It's being called New Zealand's own version of Silicon Valley.

Community leaders are putting their heads together on Auckland's North Shore today, about ways to make the most of the country's fastest-growing region.

Massey University Vice-Chancellor Steve Maharey says the Grow North symposium is about making sure the rapid growth north of the bridge sits alongside the right planning.

"And how we're going to crucially build on what's become very much a kind of Silicon Valley of the South Pacific.

"So many businesses north of the bridge are small, often IT-based and often looking to grow into exporting."

Steve Maharey says the symposium today will also be looking at the challenges that growth brings, such as in housing, transport, health and education.

Maharey says we need to look ahead to the next 50 years.

"We're talking about 1.5 million in Auckland at the present time - that'll jump to 2 million in the 2020s period.

"But a lot of that growth is going to take place in the North because that's where people can build houses and they can locate to."

Maharey adds a lot of the people moving to the North Shore will be young and looking for jobs.