About Our Priority Areas
ICW aims to reflect the diversity of interests and needs of the wide range of people living in our inner city. We hope to help our community to connect with each other and also with public authorities and decision-makers so that our part of the city is aware of, and responsive to, everyone’s needs.
A well-known example of our work includes a long-term commitment to advocating for apartment owners in earthquake-prone buildings.
We are particularly interested in what can make our inner city vibrant and a happy place to live in, and in this section of the website you can see the work we are doing in our key priority areas of interest.
Priority: CITY SAFETY
This priority area helps us to explore what people say is needed for them to feel safe and secure when using and enjoying inner-city spaces and facilities. This means acknowledging that inner-city residents are people of all ages and circumstances who have different needs that all deserve to be fairly considered.
what we aim to do
We aim to keep track of the city safety issues that are concerning residents; we consider practical aspects such as how effective lighting, camera coverage and street cleaning can change people’s sense of security and feed this back to local government; we stay in touch with the range of community agencies working to support people living in the inner-city; and we provide feedback, ideas and proposals for consideration.
Priority: EARTHQUAKE-PRONE BUILDINGS
A major challenge for our city is ensuring that our homes - many of which are in our many inner-city apartment buildings - are safe and well-built. We love our turn-of-the century heritage and the buildings that followed, right up to the modern day. But increasingly residents are facing their buildings achieving ever-changing building standards and rapidly increasing insurance costs. This is leading to issues where the inner-city may become an unaffordable residential place.
what we aim to do
We aim to remain up to date on new building developments; we read and unpack official documents that have relevance for our inner-city residents; we collaborate with like-minded community networks; we liaise with local and national government; we write formal submissions in response to consultation invitations; we research and write opinion pieces and proposals; and we remain current on best practice relating to inner-city development locally and world-wide.
Priority: RESILIENT COMMUNITIES
Inner-city people know that Wellington lives on the edge. We live with wild weather and the occasional earthquake and we are challenged to consider what climate change might have in store for us. All these things mean that we need to do our best to be prepared. This priority area provides ICW with the opportunity to explore ways in which inner-city residents can share ideas, put resources in place, and practice what is needed to be strong and resilient as a community.
It also prompts us to take these conversations to local and central government agencies to discuss their current and future plans.
what we aim to do
We aim to liaise with Council teams responsible for sustainability and climate change planning. We also meet with agencies such as the Wellington Region Emergency Management Office (WREMO) to encourage public talks, workshops and training opportunities; we develop contacts within apartment buildings to support information-sharing with their residents; we suggest ways in which neighbouring buildings might collaborate around emergency planning and the sharing of facilities; and we promote activities such as the annual Shakeout to encourage people to practice what they will do in an emergency.
We also have a focus on some of the challenges relating to earthquake-strengthening of buildings in the inner-city and providing a insights to support apartment owners who are dealing with requirements for earthquake strengthening. Feel free to contact us with your stories, or if you wish to know more about this work.
Priority: GREEN SPACE
As the population of the city grows, and with future plans for more high rise residential buildings, it’s imperative that the provision of green space and amenities match the increasing numbers of people who will call our part of the city home.
This broad heading can range from focusing on areas such as how buildings are constructed to be safe and healthy, to the essential need for inner-city planners and developers to provide residents with adequate green space and public and community amenities as the city changes and grows. As our government and local government are party to the UN Sustainable Development Goals, we use the relevant goals to provide a framework for all our thinking and work, and we try to hold local government accountable to them. We also take into account the Human Rights Commission views on the ‘The human right to adequate housing in New Zealand’.
what we aim to do
We aim to keep track of key strategies such as the Green Network Plan and to continue to read and unpack official documents that have relevance for our inner-city residents. We want to collaborate with like-minded community networks; to liaise with local and central government; we will try to respond to consultation invitations; and we will do our best to remain current on best practice relating to inner-city development locally and world-wide.We will also support community activities that provide opportunities for neighbourhoods to get together to build caring communities that have fun together.
And we will remain focused on the essential amenities that are needed in our part of the city to support residents, which includes free parks and recreation facilities, and a flexible and affordable transport system.
Contact us
Please contact us if you are interested in finding out more about our priorities.