Howick Green is a park at 110 Picton Street, in the middle of Howick village in east Auckland, and it holds a 5.0 rating on Google. Picton Street is the suburb's main shopping strip, so the green sits among the cafés and shops of the village rather than out on its own. A good neighbourhood green earns its keep by being useful in small ways: a bench in the shade, a stretch of lawn for a takeaway lunch, a spot to wait or meet without buying anything. In Auckland it usually comes down to shade, since the UV here is unforgiving and the parks people return to tend to be the ones with decent tree cover. Regulars also learn the rhythm of their local green, when it's quiet, when the school run fills it, where the afternoon sun lands. For anyone shopping or eating along Picton Street, Howick Green puts that kind of easy resting place right in the village centre.