scholarly journals Assessing the ecological impact of urban greening: A case study of roadside planting in Wellington, New Zealand

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Jacob Tessler

<p>Roadside reserves in Wellington, New Zealand have been the target of a government-led, community-implemented urban greening initiative for the past 25 years. Prior studies of urban greening have shown numerous benefits to neighbourhoods and communities through increased engagement and stewardship, yet there remains a need for research into the ecological effects these programmes have on individual urban landscapes. This research conducted site surveys to determine the variation in ecological functioning and biodiversity within 36 reserves involved in the Wellington Free Plants Programme (FPP). These measures were compared to historical planting data for each site retrieved from council records. Candidate models were constructed based on novel and classical ecological theory, which sought to explain observed variation between physical and ecological measures across study sites and the relationship between these variables and biodiversity. Sites were small with an area ranging from 5.9m² to 246.5m² (mean = 37.8 ±49.5m²), and biodiversity levels (assessed using a Shannon-Weiner Index) ranged from 0.1 to 2.9 (mean = 2.1 ±0.7). The top performing candidate models to predict biodiversity included area, shape, and seedbank density. An examination of the effect of varying urban greening efforts across these sites utilised a multivariate analysis which included measures of ecological functioning, biodiversity, the number of years a site had been planted, and the number of individual plants provided over those years. A significant negative relationship was found between site disturbance and the number of planting years (F33.1 = 4.092, p = .051) while a somewhat significant positive relationship was found between biodiversity and the number of individual plants provided (F33,1 =3.536 , p = .069). These results indicate that current urban greening efforts contribute to the ecological health of roadside reserves and that the patterns and processes governing the biological composition of these reserves may be partially explained with traditional ecological theory.</p>

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Jacob Tessler

<p>Roadside reserves in Wellington, New Zealand have been the target of a government-led, community-implemented urban greening initiative for the past 25 years. Prior studies of urban greening have shown numerous benefits to neighbourhoods and communities through increased engagement and stewardship, yet there remains a need for research into the ecological effects these programmes have on individual urban landscapes. This research conducted site surveys to determine the variation in ecological functioning and biodiversity within 36 reserves involved in the Wellington Free Plants Programme (FPP). These measures were compared to historical planting data for each site retrieved from council records. Candidate models were constructed based on novel and classical ecological theory, which sought to explain observed variation between physical and ecological measures across study sites and the relationship between these variables and biodiversity. Sites were small with an area ranging from 5.9m² to 246.5m² (mean = 37.8 ±49.5m²), and biodiversity levels (assessed using a Shannon-Weiner Index) ranged from 0.1 to 2.9 (mean = 2.1 ±0.7). The top performing candidate models to predict biodiversity included area, shape, and seedbank density. An examination of the effect of varying urban greening efforts across these sites utilised a multivariate analysis which included measures of ecological functioning, biodiversity, the number of years a site had been planted, and the number of individual plants provided over those years. A significant negative relationship was found between site disturbance and the number of planting years (F33.1 = 4.092, p = .051) while a somewhat significant positive relationship was found between biodiversity and the number of individual plants provided (F33,1 =3.536 , p = .069). These results indicate that current urban greening efforts contribute to the ecological health of roadside reserves and that the patterns and processes governing the biological composition of these reserves may be partially explained with traditional ecological theory.</p>


2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 188-203
Author(s):  
Roy Jones ◽  
Tod Jones

In the speech in which the phrase ‘land fit for heroes’ was coined, Lloyd George proclaimed ‘(l)et us make victory the motive power to link the old land up in such measure that it will be nearer the sunshine than ever before … it will lift those who have been living in the dark places to a plateau where they will get the rays of the sun’. This speech conflated the issues of the ‘debt of honour’ and the provision of land to those who had served. These ideals had ramifications throughout the British Empire. Here we proffer two Antipodean examples: the national Soldier Settlement Scheme in New Zealand and the Imperial Group Settlement of British migrants in Western Australia and, specifically, the fate and the legacy of a Group of Gaelic speaking Outer Hebrideans who relocated to a site which is now in the outer fringes of metropolitan Perth.


2007 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
pp. 21-32 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vanessa C. Thorn

AbstractPhytoliths in the modern vegetation of sub-Antarctic Campbell Island are compared with those in the soil beneath to assess the accuracy of vegetation reconstructions made from dispersed phytolith assemblages. The soil phytoliths alone suggest the source vegetation is a grassland association for all study sites, which reflects none of the herb, fern or shrub component of the overlying vegetation. It is concluded that at this locality dispersed phytoliths on their own are not reliable indicators of source vegetation and should be used with caution in this context for palaeoecological studies. However, they can provide useful botanical information where all other organic material is absent. With further research, based on the abundance and diversity of Poaceae phytoliths observed in this and other studies, dispersed phytoliths from the fossil record have the potential to contribute significantly to the understanding of grassland ecosystem development in the geological past.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Ariana Pia

<p>This research questions whether considering Māori concepts of architecture and space within the design of New Zealand prisons can help in the rehabilitation process of inmates of Māori descent.   First, the general concept of prison architecture will be researched. The panopticon as a general diagram as well as specific case studies will frame an understanding of the characteristics of prison architecture in the western sphere. A specific attention to interior architecture will be established.  Second, the link between cultural experience and rehabilitation will be distinguished primarily through analysis of Māori Focus Units.  Third, the notions of Māori perception and understanding of architectural space will be explored in a general context. More particularly, characteristics of interior architecture will be researched.  Fourth, a site will be selected to reflect the contentious issues of incarceration of the Māori population. Matiu/Somes Island, located in the Wellington harbour, is a reflection of historical Māori culture and lifestyles that form a base of beliefs and mythology that modern Māori can identify with. The island itself is a provocation due to its history of incarceration.  This thesis is of interior architecture; hence the design will be developed within the constraints of a given architectural envelope. While this is an assumed position, the interior architecture will challenge the given envelope and its contextual site. As a consequence, further interventions into the landscape and the architecture will be developed to sustain the interior architecture here developed.  It is anticipated that this research will therefore support the idea that interior architecture of New Zealand prisons must be developed as an integral part of a holistic spatial intervention in view of supporting the rehabilitation process of Māori inmates.</p>


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Ariana Pia

<p>This research questions whether considering Māori concepts of architecture and space within the design of New Zealand prisons can help in the rehabilitation process of inmates of Māori descent.   First, the general concept of prison architecture will be researched. The panopticon as a general diagram as well as specific case studies will frame an understanding of the characteristics of prison architecture in the western sphere. A specific attention to interior architecture will be established.  Second, the link between cultural experience and rehabilitation will be distinguished primarily through analysis of Māori Focus Units.  Third, the notions of Māori perception and understanding of architectural space will be explored in a general context. More particularly, characteristics of interior architecture will be researched.  Fourth, a site will be selected to reflect the contentious issues of incarceration of the Māori population. Matiu/Somes Island, located in the Wellington harbour, is a reflection of historical Māori culture and lifestyles that form a base of beliefs and mythology that modern Māori can identify with. The island itself is a provocation due to its history of incarceration.  This thesis is of interior architecture; hence the design will be developed within the constraints of a given architectural envelope. While this is an assumed position, the interior architecture will challenge the given envelope and its contextual site. As a consequence, further interventions into the landscape and the architecture will be developed to sustain the interior architecture here developed.  It is anticipated that this research will therefore support the idea that interior architecture of New Zealand prisons must be developed as an integral part of a holistic spatial intervention in view of supporting the rehabilitation process of Māori inmates.</p>


2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Casper Kraan ◽  
Barry L. Greenfield ◽  
Simon F. Thrush

Abstract. Understanding how the plants and animals that live in the seafloor vary in their spatial patterns of diversity and abundance is fundamental to gaining insight in the role of biodiversity in maintaining ecosystem functioning in coastal ecosystems, as well as advancing the modelling of species distributions under realistic assumptions. Yet, it is virtually unknown how the relationships between abundance patterns and different biotic and environmental processes change depending on spatial scales, which is mainly due to a lack of data. Within the project Spatial Organization of Species Distributions: Hierarchical and Scale-Dependent Patterns and Processes in Coastal Seascapes at the National Institute for Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA) in New Zealand we collected multi-scale and high-resolution data on macrobenthic biodiversity. We found 146 species, i.e. bivalves, polychaetes and crustaceans (> 500 μm) that live hidden in marine sandflats, and collected point measurements of important environmental variables (sediment grain-size distributions, chlorophyll a concentration, and visible sandflat parameters) in three large intertidal Harbours (Kaipara, Tauranga and Manukau). In each Harbour we sampled 400 points for macrobenthic community composition and abundances, as well as the full set of environmental variables. Using an elaborate sampling design, we were able to cover scales from 30 centimetres to a maximal extent of 1 km. All data and extensive metadata are available from the data publisher PANGAEA via the persistent identifier https://doi.org/10.1594/PANGAEA.903448.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Christian Jacob Squire

<p>Reports throughout New Zealand have highlighted a chronic and growing problem in our urban centres – the effects of alcohol abuse and binge drinking leave our youth vulnerable and unprotected. The results can sometimes be catastrophic. Makeshift paramedic tents have recently been erected in Wellington to provide aid and retreat, but these are temporary structures and only available two nights per week. The vulnerability of New Zealand’s youth occurs not only on nights with too much alcohol, but also in response to the daily stresses brought on by contemporary urban life. New Zealand youth suicide rates are the highest out of 30 OECD nations and more than twice the OECD average (Chapman). Likewise the secularization of contemporary urban society has resulted in the loss of spiritual retreats previously found within churches and religious centres. This thesis examines the need for a permanent urban retreat for all those who are temporarily vulnerable. The thesis investigates how architectural form can provide a new approach to urban retreat by critically engaging analogous theories found in the writings of Plato and Louis Kahn. Both Plato’s theory of Forms (discussed in Plato’s “Dialogues”) and Louis Kahn’s 1961 essay “Form and Design” are centred on the idea of achieving an enlightened state of mind, freeing the mind from the physical realm. Plato’s theory of Forms posits that the universe is separated into two realms: an intelligible realm and a sensible realm. All objects that exist in the sensible realm – perceivable to us by our senses – are merely imperfect shadows of their essences or Forms. By understanding this, we can free our minds from the distractions of life which so often lead to stress and despair. Plato’s theory of Forms has many parallels with the architectural theory of Louis Kahn, as evidenced in Kahn’s “Form and Design”. Kahn describes the ‘measurable’ and ‘immeasurable’ realms, which are analogous to Plato’s sensible and intelligible realms. This thesis critically engages these analogous theories of Plato and Kahn – achieving an enlightened state of mind, freeing the mind from the physical realm – to establish how architectural form can provide urban retreat for those who are temporarily vulnerable. The site for the design research investigation is the nameless alleyway in the Courtenay Place precinct which separates Wellington’s historic St James Theatre from The Mermaid bar and brothel – a site which symbolizes the conflicting stimuli to which our urban residents are now continually exposed.</p>


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Elise Caddigan

<p>Old St Paul’s is an iconic New Zealand heritage site managed by Heritage New Zealand.¹ It is a site that tells both national and local stories and draws a wide range of international and domestic visitors. Key recommendations made by the New Zealand Ministry of Tourism in their 2010 and 2015 strategies were that the country is no longer automatically perceived as ‘authentic’² by international visitors, and that heritage in New Zealand should be striving to deliver engaging, educational and rich cultural and social experiences.  Using Old St. Paul’s as a case study, this research asks if New Zealand heritage sites are providing exhibitions, interpretation and stories that successfully communicate the site management’s presentation goals to visitors. This relationship is evaluated through the exhibitions and interpretation used by site management, and compared with visitor understanding and their experience of these.  This research uses interviews and visitor surveys to gauge the management/visitor relationship at Old St. Paul’s. An in-depth interview with the site’s manager is analysed and presented comparatively against the results gained from conducting visitor surveys. This research provides an investigation into contemporary heritage practice in New Zealand and offers a pilot study for future development in the heritage sector. Furthermore, it is suggested that heritage sites could adopt similar summative practices to those used in the museum sector in order to monitor visitor satisfaction and the perception of quality.</p>


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Amber Marie Gray

<p>Wine is created from the delicate and fragile craft of winemaking, a craft reliant on the balance of both science and art. Wine translates qualities and experience of space and creation through the sense of taste and smell. Intoxicating impressions rediscovers the artistic nature of this craft through the space of a winery. It proposes an architecture of engagement.  Impressionist painting offers an immersive representation of the qualities and atmosphere of space. This immersive effect creates an engagement of the viewer's imagination within the depicted scene. The painting's execution is based on both science and art through the representation of the intangible. This exploration resulted in testing architectural concepts of 'dissipation of light' and 'blurring of boundaries' to enhance the architectural experience to engage the imagination of the inhabitant.  From these concepts, architecture allows the inhabiting of intangible qualities. The landscape presents itself as an ephemeral tool to mediate this relationship of art and science having an imperative role within the winemaking craft. The architectural design becomes a tool to immerse the user within the craft that it houses and within the landscape where the craft of winemaking occurs and upon which it relies upon.  This winery is designed for a site in the Hawke’s Bay wine region of New Zealand and follows a brief designed to materialise intangible and immaterial qualities of space. This is to engage the inhabitant within the environment and the winemaking craft. The architectural design allows the exploration of the intangible, balanced, vulnerable and fragile nature of a craft that is balanced by a scientific reality.</p>


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Amber Marie Gray

<p>Wine is created from the delicate and fragile craft of winemaking, a craft reliant on the balance of both science and art. Wine translates qualities and experience of space and creation through the sense of taste and smell. Intoxicating impressions rediscovers the artistic nature of this craft through the space of a winery. It proposes an architecture of engagement.  Impressionist painting offers an immersive representation of the qualities and atmosphere of space. This immersive effect creates an engagement of the viewer's imagination within the depicted scene. The painting's execution is based on both science and art through the representation of the intangible. This exploration resulted in testing architectural concepts of 'dissipation of light' and 'blurring of boundaries' to enhance the architectural experience to engage the imagination of the inhabitant.  From these concepts, architecture allows the inhabiting of intangible qualities. The landscape presents itself as an ephemeral tool to mediate this relationship of art and science having an imperative role within the winemaking craft. The architectural design becomes a tool to immerse the user within the craft that it houses and within the landscape where the craft of winemaking occurs and upon which it relies upon.  This winery is designed for a site in the Hawke’s Bay wine region of New Zealand and follows a brief designed to materialise intangible and immaterial qualities of space. This is to engage the inhabitant within the environment and the winemaking craft. The architectural design allows the exploration of the intangible, balanced, vulnerable and fragile nature of a craft that is balanced by a scientific reality.</p>


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