Disruptive mobility and the potential for land reclamation

In a future where carparks become underused, land reclamation could provide a great opportunity for planners, urban designers, and other decision makers.

If shared electric autonomous vehicles (SEAVs) become the dominant transport system in the near future; the transition from the current private car ownership system will potentially reduce the demands for car parking, and the existing open and covered car parking can be reclaimed.

This land reclamation could provide a great opportunity for planners, urban designers, and other decision makers to reuse the reclaimed lands for their required urban needs, such as public space, commercial, and also residential buildings.

A recently published working paper by Building Better Urban Wellbeing researcher Mohsen Mohammadzadeh, from the University of Auckland, investigates the potential for land reclamation based on the deployment of disruptive mobility in Auckland’s CBD and in ten other Auckland metropolitan areas.

“The Central Business Districts of cities and metropolitan centres attract a large number of people for different purposes, including, but not limited to, working, education, entertainment and shopping.

“Based on the current car-oriented land-use planning practice, the provision of car parking is perceived as one of the most important principles in allocating land for different land use activities. A large amount of land in the CBDs and metropolitan centres has been allocated for open air and covered parking.

“As the business hubs, the land in the CBDs and metropolitan [areas] is a scarce resource, and its value is relatively higher than in the surrounding residential neighbourhoods. Disruptive mobility will potentially assist in reclaiming these valuable lands by providing an alternative mobility option for the residents.”

Using ArcGIS, the working paper investigates the potential for land reclamation in Auckland’s CBD and its ten metropolitan centres. GIS maps are used to illustrate the existing capacities in the eleven areas. Based on secondary resources such as Auckland Council’s data set, the report shows the financial benefits that can be achieved through land reclamation. The reclaimed land can be used to address existing urban issues, such as public space, business activities, and high-density housing. The working paper argues that land reclamation can be used to reinforce Transit-Oriented Development (TOD) to attain sustainable transportation.

Read the report:

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