The research project ‘Vital Update – Tauranga 2023’ findings are now available online at www.tauranga.govt.nz/vitalupdate2023.

Tauranga City Council, alongside the Acorn Foundation, TECT and BayTrust, recently conducted the second edition of this in-depth research.

Facilitated by independent research company Key Research, the survey focused on understanding the needs, wants and aspirations of the communities within Tauranga.

Commission Chair, Anne Tolley, says that the data collected will be used to inform and influence council projects and plans – ultimately helping to shape the city’s future.

“This is key data that impacts all parts of our city.

“While we keep to the highest standards of data privacy, the anonymised data is freely available for anyone to access and use, whether you belong to a community organisation, a community-driven business or even if you’re just someone who wants to see Tauranga thrive.”

The data has been collated into dashboards and various reports, holding information from over 6000 people across Tauranga’s 12 suburbs.

To ensure the results were representative of Tauranga's diverse communities, a deliberate and conscious effort was made to speak to a broad cross-section of residents, including the ageing population (65+ years), youth (13-24 years) parents and caregivers, Māori, Pacific communities, ethnic communities, disabled people (including carers), people experiencing homelessness and the Rainbow community.

A separate survey was developed to gather information from children aged 5-12 years, resulting in an additional 1100 responses.

“Vital Update has given us the opportunity to hear from a wide range of voices. We now have rich, inclusive and comprehensive data that accurately reflects the unique make-up of our communities here in Tauranga,” says Tauranga City Council's community services general manager Barbara Dempsey.

The representative findings reaffirmed some already established understandings, notably that people want a revitalised city centre and traffic continues to be a critical issue.

However, the data shows that since 2020, there is an increase in the number of people getting out of their cars to get to school and work.

Eighteen per cent of people walk or jog to get to work, compared to five per cent in 2020, and 17 per cent cycle, compared to six per cent in 2020. 

In addition, the survey data shows:

• A significant rise of survey participants who have experienced family violence – four per cent in 2020 to 15 per cent in 2023.
• The popularity of vaping among younger demographics – 23 per cent of those aged 13-18 years and 34 per cent aged 19-24 years have vaped in the past 6 months, and 12 per cent of 13-18 years vaped within the last week.
• Over half of people renting homes are paying upwards of $400 per week, and 36 per cent of those surveyed do not have the savings or income to get by for more than a month should an unexpected expense arise.
• 17 per cent of survey participants in Tauranga are currently experiencing mental health issues.

These are just some of the findings Vital Update 2023 has brought to light.

Go to www.tauranga.govt.nz/vitalupdate2023 to view the reports, which provide some insights into the data available, and to use the dashboards to explore and compare specific data.

“A final word of thanks to those who participated in the survey and shared their voice.

“Hearing from you has helped to ensure that the data reflects our unique and diverse community, and the gathered data will be invaluable in guiding not only council’s plans and projects going forward, but also those of our community organisations,” says Tolley.