By Amanda Gillies
A pregnant Auckland woman was in the middle of a contraction when she was told there was something officially special about her baby – it was the city’s 1 and a half millionth citizen.
Ramonah Patience Toomalatai was born at 4.36am, weighing 9 pounds 9 ounces, but her birth was unusual; she received a visit from Mayor Len Brown.
Her parents say the news was surprising and overwhelming, but also “an honour”.
Auckland’s population has grown rapidly – in the 1960s it hit the half million mark and 30 years later it doubled to 1 million. It is expected to reach 2 million by 2030.
Fifty-nine percent of the population are European, 22 percent are Asian, 16 percent Pacific Islander and 11 percent are Maori.
In ten years the number of Auckland Europeans is expected to decrease slightly, while the number of Auckland Asians will go up.
Sociologist Paul Spoonley says the city will need to make some changes to accommodate the rapidly rising population – another 300,000 dwellings, and the services to support them.
“We are going to need new hospitals, we are going to need new schools… there is a whole mix of things that we are going to have to think about,” he says.
The Mayor says a 30 year blue-print for the future of Auckland is already being finalised, and a lot of that plan is about “correcting our transportation woes”.
Housing will also be a major concern, with tenants already claiming they are having to pay more and more as demand increases.
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