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Maximus
2 Min Read

With a resounding snap of latex rubber catsuit on naked flesh, we take a slightly different direction today. There’s been enough talk of streets and roads and local body politics for now – time to look at another urban phenomenon. It is one of the more difficult (and eye-opening) subjects for us to find images for that are even mildly relevant and yet still safe for…

Maximus
1 Min Read

Johnsonville Neglected by Council. “Wellington City Council has failed and neglected Johnsonville for a long time – that’s obvious. Projects proposed to be started, finished and funded have not been. Last night Council (by a majority of one) made that worse in an election panic ad hoc move by two councillors which sees no real commitment to comprehensive integrated urban design or to expenditure or programming…

Maximus
7 Min Read

“There’s been a lot of angst from some people in Johnsonville about Plan Changes 72 and 73. Let’s look at the big picture first. Wellington City’s population is growing, relatively fast in historical terms. The Council is not, repeat not, promoting population growth. I personally believe that all countries should have a population strategy (ie have half a clue where it’s going) because population affects everything,…

Maximus
3 Min Read

There’s some big news from the Council this week, as they debate whether or not to adopt District Plan Change 72 and 73. Councillors will vote on this on Wednesday, in what is probably going to be a massive meeting. More on DPC 72 and 73 later – but first: Johnsonville. Scoop Wellington (aka Lindsay Shelton) has been hosting a discussion about Johnsonville which seems to…

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Maximus
3 Min Read

Following on from previous discussions on all things transport and urban, I’ve had a play round and tried to depict some of the issues that are striking the city planners and traffic engineers – as well as causing wrangles between Mayor Kerry and Sir Bob Jones. No doubt the Council has much more sophisticated diagrams in their possession, but they’ve not shared those with the public…

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Maximus
1 Min Read

A complete change of tack, and just because it amuses me so much: today, a picture. Thanks to Murder Burger (time you guys opened a branch in Wellington please!), and a tip o’ the hat to m-d, for alerting me to yet another way of wasting away my life… But, I just love this one, and it is, ever so slightly, an urban commentary. Enjoy your…

Maximus
2 Min Read

A quick post today to briefly introduce the subject that seems to have got some people excited: that the WCC has hired Space Syntax to map out conditions in Wellington’s CBD. I’m a bit rusty on all that, so I have to go and do some research into the subject: of which, more soon. But it does seem to have had some startling results already: namely…

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Maximus
4 Min Read

Love him or hate him, David Letterman is, in New Zealand, the King of late night Television (most nights, Prime TV, around 11.30pm in NZ). We have no home grown equivalent – we don’t receive Johnny Carson’s successor Jay Leno on terrestrial TV, nor do we get that sarcastic bloke Jon whatsisface. I dread to think what NZ ‘celebrity’ we would have as interviewer – god…

Maximus
5 Min Read

Disappointingly, discussion about Mayor Kerry’s first salvo into the next local body campaign seems to have dried up already. We can still keep on having that conversation – but in the mean time – just what exactly is going on with heritage at the moment? There’s something rather odd going on, and I really don’t quite understand it. Firstly, the government decides to effectively emasculate the…

Maximus
1 Min Read

In response to a recent posting here on Eye of the Fish, and possibly in response to my slightly provocative comment that …. “It is increasingly difficult to write about design in a city which pays only lip service to it,” I’m pleasantly surprised that Mayor Kerry Prendergast has taken the time to add a comment to the posting. In case people have missed it, and…