was fourth out of 25 cities globally for the maturity of its low carbon energy systems, ahead of cities renowned for sustainability like Copenhagen and Amsterdam.

The Committee for Auckland was one of three groups who commissioned the report.

Director Mark Thomas said the report gave Auckland the opportunity to measure itself against the rest of the world.

“It really is a call to government, to council, to the CCOs, and to Aucklanders, to say ‘this is what the world thinks about Auckland, let’s all get on board with an agenda for more definitive action,” he said.

Thomas said compared to other cities, Auckland was in the middle of the pack.

“There are a couple of areas that we’re doing well … but in three big areas, innovation, knowledge, and opportunity, we lag those peers, so it’s clear we’ve got room to move.”

The report did not shy away from Auckland’s short-comings.

The city was among the bottom ten percent of affordable cities to own a home in the English-speaking world.

Auckland’s lowest score was in innovation, ranking three out of ten.

Some of the challenges described included a lack of spending on research and development, as well as being behind in both health tech and green tech.

Funding for innovation in Auckland was around half that of peer cities Melbourne, Singapore and Sydney.

Tāmaki Regeneration general manager of outcomes Tara Moala said innovation was a vital part of the city.

“Innovation is what will create opportunities, especially for our Māori and Pasifika up-and-coming innovators, and it’s really exciting to see opportunities that are coming up more and more,” she said.

Sectors across the city needed to make sure they were fostering innovative thinking, she said.

“When people knock on doors to be involved in a sector, one of the biggest problems that we have is people find it hard to be innovative, and so we need to make sure that we be supportive, and accepting, and welcoming.”

Auckland councillor Angela Dalton said whatever changes came from the report needed to take a city-wide approach.

“Let’s not forget that we’ve got a city of 1.6 million people and we need to take everyone with us if we are going to be successful as a city.”

With a road map for improvement, delivering on those areas will be crucial for future of the supercity.