The Auckland Urban Liveability Index: A Mechanism for Quantifying and Evaluating Modern Urban Densification

We present the Auckland Urban Liveability Index (AULI), an indicator that quantifies modern liveability at the neighbourhood level in Auckland. The index comprises 29 variables spanning several components of liveability: social infrastructure, green space, transportation, safety and diversity. Each is documented transparently with accompanying data and code. We find that neighbourhoods with the highest liveability scores have comparatively good public transport provision and are amenable to active travel, reflecting the principles of modern urban densification. Through local modelling frameworks, we provide useful context on the generalisability of index components that supports the transfer of our index to other cities in New Zealand and re-evaluation of our index in light of new data.