Abstract
Small towns are drivers for the national economy in many occasions through the agricultural sector and primary industry. However, planning’s historic urban bias has resulted the omission of small towns from the ‘town’ planning agenda and focus is more on economic planning and the management of natural resources. Many small towns in New Zealand and international contexts have experienced economic, social and demographic changes, primarily as a result of a decline in agricultural employment, the exhaustion of natural resources and deindustrialisation. What can be done to revive populations and the economies of these towns is a less researched topic in planning literature. This research aims investigate how to plan for and stimulate more effective long term sustainable development of small towns in New Zealand. The four New Zealand towns, Winton, Mataura, Waipawa and Waipukurau, have been used as case studies. Both qualitative and quantitative data will be collected through key informant interviews and workshops, a public questionnaire survey and site visits. The information collected will be used to answer: 1. What is the relationship between economic viability and liveability in small towns in New Zealand? 2. What is the potential for economic development in small towns in New Zealand and how can planning instruments be used to enhance this? and 3. How can developing a sense of place be used to enhance the lived experience of residents in small towns in New Zealand? The results and discussion will analyse themes relating to economic vitality and liveability in the small towns, including place based economic and physical strengths and weaknesses, natural and heritage character, the social cohesion of communities and needs and service provision in the four case study towns. A set of recommendations will be provided regarding some of the findings applying to small New Zealand towns in general, and some specific to the towns that were analyzed.