About this research
Project Summary
Street design in Aotearoa has had limited involvement from iwi, hapū and Māori hāpori to date and yet streets are everywhere, they connect us to each other, they are communication channels and spaces and places to engage with others. What then might a Māori street look and feel like? The project will take a mixed methods approach rooted in a Kaupapa Māori methodology whereby Māori knowledge is privileged. The project aims to bring together mātauranga Māori – defined here as all types of knowledge – traditional, contemporary, and evolving – held by Māori and design approaches drawn from Western knowledge to elevate Māori aspirations in contemporary urban settings. Through a review of historical information in relation to settlement and street design for Māori and co-design hui with Māori across the country to explore street design, the contribution of this project is to develop a clear direction from a wide group of Māori voices on the design of our [Māori] streets – that is, streets that provide the stage for whānau transformation.
This project aims to have positive impacts for three groups. 1) Māori Hāpori – A tool will be developed for Māori hāpori to support the mana motuhake of these communities to self-advocate for change that benefits Māori. 2) NGO Advocacy Groups and 3) in particular Living Streets - The project will provide a tool for advocacy groups such as the NGO, Living Streets for them to advocate on behalf of Māori communities for aligned outcomes.
The project is developing a clearer understanding of Māori aspirations for streets and influence government policy to allow those aspirations to come to fruition.
Research Question
What does a Māori street look and feel like?
Lead Researcher
Dr Rebecca Kiddle, Ngāti Porou, Ngāpuhi, Te Wānanga o Aotearoa
Research Team
Dr Morehu McDonald, Ngāti Hinerangi, Ngāti Mahuta, Ngāti Ngutu, Ngāti Maniapoto, Ngāti Hauā, Waikato-Tainui, and Ngāti Ruanui. Te Wānanga o Aotearoa – Tāmaki Makaurau
Dr Marjorie Lipsham, Waikato-Maniapoto, Ngāti Rereahu, Ngāti Raukawa ki Wharepūhunga, Te Wānanga o Aotearoa – Te Papaioea
Dr Kimiora Raerino, Pūrākau
Street design in Aotearoa has had limited involvement from iwi, hapū and Māori hāpori to date and yet streets are everywhere, they connect us to each other, they are communication channels and spaces and places to engage with others. What then might a Māori street look and feel like?
Kairangahau · Researchers
Dr Rebecca Kiddle
Ngāti Porou, Ngāpuhi
Te Herenga Waka Victoria University of Wellington
Mana Tūānuku Research Leader Fellowship—Awarded by Royal Society Te Apārangi through the Tāwhia te Mana programme…
Dr Rebecca Kiddle
Dr Morehu McDonald
Ngāti Hinerangi, Ngāti Mahuta, Ngāti Maniapoto, Ngā Uri a Ingoa, Ngāti Ngutu, Ngāti Hāmua
My doctoral rangahau (research) and thesis focused on the resistance, struggle and survival of my Ngāti Hinerangi hapū…
Dr Morehu McDonald
Dr Kimiora Raerino
Ngāti Awa, Ngāti Rangiwewehi, Kōtimana
Te Whare Wānanga o Aotearoa
Kimiora’s research centres on Māori wellbeing in relation to the design and function of built environments -…
Dr Kimiora Raerino
Ētahi atu · Other projects
Reimagining our cities through Indigenous knowledge, identity, and environmental care. Today, over 85% of Māori live in urban environments across Aotearoa. These modern kāinga (settlements) are more than places to live—they’re reflections of identity, connection to whenua, and intergenerational ingenuity. Yet, many Māori have been relegated to the margins…
View projectToitū he Kāinga: Healthy Environmental Relationships in Urban Settings
Reimagining our cities through Indigenous knowledge, identity, and environmental care.
Today, over 85% of Māori live in urban environments across Aotearoa. These modern kāinga (settlements) are more than places to live—they’re reflections of identity, connection to whenua, and intergenerational ingenuity. Yet, many Māori have been relegated to the margins of city spaces, facing spatial injustices that continue to impact wellbeing.
Toitū he Kāinga explores how Māori are reclaiming, revitalising, and reshaping urban landscapes—building sustainable futures through mahi toitū (Māori-led environmental care), identity, and rangatiratanga.
Kairangahau · Researchers
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Dr Crystal Victoria Olin
Dr Crystal Victoria Olin
Dr Crystal Victoria Olin is an architectural and urban researcher, designer, leader and educator whose work explores city-making in relation to identity and belonging, justice and care, resilience and the empowerment potential of urbanity. She has lived in Aotearoa New Zealand since 2012 and holds dual US–NZ citizenship. Crystal's recent research has centred on placemaking in public and community housing, with a focus on community infrastructure, urban design, and the complexities of measuring placemaking impact. This work has been undertaken as part of Public Housing & Urban Regeneration… -
Dr James Berghan
Dr James Berghan
Dr James Berghan (Te Rarawa, Te Aupōuri) is an Adjunct Research Fellow with the Stout Research Centre for New Zealand Studies and Co-Director at Spatial Justice Aotearoa, a kaupapa Māori research and design firm based in Pōneke and Ōtautahi. With a background in urban planning and design, James leads several research projects about how housing, transport and cities can better reflect Māori aspirations and belonging.James holds a Tāwhia Te Mana Future Leader Fellowship from the Royal Society Te Apārangi. His four-year research programme examines how urban change in Aotearoa is framed and… -
Dr Robin Quill
Dr Robin Quill
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Dr Louise Marsh
Dr Louise Marsh
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Dr Rebecca Kiddle
Dr Rebecca Kiddle
Mana Tūānuku Research Leader Fellowship—Awarded by Royal Society Te Apārangi through the Tāwhia te Mana programme, recognising her contribution as leading scholar in respective field.Dr Rebecca Kiddle’s (Ngāti Porou, Ngāpuhi) work focuses on spatial justice, the fair distribution of resources and opportunities irrespective of where people live. Working within a settler colonial context, her research maps spatial injustice across the motu, examining inequities in access to kai, healthcare, employment, and climate resilience. This work considers how the planning, design, and structures of our… -
Kiri Waldergrave
Kiri Waldergrave
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Wendy Moore
Wendy Moore
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Dr Jeanette Wikaira
Dr Jeanette Wikaira
Jeanette Wikaira serves as the Thames-Coromandel District Council’s Group Manager Community after five years as part of the executive leadership team at Dunedin City Council.Wikaira, Ngāti Pukenga, Ngāti Tamaterā, Ngāpuhi, served in Dunedin as General Manager for Arts, Culture and Recreation, plus General Manager of Community Services, and General Manager of Partnerships, Policy and Governance before deciding to return to the Coromandel.Prior to Wikaira’s local government background, she held senior roles at the University of Otago and Auckland University of Technology and is currently chair…
He oranga whānau: mahi ngātahi: Whānau livelihoods within the context of work and Māori economies of wellbeing. These groundbreaking works celebrate Māori futures rooted in kaupapa Māori values while fostering pathways for responsible relationships, meaningful lives, and flourishing Indigenous wellbeing economies. By emphasising the central role of whānau…
- Mana Touchstones
- Te Ahunga atu ki ngā Ōhanga Oranga Māori: Towards Māori Economies of Wellbeing
- He Rauhī Kupu
He oranga whānau: mahi ngātahi: Whānau livelihoods within the context of work and Māori economies of wellbeing
He oranga whānau: mahi ngātahi: Whānau livelihoods within the context of work and Māori economies of wellbeing. These groundbreaking works celebrate Māori futures rooted in kaupapa Māori values while fostering pathways for responsible relationships, meaningful lives, and flourishing Indigenous wellbeing economies. By emphasising the central role of whānau, these publications provide actionable insights and inspiration for transformative change in economic and cultural systems.
- Mana Touchstones
- Te Ahunga atu ki ngā Ōhanga Oranga Māori: Towards Māori Economies of Wellbeing
- He Rauhī Kupu
Kairangahau · Researchers
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Professor Chellie Spiller
Professor Chellie Spiller
Dr Chellie Spiller, of Matawhaiti Iwitea, Ngāti Kahungunu ki Wairoa, is Professor of Management and Leadership, and Associate Dean Māori at the University of Waikato. She was previously a senior lecturer and Associate Dean Māori and Pacific at the University of Auckland Business School. She has over 30 years of corporate experience in tourism, finance and marketing, holding senior executive positions in New Zealand and abroad, and brings this experience to her academic work and leadership and management development programmes. Her research explores how Māori and indigenous businesses create… -
Professor Jarrod Haar
Professor Jarrod Haar
Professor Jarrod Haar (PhD) is a Professor of Human Resource Management in the Department of Management and has tribal affiliations of Ngati Maniapoto and Ngati Mahuta. In 2018, Professor Haar was appointed as a Member of the Marsden Fund Council and is the Convenor of the Marsden Economics and Human Behavioural Sciences panel. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of New Zealand Te Apārangi (2020), a Research Fellow of the Australia & New Zealand Academy of Management (since 2012), and Chartered Fellow of the Human Resource Institute of New Zealand (HRINZ). He won the inaugural HRINZ HR… -
Professor John Reid
Professor John Reid
Professor John Reid is a researcher whose work focuses on the intersection of sustainability, indigenous knowledge systems, environmental governance, and technological innovation. Based within the Ngāi Tahu Research Centre, his research brings together systems thinking, te ao Māori, and interdisciplinary science to address complex social, economic, and environmental challenges facing Indigenous communities and wider society. His work spans environmental management, regenerative land use, Māori economic development, and the governance of emerging technologies, with particular interests in… -
Professor Jason Paul Mika
Professor Jason Paul Mika
Jason Paul Mika Ko Ranginui e tū iho nei, ko Papatūānuku e takoto nei, ko te ira tangata kei waenganui i raro i te kaitiakitanga o ngā atua, o te manaakitanga o te Runga Rawa. Tīhei mauri ora! Ko Ngāi Tūhoe, ko Ngāti Awa, ko Te Whakatōhea, ko Ngāti Kahungunu ōku iwi. Ko Jason Mika ahau. I was born in Whakatāne and raised mainly in Rotorua. In November 2024, I was fortunate join Waipapa Taumata Rau University of Auckland as a Professor of Māori Management and Associate Dean Māori in He Manga Tauhokohoko Auckland Business School. My research, teaching, writing, and practice centres on Māori and… -
Dr Matthew Rout
Dr Matthew Rout
Dr. Matthew Rout's research explores how Indigenous worldviews shape the institutions that govern economic activity, environmental management, and public decision-making. Working at the nexus of political, economic, social, cultural, and environmental domains, his research examines how values, knowledge systems, and social organisation influence the ways societies coordinate collective action and pursue development. A central focus of his work is the application of te ao Māori and mātauranga Māori to contemporary policy challenges, including environmental governance, disaster risk reduction…
This internship compiled a database of traditional Māori food preservation practices to better understand archaeological midden sites and mahinga kai history. Working with Otago’s SPAR team, the project links historical knowledge with contemporary preservation techniques across Aotearoa.
View projectInvestigating traditional mahinga kai practices of preservation throughout Aotearoa
This internship compiled a database of traditional Māori food preservation practices to better understand archaeological midden sites and mahinga kai history.
Working with Otago’s SPAR team, the project links historical knowledge with contemporary preservation techniques across Aotearoa.