What’s in this Chapter?

  • Overall quality of life
  • Diversity and identity
  • Community strength and spirit
  • Access to telecommunications
  • Arts and culture
For full details, graphs etc, refer to the chapter pdf »

Key Results - Social Connectedness

  • The vast majority (90.0%) of residents in New Zealand and in the 12 cities say they have a positive overall quality of life.
  • Nationally, the most common social networks that people belong to are a family network (64.0%) or a network from school or work (52.0%).
  • Compared to the rest of New Zealand, residents of the 12 cities are less likely to have their main social networks in the same area they live in and more likely for the network to be based on shared interests or beliefs.
  • There is a higher sense of local community (65.0%) in the rest of New Zealand than in the 12 cities (55.0%).
  • People with lower household incomes are more likely to feel isolated or lonely.
  • Seventy six percent of households in our cities have access to a mobile phone and 64.7% of households had internet access in 2006, up from 42.7% in 2001.
  • India is the most common source country for new citizens, followed by China, South Africa, England, Fiji and Korea.
  • Of the new citizens who attended citizenship ceremonies in 2006, 23,497 (82.9%) did so in the 12 cities.
  • More than half (58.0%) of residents in the 12 cities combined feel positive about the impact of increasing diversity on their city.
  • After English, Maori is the most commonly spoken language in four of the 12 cities and Samoan in five cities.
  • One in five Maori people living in the 12 cities speaks Maori.
  • Three quarters of city residents say their area has a culturally rich and diverse arts scene.

Social Connectedness

This chapter looks at how people come together, interact and network. Social connectedness provides an indication of community strength.

Why this is Important

The concept of community is fundamental to people’s overall quality of life and sense of belonging. Informal networks and how people connect with others are important for strong communities and social cohesion.1 Confident and connected communities support social and economic development in our cities. Strong communities have fewer social problems, are more adaptable in the face of change and when they do experience difficulty they have internal resources to draw upon.

Population growth and change in our cities impact on the relationships people have with others and their sense of belonging to an area.

Key Points

Overall, there are relatively high levels of social connectedness in the 12 cities. The vast majority of residents in the cities felt they had a positive overall quality of life. Rodney, Wellington and Dunedin residents were slightly more likely to feel that they had a positive overall quality of life and Waitakere residents less likely.

In 2006, 28,346 people became New Zealand citizens, with 82.9% attending citizenship ceremonies in our cities. The cities in the Auckland region had the highest proportion of new citizens from Asia. Rodney, Hamilton and North Shore had higher proportions of new citizens from South Africa. Manukau, Porirua, Hutt and Waitakere had the highest proportion of new citizens from Oceania, primarily from Fiji and Samoa.

More than half of all residents (58.0%) felt positive about the impact of increasing lifestyle and cultural diversity on their city. Residents in Wellington, Dunedin, Porirua, Christchurch and Auckland felt most positively about increasing diversity. Across the cities, people aged 25 to 49 years and Asian/Indian residents felt most positively about increasing diversity.

Increasing diversity in cities was mirrored in the languages spoken. After English, Maori was the most commonly spoken language in four of our cities and Samoan in five cities.

Nationally, the most common social networks people belong to are family networks and networks through school or work.

School and work play a larger role in social networks in our cities than in the rest of New Zealand. The busy lives of city residents could be a reason for their lower involvement in community or voluntary groups than people living in other parts of New Zealand.

Compared with the rest of New Zealand, people in the 12 cities had slightly higher rates of affiliation with social networks based on shared interests or beliefs and lower rates of affiliation to the area in which they lived. Perhaps as a result, city residents had a lower sense of community within their local area compared to residents living outside our cities.2

Around three quarters of people had very positive interactions with their neighbours and considered that other people can usually or almost always be trusted and that they had access to support when they felt stressed. City households have higher levels of access to telecommunications than households in the rest of New Zealand. Seventy six percent of households in our cities had access to a mobile phone and 64.7% of households had internet access in 2006, up from 42.7% in 2001.

Nearly three quarters (72.0%) of residents in the 12 cities thought their city had a culturally rich and diverse arts scene. Residents in Wellington, Dunedin and Porirua rated their city’s arts scene as culturally rich and diverse.

Increasing diversity in cities was mirrored in the languages spoken. After English, Maori was the most commonly spoken language in four of our cities and Samoan in five cities.

1.Putnam, R. (2000). Bowling alone: The collapse and revival of American community. New York: Simon and Schuster, defines strong communities as where there are high levels of coordination and cooperation for reciprocal and mutual benefit.
2 A community is often defined spatially through a shared geographic area such as a neighbourhood. Communities can also be the product of shared interest, such as online communities, religious or cultural groups, sports clubs, business or voluntary groups.

Overall Quality of Life

  • The vast majority of residents in New Zealand and in the 12 cities feel they have a positive overall quality of life.

Diversity and identity

  • India is the most common source country for new citizens, followed by China, South Africa, England, Fiji and Korea.
  • Almost two thirds of city residents feel positive about the impact of increasing diversity.
  • A fifth of Maori people living in cities speak Maori.

Community Strength and Spirit

  • The most common social networks are family, school or work networks.
  • There is a higher sense of local community in the rest of New Zealand than in the 12 cities.

Access to Telecommunications

  • Three quarters of city households have access to a mobile phone.
  • Two thirds of city households have internet access, up on 2001 figures.

Arts and Culture

  • Three quarters of city residents say their area has a culturally rich and diverse arts scene.
  • More people work in creative occupations in the 12 cities than the rest of New Zealand.