UDINZ Webinar: Auckland Motorway Strategic Plan

Tuesday 6 October
1.00pm - 2.00pm
Online
Cost: UDINZ Member Free, Non-member $80

Launched by Minister Bishop and Mayor Wayne Brown at the Building Nations Conference in July 2026 the Auckland Motorway Strategic Plan (AMSP) is the New Zealand Transport Agency’s (NZTA) new 30-year strategic plan for Auckland's motorway network.

We have asked the team at the Transport Agency to come along and tell UDINZ members about the Plan. The discussion will cover the key findings and strategic direction of the Plan, the implications for Auckland's future transport system, and how the work connects with wider regional planning and growth initiatives.

The Plan examines the challenges and opportunities facing the network over coming decades and identifies the investments and interventions needed to it to enable it to support Auckland's growth and New Zealand's economy in a safe, efficient and resilient way.

The AMSP aims to ensure Auckland’s motorway network can continue to perform its roles and functions effectively and efficiently while accommodating significant future demand. A central focus of the AMSP is making the best use of the existing network within its current constraints. It incorporates existing projects, and identifies further small- and medium-scale initiatives intended to complement these projects. The Plan also takes a wider system view by identifying broader network improvements that are consider necessary to help respond to the challenges facing the motorway network, while recognising that NZTA is not responsible for the wider network.

NZTA have developed the AMSP in collaboration with Auckland Council, Auckland Transport, iwi partners and key sector stakeholders to help understand network challenges and support a coordinated, informed response.

The AMSP is not a programme of works, or a decision-making document for funding or delivery. Those decisions will continue to be made through statutory processes, including the 30-year Transport Plan for Auckland, the Auckland Regional Land Transport Plan, the Government Policy Statement, and the National Land Transport Programme. The AMSP will inform those processes by providing a comprehensive, system-wide view of the motorway network and supporting the prioritisation of initiatives.

The AMSP is a significant piece of work and will be an important input into the development of Auckland's joint 30 Year Transport Plan.

The session will be led by the NZTA project's co-leads Brian Waddell and Gavin Smith.

The Plan is available here: Auckland Motorway Strategic Plan

Press release:  Smarter plan for Auckland's motorways | Beehive.govt.nz

UDINZ Webinar: Making Space for Water

Wednesday 14 October
12.00pm - 1.00pm
Online
Cost: UDINZ Member Free, Non-member $80

Join us on our next UDINZ Webinar with Sara Zwart, Regeneration Manager | Blue-green Networks within Auckland Council’s Healthy Waters and Flood Resilience team on "Making Space for Water".

The 2023 Auckland floods exposed how vulnerable the city's urban form is to extreme weather and became a catalyst for accelerating flood resilience as an urban and landscape design opportunity rather than a solely engineering response. As part of Auckland Council's Making Space for Water programme, the Blue-Green Networks initiative is reshaping how flood resilience intersects with open space and urban form. It connects naturalised waterways, public space, and regeneration outcomes across Tāmaki Makaurau.

Drawing on lessons learnt through the delivery of Te Ara Awataha in Northcote, and current work on the Ngā Wairau flood resilience project, Sara Zwart will explore how blue-green networks can support broader place-based outcomes for water, land and people. Sara will share how the Healthy Waters team of engineers, project managers, designers and relationship managers work to ensure that their blue-green network projects are place-sourced, culture-led and community fed; ultimately working with – not against – water.

On our speaker:

Sara Zwart is the Regeneration Manager | Blue-green Networks within Auckland Council’s Healthy Waters and Flood Resilience team. She supports regenerative outcomes across a programme of blue-green networks throughout Tāmaki Makaurau and has most recently been working on Ngā Wairau flood resilience project on the North Shore.

With over 20 years of experience spanning architecture, landscape architecture, and urban design, Sara has led transformative stormwater projects in collaboration with diverse partners. These include Te Whakaoranga o te Puhinui (Puhinui Stream regeneration) and Northcote’s Te Ara Awataha greenway, delivered in her former role as Principal Regenerative Design Lead at the Auckland Urban Design Office.

Sara is passionate about the intersection of climate adaptation, social equity, and urban design. Her work takes a long-term strategic approach, weaving together social, cultural, economic, and environmental outcomes to shape resilient urban futures. She works in close partnership with mana whenua, recognising them as essential collaborators, advocates, and kaitiaki for the land and people of Aotearoa.

UDINZ Summer Site Tour of 159 Hereford Street

Thursday 15 October
4.30pm - 6.00pm
Christchurch
Cost: UDINZ Member Free, Non-member $80

Join UDINZ for a site tour of 159 Hereford Street, a multi-tenant office space in the refurbished New Zealand Refrigeration Co. building.

Listed as one of the city’s “Dirty Thirty” buildings in the years following the 2011 Canterbury Earthquake, 159 Hereford Street fell into a state of extreme dereliction.

Home to squatters, the building was vandalised, covered in graffiti and set on fire.

Although extensively damaged, its unmistakably mid-century modern bones remained, including its mosaic tiled exterior - the first curtain wall facade constructed in the South Is.

These features, along with a desire to retain an important but under-valued piece of Christchurch’s architectural heritage, proved irresistible for developers Caleb Ballin and Dean Marshall who purchased the building in 2022 and, together with architecture firm Context, set about re imagining and refurbishing the building piece by piece.

The process presented numerous challenges and took almost three years.

Join us on site with Context Architects who will lead the tour and share insights into the project.

Following the tour, attendees are invited to continue the conversation at a post-site tour networking kindly hosted at the Context offices in this very same building.

UDINZ Webinar: The New Zealand Housing Survey a potential new source of purchaser sentiment

Tuesday 20 October
12.00pm - 1.00pm
Online
Cost: UDINZ Member Free, Non-member $80

There’s real pressure for residential projects right now and it can be difficult to get a handle on buyer expectations. Historical sales data on what people have in the past preferred and purchased may no longer provide a complete picture of future consumer demand, especially those making the transition from rental to ownership (who do not appear in existing data sets). The Urban Advisory have, through their New Zealand Housing Survey, captured what future residents are saying will influence their decisions on value, product mix, design and amenities. That information can supplement what you’ve seen play out and provide a basis for exploring new ways of doing things.

Join The Urban Advisory’s Jack Tompkins for a practical look at how the team at TUA are using this data - to inform urban strategy that they say can help your team get projects over the line. 

This session will explore how better data from the New Zealand Housing survey can help demystify demand aspirations for developers, investors, and property advisors.

He will discuss how specific consumer preference data can supplement existing data sets and inform your feasibility models, site purchases, and masterplans before you break ground. 

Says TUA “These insights help build developments that meet current and future demand, speed up sales, and deliver projects that work for both neighbourhoods and balance sheets”.

Join us on this webinar to hear more.

UDINZ Whakatipu Tāone Gala Dinner 2026

Thursday 12 November
5.00pm onwards
Crave and Glasshouse, Morningside, Auckland
Cost: UDINZ Member Single Ticket - $320.00, UDINZ Member 8 x Tickets - $2,500.00
Non-member Single Ticket - $420.00, Non-member 8 x Tickets - $ 3,300.00

This year’s event moves the conversation past the foundation of relationship formation to explore how Te Ao Māori perspectives influence the places we create, the value we seek and the legacy we leave for future generations.

The evening will take guests on a literal journey through time and place. We start at the origins of the city at Te Waihorotiu, and travel through Tāmaki Makaurau aboard the newly opened City Rail Link. Well be travelling to the Morningside corridor one of the areas destined for future redevelopment and regeneration.

Follow the link at the button above to discover the full event concept and register to secure your place.

We’ll begin announcing our sponsors next week, (with a limited number of opportunities still available), followed shortly thereafter by a reveal of the exciting speakers we have lined-up for attendees of the event.

We look forward to welcoming you to an evening of thought-provoking kōrero, connection and celebration of Te Ao Māori perspectives and their impact on placemaking and investment.

UDINZ Regional Anniversary Breakfast: Waitaha Canterbury

Tuesday 17 November
8.00am - 9.30am
Christchurch
Cost: UDINZ Member $35, Non-member $60

The regional anniversaries in each of our major metros are a good time to lift our heads and see what the future may hold in store for us. Some things change, and some stay the same. Our past and the decisions we all make today, will shape that future.

Join others working in urban development at our 2026 UDINZ Waitaha Canterbury Anniversary Breakfast being held at Atawhai Cafe from 8.00am on Tuesday 17 November.

The purpose of our anniversary breakfasts is to "Ka mua, ka muri", a whakatauki that many will know. It means "walking backwards into the future". It informs the concept for these events. The idea is we need to honour the past and the decisions of those that came before, but recognise we carry responsibility for the decisions we make (or enable) today because they too shape our collective future. 

Look out for our City Leader Speakers.

NB: Please note the door price includes a barista coffee and a light breakfast but, once inside, the venue is also happy for you to place more substantial breakfast orders (at your cost) from the a la carte menu.

UDINZ L&D Offering:

UDINZ Subscription Service.

Subscribe HERE

Did you miss one of our Webinars?

🚀 Unlock relevant learning & development content for yourself or your team through our new UDINZ Subscription Service #SubUrbDev.

Gain access to pre-recorded on-demand webinars with industry experts, thought leaders, and innovators on topics of interest to the sector, to watch at your leisure.

Discounted access for individuals working for UDINZ Member organisations.

“Watch party” option for use in a group training session context (saves you all the effort of having to organise a speaker)

Subscription options:

UDINZ Member;
> Individual that is an employee of a UDINZ Member* - $20.00 per person (7 days access only)
> "Watch Party" for a UDINZ Member*  - $200.00 for “broadcast” at your group training session (available for your designated scheduled date)

Non-member;
> Non-member Individual - $100.00 per person (7 days access only)
> Non member "Watch Party" - $500.00 for “broadcast” at your group training session (available for your designated scheduled date)

*Employer details/membership number do need to be provided and email addresses provided must align.

Please note that for UDINZ Members (who are already supporting the organisations efforts – though annual membership fees) access is provided at a discounted fee level that seeks only to cover our administrative and licensing costs. Other subscription options look to recoup a fee for the time our staff put into curating relevant issues, advertising and delivering events and in the case of the watch party the administrative support required for liaising with you and your technical support team around enabling access for a specific date and time.

For any queries please email info@udinz.nz. Payment must be provided via this portal before content links will be provided.

UDINZ L&D Offering:

Water NZ Digital Badges

UDINZ has done a deal with Water NZ, so confirmed UDINZ members can access Water NZ Digital Badges at a 15% discount on market rates. If you’re interested in registering for any of the Water NZ Digital Badges you can register your interest here: 

Water New Zealand Digital Badges (office.com)

Please note : You register and then Water NZ will confirm with us that the person registering is employed by a UDINZ member.

In return we’ll be making our Decipering Development course available to their members at our member rates. A win win for both organisations! 

UDINZ L&D Offering:

NZGBC's Green Star Rating

We are seeking Expressions of Interest on our newest UDINZ Learning & Development Offering. A course to be delivered for us by NZGBC on their Green Star Rating. 

Let us know at the link below if you and/or your organisation would be interested in attending this course and where in the country you are located (or would be willing to travel to). Date and time will be confirmed once the course minimum is achieved.

This course will help participants better understand Green Star, build your knowledge on managing risk from the tendering stage through construction, and managing documentation for compliance. It will explore the delivery-centric credits often managed by those on the tools and also take a deep dive into sourcing and tracking sustainable and responsible materials, as well as specific credits including Exposure to Toxins.

You will learn how construction materials must be vetted for compliance against VOC and formaldehyde content, and the benefit of materials with higher consideration to environmental sustainability.

The course will also look at onsite practices including managing waste and compliant construction practices.

You'll take away hints and tips from past projects and how to ensure the best assessment outcomes. With increasing interest from the finance sector in supporting green, sustainable building projects, this could also help with your cost of finance!

This is a great way to add a competitive advantage to your bids and tenders. 

Presenters include:

• Ben Cannon, Sustainability Manager

• Clare Gallagher, National Sustainability Manager

• Joe Quad, Manager - Buildings and Communities

Click HERE to Express your Interest.

UDINZ L&D OFFERING:

Deciphering Development for Professionals Course

Contact us to discuss delivery of this course (it will be delivered periodically as a public course based on interest but is also available privately)

Register your interest for future course date please fill out the form at the link and we will be in touch: https://forms.gle/BpRCDSJ2QjSg8iad8

Objective:
Add value to professionals current expertise.
Educate those in consulting and contracting an appreciation for the development process with a view to improving relationships and understanding each other’s perspective in delivering world class residential property development projects.
Create improvement, consistency and collaboration in property development.

Audience:
This is a professional development course for those working in the architecture, engineering, construction and real estate sectors, and who wish to understand how property developer clients think and act. Held as an interactive workshop, attendees will gain an understanding of the fundamentals of property development and how successful projects are created and delivered by property developers.

Facilitated by:
The course is facilitated by Andrew Crosby with other guest speakers included from time to time.

We have secured a potential host for this course in the coming monthl and will confirm the course is proceeding once we have sufficient registered attendees.