The Wrong Side of my Car
The blog that wants to go obsolete
2 Feb 2026
Let’s create urban villages, city centre edition
I have written before about the weird, lumpy population density of Auckland City. This is still the case, here is a similar map, from Census 2023 data. (I think dot maps are underrated for this sort of thing, there is no other way to bring out sheer differences in density like this)
Today I’m going to be looking at two of the areas where lots of people live on Hobson Street. That is the area I am more familiar with, and I’ve been there recently.
These areas have something in common: both of them are centred around a laneway. Or better: what could be a laneway, because both of them are currently languishing as sad little parking lanes. But there are also a few differences.