Toitū he Kāinga: Healthy Environmental Relationships in Urban Settings

Summary 

This research programme examines how we might envision an approach to placemaking that would result in outcomes that facilitate the expression of mātauranga Māori, tikanga, whānaungatanga and orangatanga in urban areas. The programme is doing this by examining concrete innovations through a series of case studies. These examples demonstrate the optimism that transformative urban activity brings in terms of the potential to redress the struggles of the past (Awatere et al. 2008; Harmsworth 2004). The incorporation of Māori histories, values and traditional cultural knowledge within the changing urban landscape is one key to reconciling past grievances and creating desperately needed inclusionary urban spaces that portray and celebrate tangata whenua identity within Aotearoa New Zealand cities.

Research Questions

1. Nourishing Environments: What practices support thriving socio-environmental relationships within urban landscapes?
2. Built environment’s challenges: How can diverse Māori communities model urgent responses to key challenges in the built environment?
3. Urban Environmental Action: How can Māori identity, sovereignty, health, choice, and equity be better supported by policies that shape our urban environments sustainably?

Lead Researcher

Professor Michelle Thompson-Fawcett, University of Otago

Research Team

Dr Robin Quigg, Raukawa, Ngāti Tamaterā, University of Otago

Dr James Berghan, Te Rarawa, Te Aupōuri,, University of Otago

Dr Crystal Victoria Olin, NZ Centre for Sustainable Cities, University of Otago

Dr Rebecca Kiddle, Ngāti Porou, Ngāpuhi, Hutt City Council

Dr Jeanette Wikaira, Ngāti Tamaterā, Ngāti Pūkenga, Ngāpuhi, Dunedin City Council

Additional team members include wāhine Māori practitioners Kiri Waldergrave & Wendy Moore (Hutt City), postgraduate students, and early-career researchers

Highlights 

• Nourishing Greenspaces: Analysis of LINZ data and 6,000+ journal articles to understand Indigenous relationships with urban parks (led by Robin Quigg and Els Russell).
• Sustainable Kāinga: Master’s research into papakāinga and small home design for Māori communities (supervised by James Berghan and Crystal Olin).
• Urban Planning & Identity: Completed and ongoing theses on Māori youth, urban identity, and space (e.g. Corrigan Millar, Kaila Tawera).
• Researcher Development: Training and mentoring for 2 early-career academics, 3 emerging researchers, and 5 postgraduates.
• Professional Practice Engagement: Findings shared with planners, architects, councils, and policymakers via webinars, symposia, and targeted briefings.
• Policy Influence: Dissemination of research to local councils, government departments, and agencies to shape inclusive, Māori-led urban futures.

Select Outputs & Media

Webinars & Presentations

• Intergenerational Ingenuity (Jojola, Berghan, Firestone, 2023 – AARP International)
• Papakāinga & Māori Perceptions of Home (Boulton, Allport, Berghan, 2023 – Community Research)
• Urban Resurgence (Millar & Thompson-Fawcett, 2023 – Whitiwhiti Kōrero)

Academic Publications

• Thompson-Fawcett (in press). Indigenous futurities: Māori planning histories and ingenuity. Palgrave.
• Millar & Thompson-Fawcett (in review). Unveiling Obstacles: Barriers to Indigenising Urban Ōtepoti.
• Low, Huertas, Thompson-Fawcett & Miller (in review). Decolonial Cracks in State Planning.

Other Media

• Toitū he Kāinga feature – He Kitenga: Research Highlights Magazine
• Urban Spaces for Everyone – Ngā Pae o te Māramatanga E-pānui
• Rangahau with NPM Researcher – Ngā Pae o te Māramatanga E-pānui