in Karori
It's got the basic recipe...
In this Karori ...
Karori Road is the centre of a humming local community, full of friendly locals and wonderful experiences. Our traffic problems are a thing of the past thanks to a wider variety of safe and easy transport options – particularly the high-capacity, high-frequency buses shuttling to and from the city. Karori people get around using the high quality footpaths and bike lanes, dropping in to the shopping centre, the library, grabbing a coffee or visiting friends. The native birdlife, insects and lizards of Zealandia and Otari-Wilton Bush are regular visitors to Karori Road thanks to the greener, more welcoming street. College kids and primary schoolers mostly get to school and sport practices on bikes, scooters, and on foot, and parents know they’re safe. Karori’s heart thrives thanks to the higher population density, with new businesses, houses of worship, sports and social clubs, the boutique movie theatre by Raine St and the village square by the Library. Karori culture is stronger than ever – people can interact more effortlessly, spend less time travelling around, and spend more time enjoying all our community has to offer.
Karori: a basic quarter-hour paradise in action
This is how the essential recipe of the quarter-hour paradise – even just with a very basic lens of “just be buildable” – makes life better in Karori.
People-friendly streets
Dedicated bus priority with high-capacity buses and fast-charging stations are the fastest and easiest way to get into central Wellington without effort.
A network of protected cycling and micro-mobility lanes makes it safe to get around the suburb and into the city.
The footpaths are wide, flat, and free from scooters and bikes, with pedestrian-scale lighting on verandas improving visibility and safety.
Karori Road is slower and safer thanks to traffic calming features.
In the heart of the town, the road becomes a raised table made of textured cobbles and encourages slower driving.
Density done well
The new village square flows from the street and bus stop, overlooked by homes and surrounded by street art charting the course of Karori stream.
The square is surrounded by medium density housing, mostly 3-4 storey buildings. The ground levels are dedicated to shops, hospitality, and workspaces.
Homes are a wide variety of sizes, from 1 to 5 bedrooms. Most homes and all ground-floor uses are universally accessible.
Each apartment features covered gardens and conservatory spaces for growing food and fostering community.
Buildings are low-carbon and low-toxicity compared with 2022.
There are common spaces and shared facilities within the residential buildings, including deck gardens, shared bike and scooter parking, play areas, lounges and games rooms, to encourage neighbours to meet and form close relationships.
Apartment buildings are designed to need minimal heating and cooling, and are orientated to make the most of the sun’s free energy and light, with well-insulated walls, energy-efficient fixtures and ventilation.
Access to all you need
The shopping centre in the heart of Karori is thriving with new retail, hospitality, and medical providers all in the central hub.
The library, cinema and theatre, daycare, papakāinga, primary school and college, live music venues, and community gardens are all valued community hubs which everyone enjoys.
Private carshare is integrated into residential buildings along with comprehensive private bike- and scooter-parking.
Micro delivery e-trucks and cargo bikes buzz back and forth around Karori’s smart logistics hubs.
The convenient and fast transport links into the Wellington city centre make it easy to commute to work or catch up with a friend on Courtenay Place.
This vision may look comprehensive, but like all the visualisations here, this picture is simply what you get when you apply the most basic quarter-hour paradise recipe to this location.
It’s working much better for people and the taiao, but it’s still a bit beige, it’s unadorned, lacking local flavour or community nuance.
The big missing element: how local people would like to see quarter-hour paradise growing in their neighbourhood.
Let's explore this together!
Over on the Quarter-hour Paradise social media there’s friendly, curious conversation happening.
It’s about how neighbourhoods like Karori can develop their quarter-hour paradise goodness in ways that feel local. In ways that draw out, that build on, that amplify what’s great about the neighbourhood.
It’s a bit of an oasis on social media.
- iI’s a space to bring genuine questions and ideas about what change might mean; about bad and good ways to do intensification, to do street change, and to set up and run our towns.
- There’ll be honest answers, inspiration from our own doorsteps and further afield, and other curious minds from your community – all coming together a spirit of “why not?”, “we got this”, and “yes, and“.
- It’s apolitical (no endorsements or promotions of candidates), and it’s a space for citizen conversation.
