The New Zealand dream (or the Kiwi dream) centres on the acquisition of a family house on a quarter-acre section, with at least one motor vehicle. The New Zealand dream resembles the

Australian Dream The Australian Dream or Great Australian Dream is, in its narrowest sense, a belief that in Australia, home ownership can lead to a better life and is an expression of success and security. The term is derived from the American Dream, which f ...

. For many New Zealanders this dream could also include a

pleasure boat Boating is the leisurely activity of travelling by boat, or the recreational use of a boat whether powerboats, sailboats, or man-powered vessels (such as rowing and paddle boats), focused on the travel itself, as well as sports activities, suc ...

, a

bach Johann Sebastian Bach (28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque period. He is known for his orchestral music such as the '' Brandenburg Concertos''; instrumental compositions such as the Cello Suites; keyboard w ...

and a holiday at the beach. The New Zealand dream of acquiring a family home was supported by government policies from the late-nineteenth century through much of the twentieth century, although housing affordability has become a political issue, with limited measures to alleviate rising house prices. An alternative to this New Zealand dream is "

smart growth Smart growth is an urban planning and transportation theory that concentrates growth in compact walkable urban centers to avoid sprawl. It also advocates compact, transit-oriented, walkable, bicycle-friendly land use, including neighborhood sch ...

". The smart-growth concept has no quarter-acre section, no family house and no

car A car or automobile is a motor vehicle with wheels. Most definitions of ''cars'' say that they run primarily on roads, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport people instead of goods. The year 1886 is regarded as ...

. People live in small

apartments An apartment (American English), or flat (British English, Indian English, South African English), is a self-contained housing unit (a type of residential real estate) that occupies part of a building, generally on a single story. There are man ...

and use

public transport Public transport (also known as public transportation, public transit, mass transit, or simply transit) is a system of transport for passengers by group travel systems available for use by the general public unlike private transport, typical ...

. Smart growth commonly occurs in countries with little free land (such as

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...

Nation building

Children

When New Zealand and Australian couples have children they show a very strong preference for family housing (Figure 1). Australian research shows 85% of people who live in apartments would rather live in a house. American families also prefer family houses, with studies showing that Americans living in multi-family dwellings (apartments etc.) have less children, lowering the demand for schools . One hundred typical homes generate an average of 54.7 school-aged children; but multifamily homes generate only about two thirds the students, with 36.7 school-aged children per 100 households. Apartment households have much lower incomes than those living in family houses and are more likely to suffer from poverty related problems such as overcrowding.https://www.census.gov/prod/2003pubs/c2kbr-32.pdf Studies have shown that fertility is highest among couples living in single-family houses and lowest among those residing in apartments. Experts claim that shortages of family housing can cause low birth rates. “Some have suggested that, like laboratory specimens, Italians have responded to their ever-more-crowded-suburbs and cramped apartments by curbing procreation”. Children “aren't wanted in the condominia (apartments), in public places where they can disturb”. “Houses are bigger in the U.S. and generally more available. That may help explain why Americans have more babies”. Using a

scatterplot A scatter plot (also called a scatterplot, scatter graph, scatter chart, scattergram, or scatter diagram) is a type of plot or mathematical diagram using Cartesian coordinates to display values for typically two variables for a set of data. ...

(Figure 2) has the advantage that cultural effects are average out, revealing the underlying effect of housing on fertility rates. The

correlation In statistics, correlation or dependence is any statistical relationship, whether causal or not, between two random variables or bivariate data. Although in the broadest sense, "correlation" may indicate any type of association, in statistics ...

value (R=0.81) indicates that there is a strong positive correlation between family housing and fertility rates. Advanced countries that have mostly apartments are typically producing only 2/3rds of the children of countries that have mostly family housing. Having children sustains culture and is good for the economy. Overall Anglo countries have enough children to be approximately sustainable. New Zealand and the United States produce a slight surplus of children, while Ireland, Australia and the UK have modest deficits.

Skilled migration

New Zealand has a demand for more skilled workers. There is a limited supply of highly skilled migrants available and competition between countries. Housing is one of the factors affecting migration. "Access to affordable and suitable housing is an indicator of positive settlement in society, and home ownership is an indicator of economic wellbeing and represents an intention of long-term settlement". To attract highly skilled migrants New Zealand must have desirable living conditions, otherwise they will go somewhere else, such as the United States. The United Kingdom is by far New Zealand's most important source country of skilled migrants. British studies show that only 2% of British citizens want to live in a low rise apartment, and only 1% in a high rise apartment block. The vast majority prefer to live in a house. British people are also very fond of spending time in the garden, with more than 70% claiming that it improves their quality of life, and half (48%) of whom felt it was the most enjoyable activity above watching TV (33%) and shopping (14%). A third of Brits also believe that gardens are romantic and can boost their love lives.

New homes

Over time Kiwi homes are becoming larger and more luxurious. While old homes were mostly box-shaped

bungalows A bungalow is a small house or cottage that is either single-story or has a second story built into a sloping roof (usually with dormer windows), and may be surrounded by wide verandas. The first house in England that was classified as a bu ...

, new houses are architecturally more complex, creating houses that are more individualistic and aesthetically pleasing. Popular extras can include a

rumpus room A recreation room (also known as a rec room, rumpus room, play room, playroom, games room, or ruckus room) is a room used for a variety of purposes, such as parties, games and other everyday or casual activities. The term ''recreation room'' is c ...

(kids playroom), walk-in wardrobes, walk-in kitchen pantries, more bedrooms and extra bathrooms. New homes have more

insulation Insulation may refer to: Thermal * Thermal insulation, use of materials to reduce rates of heat transfer ** List of insulation materials ** Building insulation, thermal insulation added to buildings for comfort and energy efficiency *** Insulated ...

and those built in the

South Island The South Island, also officially named , is the larger of the two major islands of New Zealand in surface area, the other being the smaller but more populous North Island. It is bordered to the north by Cook Strait, to the west by the Tasman ...

must use

double glazing Insulating glass (IG) consists of two or more glass window panes separated by a space to reduce heat transfer across a part of the building envelope. A window with insulating glass is commonly known as double glazing or a double-paned window, ...

. By 2025 New Zealand intends to increase the share of renewable electricity production from the current 70% to over 90%. All new wood-fires are required to be very efficient and the number of homes using efficient

heat pump A heat pump is a device that can heat a building (or part of a building) by transferring thermal energy from the outside using a refrigeration cycle. Many heat pumps can also operate in the opposite direction, cooling the building by removing h ...

technology is growing rapidly. “Creating more efficient houses is a triple win for New Zealanders’, our health, our environment and our power bills” (

Helen Clark Helen Elizabeth Clark (born 26 February 1950) is a New Zealand politician who served as the 37th prime minister of New Zealand from 1999 to 2008, and was the administrator of the United Nations Development Programme from 2009 to 2017. She was ...

Prime Minister 1999–2008). The floor area of new dwellings built in New Zealand is extremely variable ranging from as little as 30 m² for a small

apartment An apartment (American English), or flat (British English, Indian English, South African English), is a self-contained housing unit (a type of residential real estate) that occupies part of a building, generally on a single story. There are ma ...

to more than 500 m² for a large house. The average floor area is approximately 200 m², similar to new American and Australian homes. The housing indicator value of new homes (=150) is higher than for the existing stock (see

Figure 2 Figure may refer to: General *A shape, drawing, depiction, or geometric configuration *Figure (wood), wood appearance *Figure (music), distinguished from musical motif *Noise figure, in telecommunication *Dance figure, an elementary dance patter ...

above), which may cause fertility rates to gradually rise over the coming decades.

Motor vehicles

The production of affordable motor vehicles has enabled the development of a suburban lifestyle culture, which combines the advantages of city life, with the luxury of ample living space. In New Zealand ownership of a motor vehicle is regarded by many as a rite of passage, representing the important transition from adolescence to being an independent adult. International statistics show that New Zealanders have one of the highest rates of motor vehicle ownership in the world (Figure 5).

Toyota is a Japanese multinational automotive manufacturer headquartered in Toyota City, Aichi, Japan. It was founded by Kiichiro Toyoda and incorporated on . Toyota is one of the largest automobile manufacturers in the world, producing about 10 ...

is the most popular make, while

Holden Commodore The Holden Commodore is a full-size car that was sold by Holden from 1978 to 2020. It was manufactured from 1978 to 2017 in Australia and from 1979 to 1990 in New Zealand, with production of the locally manufactured versions in Australia endin ...

is the most popular model.

References