Why It's Crazy Not To Check Auckland's Growth

[birguslatro]

Auckland, New Zealand's largest city, already accounts for a third of NZ's population and its growth continues apace. In a seismically active country, this is just daft. For instance, see the maps and animations about the recent earthquake off NZ's east coast...

http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/83827254/did-civil-defence-react-quickly-enough-to-todays-severe-earthquake

Even if Auckland isn't the center of a future large earthquake, a tsunami from one offshore could still devastate it. Having near to half the country's population in one location makes no sense at all in New Zealand.

Comments

[matgb]

Wow, until you look at it in that way it's not obvious from an observer perspective.

Obviously Auckland has some geography on its side but that can't explain everything, how come the clumping is getting that bad in what is effectively a fairly small country?

[birguslatro]

The bigger a city gets, the more attractive it can become. More to do there and more choices. And it's our biggest magnet by far, with more or less four times the population of Wellington or Christchurch.