About this research
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
- Nourishing Environments: What practices support thriving socio-environmental relationships within urban landscapes?
- Built environment’s challenges: How can diverse Māori communities model urgent responses to key challenges in the built environment?
- 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
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
Professor Michelle Thompson Fawcett FRSNZ, DNZG, MNZPI
Ngāti Whatua, Ngāti Te Ata
University of Otago
Dr Michelle Thompson-Fawcett (Ngāti Whātua, Ngāti Te Ata) is Distinguished Professor in the School of Geography at the…
Professor Michelle Thompson Fawcett FRSNZ, DNZG, MNZPI
Dr Crystal Victoria Olin
Ngāti Pākehā
Te Herenga Waka Victoria University of Wellington
Dr Crystal Victoria Olin is an architectural and urban researcher, designer, leader and educator whose work explores…
Dr Crystal Victoria Olin
Dr James Berghan
Te Rarawa, Te Aupouri
Te Herenga Waka Victoria University of Wellington
Dr James Berghan (Te Rarawa, Te Aupōuri) is an Adjunct Research Fellow with the Stout Research Centre for New Zealand…
Dr James Berghan
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 Jeanette Wikaira
Ngāti Pukenga, Ngāti Tamaterā, Ngāpuhi
Thames-Coromandel District Council
Jeanette Wikaira serves as the Thames-Coromandel District Council’s Group Manager Community after five years as part of…
Dr Jeanette Wikaira
Ētahi atu · Other projects
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?
View projectMāori Streets
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
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Dr Morehu McDonald
Dr Morehu McDonald
My doctoral rangahau (research) and thesis focused on the resistance, struggle and survival of my Ngāti Hinerangi hapū and iwi of Matamata and Tauranga. Labeled as Hauhau and unsurrendered rebels, we were driven to the brink of cultural extinction by the Crown and Pākehā settler colonisers. Our lands, our identity, our language, our culture, our history, our stories, our traditional practices, our ancient knowledge systems, our spiritual beliefs were undermined, destroyed or stolen from us by 170 years of cultural genocide.This experience was shared by iwi and hapū throughout Aotearoa when… -
Dr Marjorie Lipsham
Dr Marjorie Lipsham
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Dr Kimiora Raerino
Dr Kimiora Raerino
Kimiora’s research centres on Māori wellbeing in relation to the design and function of built environments - particularly streetscapes, public spaces, and transport systems. Recent work examines how these environments can better support whānau Māori through increased physical activity, reduced car dependency, and deeper cultural connection to place. Key interests include urban reindigenisation, Māori approaches to co-design, and creating healthier, more inclusive and equitable living environments for all. From 2018 to 2025, Kimiora led the Māori strand of Te Ara Mua – Future Streets, a…
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.