Political, business and community leaders are meeting in Auckland to flesh out a blueprint for the region for the coming decades.
The Auckland Council is hosting the summit, called Auckland Unleashed, on Wednesday.
The council is required by law to work on a plan for the region for the next 20 to 30 years.
It must be a far-reaching strategy made up of social, economic, environmental and cultural plans.
The plan is also required to have the support of central Government.
University of Auckland professor Jenny Dixon says it will be one of the new council's biggest challenges, since council staff have not had a lot of time to work on it.
Professor Dixon says while there will be high expectations, there has to be caution about what can be delivered.
