South Dunedin Future is a joint programme between Dunedin City Council and Otago Regional Council to find ways to respond to climate change and flooding problems in South Dunedin.
What is at stake for South Dunedin?
We need to adapt South Dunedin’s infrastructure and environment in a way that creates more room for increasing levels of rain, sea and groundwater, while protecting space for people and the things that matter.
We are making a plan with the South Dunedin community, mana whenua and stakeholders to work out what’s most important and to find the right balance between people, water and space.
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The people
South Dunedin is a vibrant and important part of our city which is home to more than 13,000 people from all backgrounds and walks of life. It’s a place where you can grow up, raise a family and grow old. Somewhere you can eat, shop, study, work and play. We’ve made it into a place with space for everyone. But we’ve left no space for water.
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The water
This area, known as ‘The Flat’, is built on a tidal wetland. It is sandwiched between the hills, harbour and ocean, with water levels that rise and fall. Over time, it has been reclaimed, filled in and built up to keep the water at bay and create the South Dunedin we have today.
Our changing climate means we’ll have water coming from all directions: heavier rain, rising seas and rising groundwater. There will be a lot more water with nowhere to go.
South Dunedin’s infrastructure is already struggling and, like we saw in 2015, it can fail when there’s too much rain.
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The space
We need a plan to adapt South Dunedin, so the water doesn’t find its way into places we don’t want it – like our homes, schools and businesses. By reshaping the space we live in and rethinking how we live with water, we can give the water somewhere to go. If we don’t, the water will reshape things for us.
There won’t be a quick fix for South Dunedin. We’ll need a mix of big and small ideas, and actions over many years. But it can be done. And if we do it right, South Dunedin can be a space with less flooding, better housing, and great parks and beaches, a rich culture and celebrated history – a place we can still be proud of.
That’s the future we want.
How we get there
We’ve got scientists, planners and engineers studying the natural hazards and risks. We'll hold community discussions and workshops about what they find, hear everyone’s ideas about how to respond, work out our options, and make a plan.
It’s a complex problem, so it’ll take us a few years to narrow down all the ideas and make sure they will work. But, by 2026, we will have a strategy that tells us what we’ll do, when we’ll do it, and how.
South Dunedin Future has five phases
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What is happening?
We’ll keep studying how South Dunedin is being impacted by changes in weather, sea level and groundwater level, and explain the science in ways that are easy to understand.
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What matters most?
We’ll talk to the community and people impacted by these changes to find out what you value most about South Dunedin’s people, places and things.
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What can we do?
We’ll work with you on ideas to protect, preserve or improve the aspects of South Dunedin that are most important – then we’ll use these to make a plan.
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Make it happen
We’ll turn the plan into action, making lots of small (and some big) changes, to help adapt South Dunedin to the changing environment, and at the same time, making and finding better spaces for both people and water.
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How is it working?
We’ll keep an eye on things as we go to make sure the plan is working the way we want it to and adjust the plan if things change or aren’t working.
What you can do
We need you to get involved, tell us what you think and let us know what matters most to you about South Dunedin.
- Learn about the science
- Tell us what’s important
- Share your ideas
- Help narrow down the options
- Agree on the plan
Check out our stay in the loop page for news and information about workshops and events. Together we will come up with a plan to get the balance back between people and water and give South Dunedin a safer and better future.