Porirua City is changing quickly and we want to make sure we’re able to influence how it changes and grows so that it’s an even better place to live, work and raise a family in the future.

With the opening of the new Transmission Gully Motorway and link roads, there will be changes to how locals and visitors move around our city, and the opportunities they have to do business. We’re also expecting our population to grow and that people will be looking for a range of affordable housing options. We have to decide where and how the city can grow while also making sure it's liveable and attractive.

Our most recent framework for city development was adopted in 2008 and a lot has happened since then, so it’s time to take another look at how we will change and where we will grow, to make sure the city benefits as much as possible from all that’s happening here. 

Porirua has evolved through four phases of growth. 

In looking forward and planning the kind of city we want to have in the future, it's been important for us to look back and see how Porirua developed in the first place.

Phase 1: Coastal Communities - The first settlements were Papakainga, Pa and whaling settlements  such as Takapuwahia, Hongoeka, Pāuatahanui and Mana Island, that relied on water-based transport. 

Phase 2: Railway Settlements - Settlements such as Plimmerton, Mana and Pukerua Bay grew up along the Wellington to Manawatu railway line.

Phase 3: Ministry of Works Building - Areas such as Titahi Bay, Earlsdon and Eastern Porirua grew up as a result of city centre reclamation, state housing development, and large-scale land shaping and road building.

Phase 4: Traditional Suburb Development - Areas like Whitby, Papakowai, Camborne and Aotea sprung up through private, low density garden-suburb development.

Our City is now entering a new fifth phase: 

More housing choices with greater density - We need to regenerate older areas of Porirua, such as Eastern Porirua and the City Centre, while increasing density in more recently developed parts of the city, such as Keneperu Landing.

You have already played an important role in helping to shape our Growth Strategy. Through the Long Term Plan and District Plan processes you told us what your priorities are for our future, and they have helped to shape the key themes that will shape our strategy.

You said:

• More compact 
• Protect the harbour
• Make it easier to bike and walk
• Resilient
• Children and young people matter
• Diverse and unique communities
• Affordable housing choices
• We want to grow