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How we do it: Projects
Victoria Quarter South
Community Development
Project Overview
Building connection, trust and local leadership in one of the city centre's most dense and diverse neighbourhoods
Auckland Council commissioned Catalyse to deliver a long-term community development programme in Victoria Quarter South, a high-density city centre neighbourhood of more than 5,000 residents bound by Nelson, Cook and Union Streets.
Rapid residential intensification in the area has outpaced the social infrastructure that makes density liveable, leaving residents with few public spaces, little shared identity, and real concerns about safety and connection. Streets here tend to prioritise cars over people, hard surfaces hold the heat, and there are visible signs of neglect, all of which can make it harder for people to feel settled and connected to where they live. At the same time, the area is full of possibility, with no shortage of creativity, ideas and energy from the people who live, work and invest in it.
Funded through the city-centre targeted rate, the first 12-month phase ran from July 2025 to June 2026, with a further two-year investment now approved through to 2028. The approach is relational and adaptive rather than fixed: build trust at the pace of the community, do tangible and useful things in response to what locals say matters, and help local leadership grow rather than directing it from outside.
In year one alone, the programme has established a community space, a neighbourhood newsletter and highly engaged Facebook group, a Business and Residents Group and Community Advisory Group, and a series of small, visible changes to the neighbourhood.
Objectives
Auckland Council set four goals for the programme: strengthen community connections, cohesion and pride and belonging; foster resilience and a sense of safety; build capacity for participation and local leadership; and build trust and confidence in council.
Catalyse's role is to work out, with residents and businesses, what would actually help with these in a neighbourhood that is highly transient, super diverse, and still finding its own identity.
Underpinning this is a longer-term approach grounded in sharing power with the community, moving at the speed of trust, and building enduring local capacity.
Approach
Year one focused on growing relationships and trust, establishing a shared language for the neighbourhood, and creating quick wins that could activate local leadership early. Not everything worked: an idea to run Food Truck Fridays was explored across five different sites, but no viable location could be found. However, the process deepened relationships and the insights gained informed the decision to open a community space..
The Connector, a hyper-local newsletter and Facebook group, was established early in the project as a way for the neighbourhood to identify itself as a community greater than individual apartment buildings. A monthly Business and Residents Group was created to bring together local businesses, body corporates, building managers and residents, to address shared concerns - such as safety and security in the area - and to identify opportunities to promote local businesses and generate a community feeling.
In April 2026 Catalyse secured a retail unit in SugarTree Lane to create a "neighbourhood living room." A three-day community co-design workshop brought together more than 100 locals to shape what it should be. The space, The Common Room, was named through a community vote, has attracted locals community champions who are being supported to step into leadership positions as hosts. It has tea and coffee making facilities and a microwave , a community library, and a regular programme of activities that includes creative writing and craft groups for adults and children. For many, this is the place they come to daily to connect with people and share conversation.
Smaller physical changes followed locally identified needs too. This includes a temporary chalkwalk for child safety on the way to school and work on street seating and planters for Union Street. A Sunday morning "Team Up to Clean Up" event brought 30–50 local volunteers together to tackle litter on Nelson Street, deepening reach into the wider neighbourhood.
Impact
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By the end of year one, The Connector's Facebook group had grown to 261 members, with six issues of the printed newsletter produced and profiling more than 16 local people and businesses.
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The Common Room's co-design process engaged more than 100 locals, and 14 local activations were run, from Matariki and Christmas events to weekly craft sessions for children.
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A number of community champions, made up of local business owners, residents, a body corporate member and a building manager, have stepped into leadership roles.
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Adding The Common Room to Google Maps resulted in more than 100 views in a week.
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Independent evaluation of year one rated progress on strengthening community connection, cohesion and belonging as significant, with multiple, sustained signs of change.
Insights
Building trust in a neighbourhood this transient and diverse takes time, presence and consistency, not a single campaign or event. Being there regularly, listening carefully, and following through on what's said matters more than any single activation.
It also matters who does the listening. Having a team member who is herself a migrant made it easier for other migrants to open up.
Catalyse has learned to offer more than it asks for early on, bringing resources and follow-through before expecting local people to lead, particularly for newer migrants for whom stepping into a leadership role in a new country isn't always straightforward.
Next Steps
Year two will focus on making real headway on safety, while continuing the small, tangible changes that have built trust so far: seating, greenery, art, and regular activations at The Common Room. Catalyse will keep supporting local leadership to grow and will keep building a neighbourhood-level identity that people can recognise and connect to as the area continues to grow.
Helping a fast-growing, high-density neighbourhood build the connection, trust and local leadership that density alone doesn't provide is work we love. Contact us if you're thinking about how to retrofit community into a place that's grown faster than its social infrastructure, or how to build it in from the start somewhere new.