A New Zealand Superblock: Smart Planned Development

10.26686/wgtn.17064131 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

◽

Mehdi Kabul

Keyword(s):

New Zealand ◽

Urban Sprawl ◽

Urban Expansion ◽

Well Being ◽

Urban Housing ◽

Ecological Design ◽

Transit Oriented Development ◽

Theoretical Formulation ◽

Urban Green Spaces ◽

Design Characteristics

<p>Wellington city’s forecast, for the period 2011-31, is that the urban population will increase by 20,000 residents, including 60% increased demand for rental properties. This research investigation focuses on sustainable means of increasing housing density in the face of ever-increasing urban sprawl. The research proposes that Wellington City Council’s Smart Capital (2010) initiatives for urban expansion infrastructure projects—with aims to attain progressive urban growth with desirable characteristics—are good on some levels, but remedies such as infill and intensification that encroach on urban green spaces are unsustainable. The encroachments caused by urban sprawl can damage both environmental design characteristics and, the well-being of inhabitants. The thesis proposes that smart planned development (SPD) principles, when sustainably maintained, can be an effective alternative urbanisation method to WCC’s Smart Capital propositions. This investigation proposes a theoretical formulation supporting the construction of superblocks within New Zealand, using SPD as a process. For example, Lincolnshire Farm in Wellington is a site exemplar whose proximity and size would permit the city to construct alternative spatial configurations, in the form of a modified superblock for the New Zealand context. The Modern Movement reflected on the viability of superblocks of urban housing for population growth. Historically, these superblocks when built were problematic due to the detrimental attributes of automobiles, densities, and metropolitan expansions. This thesis proposes ways to mitigate these difficulties by merging relevant components of three environmental approaches: ‘Ecological Design’ principles by Sim Van der Ryn; ‘Green Urbanism’ principles by Steffen Lehmann; and framework of ‘Green Transit Oriented Development’ proposed by Robert Cervero and Catherine Sullivan. Once relevant aspects of these principles are assimilated, the research examines them within the context of Kevin Lynch’s principles for a good city form (GCF), to help contribute to the development of new sustainable criteria for superblocks in New Zealand. As case studies, the comparative methodology of this investigation evaluates the achievements of Woodberry Down in London, Discovery Bay in Hong Kong, and Linked Hybrid in Beijing, and Hobsonville Point in Auckland.</p>

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Accessibilty of public urban green spaces within the spatial metropolitan network of Doha, Qatar

Proceedings of the 56th ISOCARP World Planning Congress ◽

10.47472/kuxq1422 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Heba T. Tannous ◽

◽

Mark David Major ◽

Raffaello Furlan ◽

◽

...

Keyword(s):

Urban Planning ◽

Urban Expansion ◽

Well Being ◽

The State ◽

Capital City ◽

Green Spaces ◽

Rapid Urbanization ◽

Urban Green ◽

Urban Green Spaces ◽

The World

Most people regard green spaces as a necessity to enhance the physical health and psychological well-being of residents in promoting the general health and welfare of citizens and the environment (Röbbel, 2016). In the Modern Era, the availability of green spaces has become an integral component of urban planning for sustaining the quality of life in city environments, especially since the dawn of the 20th century. Due to globalization in rapidly-developing cities around the world, studies about green spaces are becoming an increasingly important part of the urban planning process (Mitchell and Popham, 2007). Accessibility can play an essential role in determining the location of green public facilities to maximize their usability for large populations, or otherwise limit use to a smaller community (Ottensmann and Greg, 2008). However, some public green spaces are inefficiently located or distributed in urban environments (Beatley, 2000, Gehl, 2010, Gehl and Svarre, 2013). In this paper, the accessibility of urban green spaces means the ease of reaching such locations from many origins within the urban spatial network from the macro- to the micro-scale. The inaccessibility or absence of green spaces in some urban areas is a notable consequence of rapid urbanization in many cities around the world. It is especially noticeable in the capital city of Doha in the State of Qatar, where rapid urban expansion and globalization has had a significant impact on the quality and quantity of green spaces available (Salama and Wiedmann, 2013a). The paper utilizes the network analysis techniques of space syntax to objectively investigate the accessibility of urban green parks and promenades in the metropolitan region of Doha (Penn et al., 1998, Hillier et al., 1993, Hillier and Hanson, 1984). At the heart of the paper is the question, does the size and location of urban green spaces follow a discernible spatial logic in terms of accessibility, linked to the design intent of public planning policies? Some findings in the paper indicate there is distinctive spatial and social logic to the physical and spatial characteristics of urban green spaces above a certain size in terms of metric area. In contrast, these characteristics in smaller urban green spaces tend to be more random, primarily due to issues of land availability and amenity provision in private developments. We conclude by discussing the potential implications of the study for public planning policy about green urbanism in the State of Qatar and other rapidly urbanizing cities around the world

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Factors that Affect Ppsychological Well-being in a New Zealand Sample of Maltreated Children

PsycEXTRA Dataset ◽

10.1037/e516542013-080 ◽

2012 ◽

Author(s):

Sarah Wolstenholme ◽

Fred Seymour

Keyword(s):

New Zealand ◽

Well Being ◽

Maltreated Children

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Factors that affect psychological well-being in a New Zealand sample of maltreated children

PsycEXTRA Dataset ◽

10.1037/e556572013-118 ◽

2012 ◽

Author(s):

Sarah Wolstenholme

Keyword(s):

New Zealand ◽

Well Being ◽

Psychological Well Being ◽

Maltreated Children

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How Does Being Solo in Nature Affect Well-Being? Evidence from Norway, Germany and New Zealand

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health ◽

10.3390/ijerph18157897 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 18 (15) ◽

pp. 7897

Author(s):

Evi Petersen ◽

Annette Bischoff ◽

Gunnar Liedtke ◽

Andrew J. Martin

Keyword(s):

New Zealand ◽

Outdoor Education ◽

Positive Emotions ◽

Qualitative Content Analysis ◽

Well Being ◽

National Sample ◽

Gender And Age ◽

Health Initiatives ◽

Perception Of Time ◽

Prior Experiences

Background: Solo—being intentionally solitary in nature—is receiving growing attention as a valuable outdoor education program component. Its practice and history have been researched in the context of experiential learning, but few studies have explicitly examined how solo experiences can affect dimensions of well-being. This study investigated a broad range of well-being pathways provided by being solo, based on data from Norway, Germany, and New Zealand. Methods: Using qualitative content analysis (QCA), the solo debrief responses of 40 participants (26 females, age: 19–64 years) were analysed, applying the PERMA-V framework (emotions, engagement, relationship, meaning, achievement, and vitality). Variations in the reports were explored as a function of the national sample, gender, age, prior solo experiences and expectations. Results: The study suggests that hedonic and eudemonic well-being pathways, represented by the six PERMA-V pillars, interrelate strongly. The experience of a range of positive emotions and connecting process during solo highlights two of the most frequent findings related to well-being pathways. The secondary findings suggest minor variations in the well-being pathways for the different national samples, gender and age. Expectations and prior experiences with solo were identified as context factors with minor impact. Further, the data-driven analysis identified specific physical activities, landscape features, sense-activation, perception of time and ‘good’ weather as relevant to the specific experience. Conclusions: Solo experiences provide for well-being-related pathways in a multitude of ways, which highlights the well-being potential of solo implementation across practical fields beyond outdoor education, such as wilderness therapy, and environmental and planetary health initiatives. Future studies should continue to explore solo’s well-being potential in different settings, especially in the context of non-Western samples.

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National movement patterns during the COVID-19 pandemic in New Zealand: the unexplored role of neighbourhood deprivation

Journal of Epidemiology & Community Health ◽

10.1136/jech-2020-216108 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. jech-2020-216108 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Malcolm Campbell ◽

Lukas Marek ◽

Jesse Wiki ◽

Matthew Hobbs ◽

Clive E Sabel ◽

...

Keyword(s):

New Zealand ◽

Mobile Phone ◽

Well Being ◽

Policy Debate ◽

Population Mobility ◽

Neighbourhood Deprivation ◽

Movement Data ◽

Spatial Inequalities ◽

The Impact

BackgroundThe COVID-19 pandemic has asked unprecedented questions of governments around the world. Policy responses have disrupted usual patterns of movement in society, locally and globally, with resultant impacts on national economies and human well-being. These interventions have primarily centred on enforcing lockdowns and introducing social distancing recommendations, leading to questions of trust and competency around the role of institutions and the administrative apparatus of state. This study demonstrates the unequal societal impacts in population movement during a national ‘lockdown’.MethodsWe use nationwide mobile phone movement data to quantify the effect of an enforced lockdown on population mobility by neighbourhood deprivation using an ecological study design. We then derive a mobility index using anonymised aggregated population counts for each neighbourhood (2253 Census Statistical Areas; mean population n=2086) of national hourly mobile phone location data (7.45 million records, 1 March 2020–20 July 2020) for New Zealand (NZ).ResultsCurtailing movement has highlighted and exacerbated underlying social and spatial inequalities. Our analysis reveals the unequal movements during ‘lockdown’ by neighbourhood socioeconomic status in NZ.ConclusionIn understanding inequalities in neighbourhood movements, we are contributing critical new evidence to the policy debate about the impact(s) and efficacy of national, regional or local lockdowns which have sparked such controversy.

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