Wellington 2040 Consultation
The future is coming to Wellington this Thursday with the launch of a pair of interactive exhibitions exploring what our city might look like in just under three decades.
Local production design company Storybox has helped us develop two pop-up exhibitions - one at Te Aro Park and the other on the waterfront. Each site uses a pair of shipping containers, stacked one on top of the other, to house a series of future-focused exhibits.
It's all part of the launch of our vision for Wellington. Called 'Toward 2040: Smart Green Wellington', it details what we think we need to do as a city to make sure we continue to thrive in a rapidly changing local and global environment. All Council strategies will be guided by this plan, whether we're looking at roading and pedestrian pathways, or making the most of new technologies.
We're looking at building on our strengths - our compactness, our highly-skilled workforce, our quality of life, our status as the capital city and our stunning natural surroundings.
We're also looking at global trends facing Wellington - new technologies, climate change, scarce resources and a diversifying population.
We're launching the plan next week and we want to know what you think. What do you want Wellington to be by 2040? How do you want the city to grow with and respond to global trends and issues? What excites you most about the future and what do we need to be doing today?
To get your imagination into gear, drop by Te Aro Park or the eastern side of the Wharewaka from this Thursday. Each exhibition is dedicated to two of the four goals identified in Toward 2040:
People-centred city - we want to grow Wellington's communities so they're even more vibrant, healthy and resilient.
Connected city - we want to be connected with each other and the world physically, virtually and socially.
Eco-city - we're confident we can lead Wellington and New Zealand with our response to the environmental challenges we all face, in particular, securing a resilient city.
Dynamic central city - we want to make sure our urban landscape keeps evolving so Wellington continues to be a creative and economic powerhouse - and a great place to live.
At each site, you'll be able to engage with these concepts and see what others are thinking with audiovisual material, touchscreen maps and video posts from people on the street. There's even an interactive bicycle so you can see if you've got what it takes to make toast and charge your laptop using nothing but pedal power.
Projections at the Wharewaka site will liven up the waterfront every night until late, and the people at Storybox have also designed the top container at Te Aro Park to double as a stage. There'll be free lunchtime and evening gigs every Friday, Saturday and Sunday featuring local acts like Rosy Tin Teacaddy and Bill Hickman.
The exhibitions at Te Aro Park and the waterfront are open every day:
- 10.00am to 6.00pm, Monday to Wednesday
- 10.00am to 9.30pm, Thursday to Saturday
- 10.00am to 4.00pm on Sundays
The last day for the exhibitions is Saturday 23 July. And from Monday 27 June, you can download Toward 2040 from our website or phone 499 4444 to have it sent to you.
Copies will also be available from our service centre on Wakefield Street or any of the city libraries. Make a submission online or by writing to us at Wellington 2040, PO Box 2199, Wellington. The closing date for feedback is Monday 15 August.