As part of our work on a New Zealand infrastructure strategy, we commissioned a report on New Zealand’s infrastructure system and the challenges posed by growing labour markets.
About the report
‘Are local infrastructure decision-making bodies right sized? Challenges from growing labour market areas’ was developed by Sense Partners. It analyses how New Zealand cities have evolved in recent decades, looking at urban growth patterns and the increasing trend for people to live in one council and commute to work in another.
The report finds that New Zealand doesn’t get the full benefit of its cities as people’s access to urban labour markets is limited by infrastructure issues and unaffordable housing. Changes are needed to make it easier to provide the right infrastructure and plan for housing in cities that are increasingly spilling across multiple council boundaries. The report includes several options that could help improve decision making over infrastructure in response to these issues, including the potential to more closely align council boundaries with labour markets.
