Central Auckland has a population of over 50,000 people (2018 census) but only one full sized supermarket, the Countdown on Quay Street. With the country back in lockdown, how we access the supermarket and how often we visit supermarkets is sharply in focus.
This is my first lock down living in an apartment in Central Auckland. My local supermarket is the ‘metro’ Countdown on Victoria Street. As a smaller store it doesn’t have all the items I want but it is a convenient 300m walk. A distance that feels much longer than 300m with a heavy shopping bag on each arm and a steep incline, typical of Auckland’s volcanic geography. I choose to live in the inner city to be close to work and amenities and to ditch my car.
The day after the lockdown was announced Countdown closed two of its ‘metro’ stores; one on Albert Street and the other in Wynyard Quarter. Yesterday the remaining Countdown ‘metro’ store also closed leaving the central city with one full sized Countdown supermarket and one very small ‘metro’ New World. For a population of 50,000; many without a car this has left large swathes of my neighbourhood as a food desert.
Food deserts describe areas with poor access to quality healthy, or affordable food. In an urban context this is primarily about proximity to supermarkets and the type of food available (i.e. fresh produce). Much of the academic understanding of food deserts apply to lower socioeconomic areas which typically have fewer supermarkets, are car dependant and have less nutritious options. The last point is particularly relevant to the Central Auckland context with many of the ‘metro’ stores more focused on the lunch time rush than on city residents doing their weekly shop – there are more isles for wine and Whittaker’s chocolate than fennel and fresh fish.
The distance, or radius, typically used to define access catchments for food deserts is 1.5 to 2.5km. If we focus on Central Auckland, where walking is the primary means of travel, I think this distance should be less. I have used the widely accepted 400m/800m (5min/10min) walkable catchment to map the situation I faced. Large parts of the city sit outside a catchment including the highly populated Upper Queen, Grafton Gully, and Hobson Street areas (approximate combined population of 20,000).
This isn’t just a Covid lockdown issue; this is a day-to-day concern for many city centre residents. If the government is to push for greater residential densities and remove car parking minimums, as per the NPD-UD (National Policy Statement on Urban Development), then we need to ensure that the centres have ALL the amenities needed to make that possible. This includes supermarkets, full-size supermarkets not just metro stores. The 50,000 people in my neighbourhood should have abundant access to groceries and not live in an urban food desert.
You are absolutely right Boyd. I share your pain from my apartment in Freyberg Sq. Luckily I can load the panniers of my bike and take the load off my back.
Where is the closest butchery/fishery?. For prepared food, where is the fish and chips? Or a traditional roast takeaways?
This desert could have a solution: a central food market (to sell quality fresh produce, in the european way, not another food court). Maybe in the ground floor of a carpark building, or repurposing some office/commercial building.?
The survival of city centres relies on residents, not in businesses and tourists.
We need access to basic amenities, like fresh produce (including fish and meat, silent at night (we are getting this in lockdown) and sufficient public space to stretch our legs and give our brain a rest (not bombarded with electronic signs)