Abstract
Urban environments worldwide are dynamic spaces symbolising progress and innovation. However, these sites of human significance are also commonly steeped in rich histories of genocide, displacement, and dispossession of Indigenous populations. Contemporary settler-colonial cities not only occupy Indigenous lands but effectively alienate the notion of Indigeneity that inherently exists within them. Aotearoa New Zealand cities are no exception. In Aotearoa, cities continue to reinforce colonial narratives through the fragmentation, dilution, and exclusion of Indigenous Māori geographies and identities (Puketapu-Dentice et al., 2017). Colonialism and urbanisation in Aotearoa have engendered the atrophy of everyday Māori traditions, practices, and social structures, resulting in disproportionately negative health, education, and economic impacts (Ryks et al., 2014).
Urban spaces profoundly impact the identity and experiences of the people occupying them. In Aotearoa, New Zealand, our urban milieu might reasonably be expected to reflect the Treaty-based biculturalism shared between New Zealand Māori and non-Māori cultures. However, urban spaces, alongside policy and decision-making, continue to deliver a one-sided Western narrative that does not reflect the diversity in the nation (Akena, 2012). This research critiques such Western oversight within settler-colonial cities. It does so by exploring the experiences of New Zealand Māori young people, both those living within and beyond their tribal territories, in two urban locations: Ōtepoti (Dunedin) and Tūranga (Gisborne). These small cities offer unique case studies distinct from larger urban areas. Focusing on the smaller urban centres, the research articulates potential opportunities and insights to inform more inclusive and equitable approaches to urban planning in a settler-colonial context on the periphery. In addition, exploring how Māori young people perceive and encounter their respective urban environments provides insights into identity and sense of belonging for Indigenous citizens. This investigation contributes to a nuanced understanding of Indigenous experiences within place and how place attributes can be conducive to facilitating aspects of identity and contemporary placemaking.
A Kaupapa Māori methodology (Smith, 2012) has been used to ensure that the research, from its inception to its dissemination, is firmly grounded in Māori philosophy, epistemology, and ontology. Upholding a Kaupapa Māori perspective provides an avenue to mainstream Indigenous knowledge and aspirations alongside Western-based research while also ensuring that the study is conducted by Māori, with Māori, and for the potential benefit of Māori.