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Subdivision & Neighbourhood Design Wawaetanga Whenua

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Ecology and habitat Print

Design Outcome

Subdivisions protect and enhance the rich ecology and habitat of the natural environment.

​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​Part of the unique appeal of urban Auckland is its highly valued views of the natural environment and the wide variety of native and exotic species. 

While people accept that allocating rural land for urban development will bring change, this change should not lead to a permanent loss of ecosystems or habitat.​

Better Design Practice

  • Protect Misspelled Wordimportant habitats by using legal mechanisms such as land covenants, encumbrances, consent notices and ongoing landscaping, weed and pest control, or maintenance responsibilities.
  • Distribute densities and lot sizes carefully to protect important habitats. When required, subdivisions can be designed to limit people accessing areas of sensitive habitat or areas requiring protection.
  • Ensure natural features can be easily accessed by residents and the wider community, including visitors.
  • Consider how your subdivision can help to connect areas of unbroken habitat across urban Auckland, on both public and private land. These do not need to be made publicly accessible, but can be when doing so improves habitats and pedestrian safety. 

  • ​Try to improve the ecology and habitat quality of a site as a key objective of a subdivision. This could include: 
    • riparian and other planting, including street trees
    • treating land that has been contaminated
    • reducing stormwater amounts and improving stormwater quality
    • changing exotic plant cover to native plant cover (eco-sourced if possible), when relevant to the overall landscape strategy
    • pest and weed management 

  • Ensure that enough space is provided on each parcel of land (public or private) for a large tree (or trees) to grow. 
  • An ecological assessment can assist in supporting plant and animal species that are the most at risk in the part of Auckland where the site is located.

Rules of Thumb

1. The best outcome occurs when areas set aside for planting are designed to connect with planting areas on neighbouring lots, creating space for clusters of vegetation to grow over time.


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