Local and Auckland-wide facilities such as museums and art galleries, libraries, community centres, sports fields and playgrounds, and public places all play their part in helping people learn, socialise and connect with each other. They provide venues for recreation, arts, sports, and cultural events and community-led activities.
Not only do these
social infrastructure and services provide opportunities for social interaction, many also encourage physical activity with its associated health and wellbeing benefits.
Others stimulate the mind and encourage learning. Local people and groups must be involved in planning and development to ensure services and facilities are responsive to local needs.
There are many barriers that prevent people from accessing services and facilities, such as affordability or social and cultural barriers.
Homeless people experience disadvantage and value safe public places such as
libraries as a way to achieve important connections in the community.
Barriers to physical access (for example, from transport difficulties, disability or frailty, or hours of operation) must be addressed through universal design.
Find out more on the Auckand Universal Design website.
The under-provision of services needs to be addressed, alongside investment in new development areas and in existing areas that have significant population growth.
It is essential that we plan and design services and infrastructure in such a way that they can adapt to different usage and demand over time.
We therefore need to better utilise existing facilities and develop new flexible and multi-purpose facilities.
Find out more by reading the Community Facilities Network and Action Plan.
How this can be done
Efforts to maximise the investment in social services and infrastructure can focus on:
- areas where there is current under-investment and areas where there is significant population growth and redevelopment
- creating quality public places and spaces
- ensuring our urban landscape has high amenity value as it forms part of people's social space
- providing social infrastructure that encourages people to be active
- being innovative in how we develop and deliver social services and facilities, ensuring they are flexible to allow for different uses during their lifetime
- recognising and meeting local needs.
