Recently arrived on the blogging scene: Poneke, a journo writing about NZ as a whole and Wellington in particular. It’s good stuff, well-researched and smart and breaking new stories now and then. I’ve had an eyebrow raised at the climate change coverage but almost everything else there has been top-notch.
When Poneke turned up it felt like there was the satisfying clunk of a final piece falling into place in the Wgtn-focus blogosphere. With events-and-chatter mavens the Wellingtonista going strong and Tom guiding us through the changing physical environment at WellUrban, we had a strong trio of distinctive perspectives that covered a lot of ground. These three blogs, it seemed, would give you a pretty solid overview of DubTown.
Naturally, almost as soon as Poneke picked up steam, the turf changed. Tom has retired WellUrban to move into employment in the field of his enthusiastic interest. Luckily, there are good signs that the triangulated coverage of Wellington will continue, with newcomers Eye of the Fish pledging to carry on where Tom left off on the architecture-and-urbanism front.
So that’s the scene. Yes, Wellington is small enough that you can get a fair sense of it from just three blogs; but of course that’s only the general shape and size. There’s a whole lot more complexity to the city than that, and if anyone else steps up with their own Wgtn-focus blog, there’s definitely space for them. (They might already be out there – who am I missing?)
Anyway, I want to extend a cheer in Tom’s direction for his efforts on WellUrban. I’ve learned a lot from reading that blog, about my home, about how cities work and can work, and most importantly what “active edges” means. Thanks man.