Auckland Council’s growth projections indicate that the city needs to find development capacity for 400,000 new dwellings by 2041. To better understand the quantity and location of development capacity in their region the Council commissioned the ‘Capacity for Growth Study’. Through this study this presentation explores how FME was used to generate a number of innovative spatial data modelling algorithms to measure the vacant, redevelopment and infill development capacity across residential, business and rural-residential land use designations.

1. CONNECT. TRANSFORM. AUTOMATE.
Michael Oberdries
Growing Pains: The Auckland City ‘Capacity for Growth Study’

2. The Auckland Region
! Encompasses the Auckland
metropolitan area, smaller
towns, rural areas, and the
islands of the Hauraki Gulf
! Population of 1.5 million
! Is home to 1/3 of all New
Zealand’s residents

3. So what is the Capacity for Growth
Study (CfGS) ?
! The CfGS is a way to measure the capacity a
region has for accommodating residential and
business growth under an operative (or
proposed) planning rule book?
! The CfGS is a census of plan-enabled capacity.

4. The Strategic Context …
! A 30 year vision;
! For 1 million more people;
! For 400,000 more dwellings;
! Understanding WHEN, WHERE
and HOW growth may occur?

5. The Operational Context …
! The restructuring of Local Government in
Auckland …
! Combining the functions of a regional council and
7 city and district councils into an Auckland
“Super City”
! Transitioning from 4 regional plans + 7 district
plans to a single Auckland Unitary Plan

6. The Political Context …

7. But the biggest challenge of all ...

8. So what does the CfGS deliver?
Questions
Segmentations
! Residential
! Business Commercial
! Business Industrial
! Rural Residential
Assessments
! Vacant land
! Redevelopment
potential
! Infill capacity
potential
! Vacant potential
Data
Parcels
Rates assessments
Titles
Building footprints
Zoning
District plan provisions
Environmental data
Infrastructure/services
Floor space data
Employee counts
Dwelling counts
Capacity Model

9. From a Workflow Schematic …

10. To FME Modelling Algorithms …

11. To Configurable Parameters …

12. Staged Implementation
Pilot Area
Legacy District
Supercity Region

13. INFILL is easy to detect visually …

14. INFILL is easy to conceptualise...
Residential parcel
Building footprint
District plan
set backs
Geo-processing
to calculate
vacant portion of
parcel
Geo-processing
to check for
vehicle access to
the street
Calculate capacity
Yield (dwellings)
Yield =
x additional
dwellings

15. But INFILL is difficult to computerize …

16. STEP 1 : Triangulate the vacant space
on target parcels qualified by model
constraints …

17. STEP 2 : Filter triangle candidates by
AREA and SHAPE rankings …

18. STEP 3 : Replace triangle-geometry
with circles to extend coverage on the
vacant part of the parcel …

19. Every triangle has a circumscribed
circle …

20. STEP 4 : Identify where the circle-
geometry intersects the parcel polygon
(exclusive of the building footprint) …

21. STEP 5 : Replace the circle-overlays
with their b-box to extend coverage on
the vacant part of the parcel …

22. STEP 6 : Identify where b-box
geometry intersects the parcel
polygon …

23. STEP 7 : Buffer building footprints and
drop the INFILL candidates that exceed
the zone min-area constraints …

24. STEP 8 : Qualify the INFILL candidates
for building platform shape and test
for road frontage access …

25. Back to the “real world” …

26. Business Capacity Modelling …
! Business capacity is
constrained in 3 dimensions
which means volumetric
modelling

27. Consider a Business Zone and its
neighbouring zones

28. Neighbouring zones affect business
capacity : recession planes | yard
setbacks | upper level road setbacks

29. STEP 1 : Extrude business parcels to
their maximum allowable storeys

30. STEP 2 : Remove storeys within
encroaching affectations to create the
maximum permitted building envelope

31. STEP 3 : The potential for development
is the difference between modelled
and existing floor-space

32. STEP 4 : Illustrate various new
development scenarios within
maximum complying building envelope

33. FME generated GeoPDF
Newmarket business area WITH (left)
and WITHOUT (right) volcanic view-
shaft height controls

34. Scenario Modelling …
Current Zoning
Net Redevelopment Yield
= 1065 new dwelling candidates
Test Zoning
Net Redevelopment Yield
= 2743 new dwelling candidates

35. Benefits from the CfGS
More informed decision making …
! Time and resource savings
! Project duration: 12 months, compared to 4 years
! Data modelling repeatability
! 1 to 2 days to run all models to completion
! Configurable “What if?” scenario modelling
! Improved information for stakeholders
! A data driven, evidence based approach
! Independent of the political pressures around outcomes
! Creation of data framework for additional research …

36. Thank You!
! Questions?
! For more information:
! michael@oberdries.com
! Oberdries Consulting Ltd
! http://www.aucklandcouncil.govt.nz/EN/
planspoliciesprojects/reports/technicalpublications/
Pages/capacityforgrowthstudy.aspx
CONNECT. TRANSFORM. AUTOMATE.