Dr Alex Bonham: Waitematā Local Board

Alex is an elected member of the Waitematā Local Board having served the 2019-22 term as Deputy Chair.  The board makes decisions on local services on behalf of communities in the city centre and inner suburbs. The goal is to ensure social, cultural, environmental and economic wellbeing for present and future generations. We are always accessible to those who live, work or study in the area and provide a conduit for your voice into local government. So, don’t hesitate to get in touch.

Council plays a significant role in delivering action on climate change and social and environmental wellbeing by the choices it makes. Alex stands for better transport choices and forward-thinking urban planning that leaves space for parks and nature, libraries and community facilities and local businesses where everyone is welcome. She supports enhancing our shared spaces and offering many opportunities to participate in sport, learning, recreation and exciting and diverse events from the Masters Games to loose parts play pop ups to music and movies in parks.

Alex graduated from Cambridge with a degree in Law then went into publishing. She worked as a literary agent’s assistant before becoming first an editor at Hodder & Stoughton in London and later a Sales and Marketing Manager at Hachette New Zealand, working on Auckland’s North Shore. She left the profession to have two children who are now at school in Ponsonby.

Alex has recently completed a doctorate (Space to Play and Playing the Space: how may creative practices co-produce the playful city) on the role of play, including sports, recreation, and the arts in maintaining quality of life in Auckland. Her first book Play and the City was published in 2021. She is a member of Women in Urbanism, an active supporter of Grey Lynn 2030 and fundraising co-lead of Richmond Road School’s PTA.