As with all big cities (or small cities), growth is something we see in a continual state of movement. Largely cities offer what people want and/or need – jobs, income, shops, society, action… (I’m sure the list will depend on each as an individual).
Auckland currently, for its population, one of the most sprawled out cities in the world. With this comes issues – transportation being one of the larger ones. Our current Mayor, Len Brown, has put in place plans for an extended rail network and improved public transportations – all in an effort to reduce the peek hour traffic jams, and make Auckland a better place to live. I think the plans sound great.
The next big argument between local and national government is what Auckland does in the future? – do we expand more, moving out into less developed land? Do we concentrate on more high population housing estates, more high-rise? Both come with their pros and cons, and likely a mix is the answer.
For a city that holds 32% of the countries population (and growing), Auckland will always have a struggle with housing, transportation and all the infrastructure that surrounds it. For me, its still home.
MikeHawkey.com 
Nice photo – I do love Auckland, but I so wish they would put some thought into ensuring the QUALITY of the houses/flats/buildings that they are planning to shoehorn into the city. Densification along public transport routes is needed for sure, but once its on the planning maps we are left to the mercy of shoestring developers with the high likelyhood that we will end up with a whole lot of cheap rubbish that pays no respect to the environment (natural AND urban) or quality of life. Further sprawl is not an option to be an efficient city, and it IS possible to design high density housing well – just a matter of convincing investors that intelligent architecture and design is worth it!
Thanks for the response! I could not agree more. Some developments are (at least on the surface to an untrained eye) nice. Others make me sigh and wonder what they will look like in a decades time. One could argue we are already too big, but I guess time will dictate where we go next.