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Zoë Avery
DIRECTOR
Master of Urban Planning · Master of Urban Design (Merit)
Master of Landscape Architecture · Bachelor of Town Planning (First Class Honours)Full member, NZPI · Affiliate member, NZILA
Zoë leads The Urbanist’s planning, landscape and urban design work. With more than twenty years’ experience in New Zealand, Australia and the United Kingdom, she helps councils, iwi, developers and property owners turn evidence and aspirations into practical decisions about places and investment.
Her work spans blue-green network planning, nature-based solutions and climate adaptation, alongside masterplans, design guidelines, landscape and visual assessments, and planning policy.
Blue-green networks in practice
Zoë leads The Urbanist’s blue-green network work with Auckland Council. Recent projects include regional framework development, an assessment of Tātaki Auckland Unlimited’s venue portfolio, and a Manurewa assessment informing street-tree planting priorities. These projects connect spatial evidence with decisions about ecological restoration, access to nature and climate resilience.
She is lead author of Living roof opportunities and recommendations for Tāmaki Makaurau (Auckland Council TR2026/9, September 2026). Her published work also includes the Whangārei Living Roof Guide, which received the 2019 NZILA Landscape Publication Award.
Teaching and leadership
Zoë is part-time Associate Director of Design (Urban Planning) and Professional Teaching Fellow at the University of Auckland’s Te Pare School of Architecture and Planning. She chairs the Sustainability Committee of Te Herenga Auaha Faculty of Engineering and Design.
She holds master’s degrees in urban planning, urban design and landscape architecture, and a Bachelor of Town Planning with First Class Honours. She is a full member of the New Zealand Planning Institute and an affiliate member of the New Zealand Institute of Landscape Architects.