• Sustainability Concepts and Challenges
• Our Goals
  • Goal 1
  • Goal 2
  • Goal 3
  • Goal 4
  • Goal 5
  • Goal 6
  • Goal 7
  • Goal 8
• Our Shifts
• Monitoring Progress
• ASF Toolkit

Goal 2

Pride in Who We Are

Aucklanders understand and celebrate who we are within a local, national and international context. We respect each other, our different cultures, heritage and traditions, and value Māori as Tangata Whenua. Celebrating our diversity and sharing a common bond with the land has created a sense of pride in Auckland's distinct identity. Being innovative, working together and recognising the past as we move toward our future has resulted in Aucklanders being trend-setters in the world.

This goal is about caring for and respecting Auckland's diverse peoples, our sense of place and identity.

This goal provides an emphasis for the future on:

• Respecting diversity, culture and heritage
• Recognising Māori as Tangata Whenua
• Creating a unique regional identity.

Opportunities

As Aucklanders gain awareness of, and take increasing pride in, who they are a number of economic, social and cultural opportunities arise:

• By building on existing arts and cultural events we can celebrate the diverse identities in the region, and look for opportunities to promote greater engagement amongst cultures. 
• As the region continues to develop its physical fabric, we can improve the relationship between the valued natural features of Auckland and the built environment, so that we can be as proud of our buildings as our natural landscapes.
• Civic buildings, spaces and public art that speak of our bicultural past and multicultural future will complement our strong, dramatic landscapes, and give communities a sense of ownership of public spaces.
• Globally, we have an opportunity to promote the Auckland region as sustainable and resilient, with a robust environmental base, flourishing social and cultural life and dynamic economy.
• As Auckland develops a unique identity strongly flavoured by the distinct fusion of its Māori, European, Pacific, Asian and other cultures, a competitive tourism and marketing brand that promotes the Auckland region can evolve.

Challenges

While opportunities emerge from taking greater pride in the Auckland region, a number of challenges confront the people of the region, their core values and their identity:

• Population growth will need to be accommodated without compromising the natural values of the region, and in ways that improve the quality of the built environment.
• It will be important to strengthen the sense of regional identity so that we can welcome new Aucklanders into a cohesive community that is accepting of difference.
• With a greater number of older people, and widening disparities between communities, the way that we care for our most vulnerable citizens will continue to create challenges.
• It is also likely that Auckland will continue to develop a different identity from the rest of New Zealand. We may need to find ways to bridge the sense of divide with the rest of the country.
• Globalisation presents the risk that Auckland could become indistinguishable from other cities - alternatively Auckland could play to its strengths and position itself through the creation of a unique regional identity.
• As we define our regional future, we need to find ways of retaining our local identity and connecting beyond our boundaries, particularly with our immediate regional neighbours.
• These and many other influences could change the way we live our lives, and pose challenges to our sense of ‘who we are'.

Indicative Strategic Responses