Auckland, New Zealand, clean and green "the myth"

I have been brought up with the idea that New Zealand is clean and green, with lush forests and farm land, but in reality it is just the same as many other countries with sprawling suburbia, and plaster board houses, Auckland is one of the biggest cities in the world when all of the suburbs are included, and also one of the furthest behind when it comes to public transport resulting in an incredible amount of cars per capita. In my family we have a van, 3 cars and a motorbike. Its insane.

Leaving all this negative stuff behind, it is a great place to ride a bike, and the area where i live is basically cut off from the ugly side of the north shore, leaving me placed in an area 5 minutes from a nice beach, and 30 minutes from the city by ferry boat.