It’s all on in Emerson

Published: 30 November 2023

Design work will start early in 2024 for a revamp of Emerson Street with the help of feedback, ideas and engagement from the public.

The Revitalise Emerson pop-up shop has another week to run at 247 Emerson Street. Anyone interested in the future of Emerson St is encouraged to ‘pop-in’ and share their thoughts.

“Emerson is a key shopping precinct for us and it’s been 30 years since it had a face lift,” explains Steph Kennard, Napier City Council’s City Activation Lead, who is coordinating the project. “We’ve had some help from central government in terms of funding this, so we’re keen to make the most of that opportunity and do something really cool for the community. That’s why having their voice and opinions is such an important element of the project.”

Another part of the work is gathering data around the movement of people, vehicles and micro-transport options like bikes and scooters. This entails field interviews and observations by local research company Folkl who also use cameras to map the way people move around the precinct.

“The video data is analysed with software to allow us to understand how a place is used. This includes showing trajectories, or how people move through a space, volume and distribution of users and any areas where near-misses are likely to occur,” says Steph Kennard.

Emerson Street is already getting a burst of fresh energy thanks to a week of events, centred on Clive Square and Memorial Square. The ‘Squares in the City’ festival includes a picnic, art activities, food trucks, a community breakfast, musicians and entertainers, and a whole afternoon focused on Art Deco. It kicks off on Friday 1 December and runs through to Friday 8 December when the Napier Night Fiesta series starts back up for its 23/24 season.

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