Kiwi urbanism and the Year of the Built Environment
- Yu-Ning Liu
- 6 days ago
- 12 min read
The start of 2026 is a time of celebration and reflection for Urban Designers throughout Aotearoa New Zealand. Marking the unofficial anniversary of the 2005 Year of the Built Environment, Stephen Olsen provides a comprehensive review of the last 21 years of urbanism and urban design in his article Kiwi urbanism and the Year of the Built Environment.
For many of us, it is a reminder of our dedication to urban design practice and achieving better outcomes for the built environment. Amongst the many actions, conferences and collaborations undertaken, the establishment of the Urban Design Forum offering a format for discussion and advocacy, the release of the NZ Urban Design Protocol and its strategic importance to urban design, and most recently, the Urban Designers Institute Aotearoa (UDIA), offering formal recognition of urban design as a profession. While we may not always believe it, we have come a long way in the last 21 years of urban design in Aotearoa.
This week marks an unofficial anniversary of the 2005 Year of the Built Environment.
Twenty-one years later and we’re now on the cusp of witnessing the folding together of the brand new Ministry of Cities, the Environment, Regions and Transport (MCERT).
This latest turning point makes it an even more timely opportunity to consider what passed under the bridge in 2005, and for a brief reflection on some associated moments in the shaping of urbanism, as we know it, in Aotearoa New Zealand.
An antipodean phenomenon
Rather than appearing on the calendar as an international United Nations event, the Year of the Built Environment (abbreviated to YBE) was a particularly unique antipodean phenomenon.
Our Australian cousins had staged a YBE in 2004 and the Helen Clark government, then heading into pursuit of a third term on the Treasury benches, leapt on having one here in New Zealand (see more on this under ‘Reflections’ below).
Back in 2005 Marian Hobbs was New Zealand’s Minister Responsible for Urban Affairs.
The Urban Affairs portfolio was created after the election of the Labour/ Progressive Coalition government in 2002 and resulted in an Urban Group being set up within the Ministry for the Environment under the leadership of influential deputy CE Lindsay Gow.
Key areas of work it was charged with spanned an Urban Affairs Statement of Strategic Priorities; Sustainable Cities – a joint action plan for Auckland; and the New Zealand Urban Design Protocol, seen as a major deliverable. Operating as a subsidiary to being Minister for the Environment, the Urban Affairs role was, said Hobbs at the time, all about encouraging greater integration, coordination and “getting urban issues on the radar”.
In Hobbs’ media release kicking off the YBE on 22 January 2005, she framed it as “an opportunity for New Zealanders to celebrate the buildings, spaces, places and structures in which they live, work and play,” adding that while our “stunning natural environment forms an integral part of our national identity … the built environment is an even more familiar and immediate part of our daily lives.”
The release positioned the YBE as a sign of the Government’s commitment to working towards ensuring “quality built environments” throughout the country, and stated the year would form an important part of the Government’s Sustainable Development Programme of Action and Urban Affairs portfolio.
An opportunity to understand ‘urban affairs’ holistically
When the YBE was added to the Ministry for the Environment plate, a steering committee was formed consisting of Beverley McRae, the CEO of NZ Institute of Architects; Gerald Blunt, Wellington City Council; Wayne Sharman, Building Research; and from the Ministry for the Environment, Anna Wood.
At the time Anna, currently working in the position of Principal Advisor District Development at Hastings District Council, was an early career staffer at the Ministry.“I recall that Marian having the (non-departmental) portfolio of Minister Responsible for Urban Affairs was a really big deal. There have been various versions of it, but unfortunately, it hasn’t happened in the same way because that was quite special,” says Anna.
“Back in 2005 this was an opportunity to understand ‘urban affairs’ holistically, rather than just being about narrowing it down to opportunities for development. The Year of the Built Environment was about how we work, how urbanism and urban design works – because, of course, it’s about multiple players working towards the same objective. None of this happens by individuals or individual professions or individual organisations, and to me, arriving at that point of view was a lot of what the YBE was about”.
Gerald Blunt adds: “I definitely think 2005 and the YBE events contributed to putting urbanism on the agenda in New Zealand. I think what was happening then included getting central government on board and growing a wider audience”.
“There’s something quite powerful about reflecting back on 2005, and in some ways they were heady times through acknowledging the urbanism that was occurring in New Zealand and the opportunity of where it would go”.
One other YBE theme Anna remembers is that it was still common to use quotes about the high percentage of New Zealanders that lived in an urban environment to contrast with the prevailing perception of rural New Zealand.
“Whether it was catchy or not, it was called the Year of the Built Environment – it wasn’t the year of Architecture, it wasn’t the year of Housing. Rather than a specific element within the built environment it was about all those things that come together and shape our quality of life. The how of how we live in an urban environment, living together and doing all those things where the multiple elements interact”.
“This was about posing a really interesting question to New Zealanders around the psyche of are we urban, or are we not? That’s still relevant to now because I don’t think people can deny the enjoyment that we get from living in well-designed places, even if that’s still not our automatic”.
A brief summary of New Zealand’s 2005 Year of the Built Environment
By one reckoning the nationwide tally of separate activities brought under the YBE umbrella by year’s end exceeded 200, neatly punctuated with a series of flagship highlights throughout 2005. (A year that coincidentally also happened to mark the centenary of the New Zealand Institute of Architects and the 50th anniversary of the New Zealand Historic Places Trust).
An early highlight of the YBE was the launch of the Urban Design Protocol in Wellington on 8 March. Thanks to the presence of our then Prince of Wales, Charles, as the ‘launcher’ it made a bigger splash than it might have otherwise. He was on a solo six-day royal tour to New Zealand and was commended by Marian Hobbs at the launch for his “strong interest in urban design issues”.
As a sidenote, the following month the Ministry for the Environment was awarded the Nancy Northcroft Planning Practice Award by the NZ Planning Institute for the planning work that produced the Urban Design Protocol, and in June the Ministry published its report on The Value of Urban Design.
‘Open House’ events that showcased significant sites and buildings to the public were scheduled as part of YBE for successive Sundays in Dunedin, Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch in June and July.
The Urbanism Down Under: Creative Futures conference held in Wellington from 18-20 August was described by Prime Minister Helen Clark as a “good sequel” to the Urban Design Protocol launch and as a “timely forum for challenging debate about the key issues facing the design of 21st century cities”.
The Year of the Built Environment Awards took place in December 2005 with the purpose of recognising exemplary built environment projects – buildings and landscapes – achieved from urban initiatives. Entries extended from public buildings to private homes, commercial buildings, to public spaces and more. There were 30 finalists – inclusive of street malls to foreshore developments, airports, wineries, a house in a paddock, and an eco-neighbourhood – with the overall winner, announced in December 2005, being the redevelopment of Wellington’s Oriental Bay.
An art competition titled ‘Urban Life’ was also held, with an impressive set of judges including All Black and art collector Anton Oliver; architect Ian Athfield; art historian and curator Dr Deidre Brown; and artist, filmmaker and designer Neil Pardington. Some 87 finalists were selected from 360 entries, ranging from photography to sculpture. Nelson potter Owen Bartlett’s submission of 40 small ceramic houses emerged as the winner.
The bevy of organisations lending support to the YBE was described as a consortium. Central government organisations on the list were the Ministry for the Environment, Housing NZ and Ministry of Culture and Heritage. Listed local government support came from the Auckland Regional Council, the Waitakere City Council and Wellington City Council with added support from the NZ Institute of Architects, NZ Institute of Landscape Architects, NZ Planning Institute, NZ Construction Industry Council, NZ Institute of Surveyors, Beacon Pathway, Building Research and Forest Research. Ancillary support came from the Department of Building and Housing, Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet, Local Government New Zealand, New Zealand Historic Places Trust and the Property Council.
Related Media Releases from 2005
2005 Year of the Built Environment: celebrating our cities and towns – 22 January 2005
Launch of the NZ Urban Design Protocol, Wellington City Art Gallery 9 March 2005
‘Open house’ for city landmarks – 28 May 2005
Release of the Value of Urban Design report and launch of Auckland Region’s Response to the NZ Urban Design Protocol 29 June 2005
Art competition seeks new look at our urban areas 11 July 2005
International experts share urban design lessons 18 August 2005
Creative Urban Futures, Urbanism Down Under 2005 Conference, Wellington 20 August 2005
Year of the Built Environment 2005 Celebration 7 December 2005
Year of the Built Environment Awards, Shed 11, Wellington 8 December 2005
Reflections on urbanism down under – then and now
Staging of the Year/s of the Built Environment did not occur in a vacuum.
At the turn of the century the concept of sustainability was having its decade-long inspired heyday. New Urbanism and Smart Growth were also having their moments in the sun.
Major city-focused events had started to roll out beginning with an Australasian Congress for New Urbanism in Melbourne in 2001. In New Zealand the NZ Institute of Landscape Architects picked up the baton by combining with ‘Urbanism Down Under’ for its 2003 conference, themed as ‘Transforming cities in Australia and NZ‘.
In 2003 concerted attention was being poured into sustainable cities – in Australia through a Federal Inquiry, while at the beginning of that same year our Ministry for the Environment published an interesting ‘stocktake’ titled Urban Sustainability in New Zealand: An Information Resource for Urban Practitioners, accompanied later by a literature review prepared by BRANZ under the title Urban Sustainability Worldwide.
On the point of Australia being the first to hold a Year of the Built Environment an excellent article published in 2023 – Watershed or Whimper? – credited Warren Kerr of the Royal Australian Institute of Architects (RAIA) for developing the YBE idea “motivated by the desire to see more cohesive and effective built environment policy in Australia and the architecture profession make a bigger contribution to urban governance”.
University of Queensland authors Susan Holden and Olivia Daw were committed to rescuing the Australia’s 2004 version of YBE from what they called “institutional amnesia” and placing it into a historical and political context. This began with noting the long interval between what were undoubtedly leading initiatives in Australia – citing the groundbreaking Commonwealth Department of Urban and Regional Development (DURD, 1972–75) initiated by the short-lived Whitlam Labor Government and the Hawke–Keating Labor Government’s Building Better Cities Program (1991–96) that piloted a model for intergovernmental collaboration to catalyse the role of Australian cities in economic development.
Holden and Daw concluded that many of the methods explored during YBE to promote the value of good design — such as identifying and awarding exemplary projects, supporting demonstration projects and promoting public discourse and education — were and remain valid public policy tools. They also concluded that while the promotion of exemplars was seen as a powerful way to encourage behavioural change in the broader community, the goal of long-term influence through policy was a bigger challenge and ultimately subject to the contingencies of political cycles.
The relative and stubborn infancy of urban policy
Six months out from New Zealand’s YBE, Minister Marian Hobbs offered two oddly familiar and still resonant observations to the NZ Planning Institute conference in May 2004 – one on urban affairs policy and one on urban management, as quoted here:
“Urban affairs policy, while still in its relative infancy, is creating some exciting opportunities for the sustainable development of our urban areas … and for planners … a real opportunity to now move beyond rule-based planning to think more creatively and pro-actively about planning our towns and cities”.
“Over the last two or so decades, urban management has largely been the domain of local authorities, many of which have shown great leadership in tackling urban issues. In the last few years however, the Government has signalled a much more active interest in our towns and cities, in partnership with local government, to ensure that they are great places to live”.
Many readers will be aware of the pattern, not unique to New Zealand, of going back and forth on policy settings and cyclical governmental directions.
It’s a pattern plainly exhibited in the impact on housing – as captured in the ‘timeline of turning points‘ published in celebration of Community Housing Aotearoa’s 20th anniversary in 2024.
To be fair it’s valid to comment that very few jurisdictions around the world have settled on fully bipartisan, whole-of-government perspectives on built environment issues or succeeded in knitting together clear urban policy agendas. Brazil was an outlier when it formed a Ministry of Cities in 2003, subsequently closed down in 2019 and then revived – back under the leadership of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (Lula) – in 2023, tasked with formulating and executing national policies on urban development, affordable housing, transportation infrastructure, sanitation, and mobility.
Australia too has toyed around with congested portfolio pathways. A portfolio for Cities and the Built Environment went to MP Jamie Briggs in 2015 under Liberal PM Malcolm Turnbull, and now under Labor PM Anthony Albanese there have been two dedicated Minister for Cities appointments: Jenny McAllister and Clare O’Neil.
One of the YBE legacies, the Urban Design Protocol, has refused to die and to whatever effect, is still on the books. Encouragingly there is now, borne out of years of effort from within the membership of the Urban Design Forum, a burgeoning new Urban Designers Institute of Aotearoa (the UDIA).
A reliably high amount of active research on the academic front has continued unabated. In 2023 for instance New Zealand hosted its first-ever State of Australasian Cities conference (held as the State of Australian Cities conference between 2003-19).
When it officially concluded in June 2024 the Building Better Homes, Towns, and Cities (BBHTC) National Science Challenge bequeathed a notably significant resource at buildingbetter.nz worth referencing.
In addition the prolific outputs of the New Zealand Centre for Sustainable Cities have been a constant under the leadership of Professor Philippa Howden-Chapman. In November 2025 the Centre co-hosted the International Conference on Urban Health in Wellington, where Howden-Chapman was presented with a lifetime achievement award from the International Society for Urban Health.
In recent years there has been the now largely nullified ventures of Kāinga Ora into urban development, much ado about urban density, and as we enter the election year of 2026 a race to pass replacement legislation for the Resource Management Act is turning up the heat.
Leadership in 2026 will be vitally important
Among the meetings he held during intelligence-gathering trips in 2025 – to the USA in July and Australia in April and August – our ‘Minister of Everything’ Chris Bishop (Housing, Infrastructure, Transport, RMA reforms) trumpeted a decade of progress in housing and met with Australia’s Minister for Cities Clare O’Neil.
Unfortunately these meetings attracted virtually no media coverage in New Zealand. Regardless it was interesting that in a column near the close of 2025, Simon Wilson of the NZ Herald took time to cast worrying doubts about the Minister’s credibility as a genuine, committed ‘urbanist’. (See ‘Chris Bishop is confused, and there’s a reason for it‘ – paywalled).
There is a lot resting on the Minister’s shoulders. Stuff journalist Anna Whyte recently underlined the pressurised raft of restructuring that will be taking place in the public sector this year and how much is at stake.She singled out the formation of the new Ministry for Cities, the Environment, Regions and Transport, as announced by Mr Bishop on 16 December, as “the job with the most weight attached – both from government expectations and from the lengthy to-do list it has been given”.
The journey continues …
One intention for this extended article has been to look back kindly on the Year of the Built Environment as a signal of optimism, as a nudge to revisiting whether the ensuing 21 years have taken us in a consistently positive direction and a prompt for more thinking about our collective urban futures.
A continuous mover and shaker behind Urbanism Down Under events across the years (2005, 2012, 2018, 2023), urban designer Gerald Blunt isn’t convinced that a steady momentum was maintained since 2005, or that there has been enough avoidance of slipping backwards (primarily due to operating in silos), or that urbanism has evolved apace.
Urban designer Miriam Moore sounded a more cheerful outlook in a piece published by the Urban Design Forum after the 2023 edition of the Urbanism Down Under conference.
Miriam: “We seem to be at a point where we agree on what overarching good urbanism looks like, at differing scales, within our communities. We agree that we require change to improve our cities, to make them better places to live as we face a growing population in a climate crisis. The need to design cities for people is no longer radical, nor up for debate. However, the way we achieve change and the speed in which we do it, is still a point of contention”.
In 2005 Marian Hobbs hoped the YBE would be the beginning of New Zealand’s journey to achieving high-quality urban design. In her speech to the Urbanism Down Under conference that year, she ended by thanking all those who had “over some long and lonely years” been articulating a vision of well-designed and effective communities. “At long last,” she added, “your work is being recognised for the serious contribution it makes to our economic, social and environmental health. You are no longer an after-thought. You are the core foundation. You have taught this politician much”.
2026 will be a year to keep an eye on how well the vision for our cities is articulated, how much consideration is given to the contributions made by built environment professionals, and how much our politicians have learnt.
ENDS
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