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All voices should have the opportunity to be represented within planning and management processes for the world around them. For the Māori, this goes beyond elements of the built environment and economy and extends to the overall well-being of the community. The driving force behind their engagement in planning and development is to ensure equality within social, political, and economic elements. Indigenous knowledge is an important part of a city’s history and can be invaluable when planning for the future. Involving Indigenous peoples in planning and development processes only helps to make those processes better while ensuring their voices are heard too.

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Ryks, J., Howden-Chapman, P., Robson, B., Stuart, K., & Waa, A. (2014). Maori participation in urban development: challenges and opportunities for indigenous people in Aotearoa New Zealand. Lincoln Planning Review, 6(1-2), 4-17.

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Resulting Harm & Māori Changes for a Better Future

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Resulting Harm & Māori Changes for a Better Future

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This has led to the Māori living in cities being unable to access adequate housing, receiving poor education, having poor health outcomes, and being more likely to feel the effects of a recession. Although over the last 30-40 years, the Māori have made and seen several changes that have resulted in a resurgence of their values and identity. These changes have included:

· Investing for the collective good

· Improved input in decision-making at the local level

· Established organizations to help meet social and everyday needs

· Restitution for lost resources

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Do you engage with planning processes in your local community? If so, how? If not, how could your community change their processes to include you?

When looking at processes for urban planning and decision-making, could they be improved by the introduction of Indigenous methodologies and traditional knowledge?

In a Canadian context, how can we change our processes to work in partnership with Indigenous peoples so that development can better meet their needs?

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During the 1900s, there was a global phenomenon that saw indigenous peoples migrating to urban environments due to rural areas lacking employment opportunities, dispossession of traditional lands, and deterioration of traditional livelihoods. The New Zealand government incentivized Māori to move to urban areas following World War 2 to boost the workforce by providing housing, employment, and social assistance. However, the Māori experienced significant challenges due to government assimilation policies discouraging speaking their language in schools and at work, and dispersion in the community eliminating their traditional social structures.

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Three Change Catalysts for Māori Involvement in Urban Development

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Three Change Catalysts for Māori Involvement in Urban Development

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With the Māori having faced clear harm by the processes of urban development, it is clear that changes are needed. The question the authors posed in their article is how processes could be changed so that Māori could participate and have their needs met. Below are the three catalysts that have driven changes.

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2. Central Government Policy Change and Local Government Reform

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2. Central Government Policy Change and Local Government Reform

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Throughout New Zealand, there are numerous acts at different levels of government that outline how the Māori should be engaged with and involved in decision-making processes. The Resources Management Act introduced in 1991 details that Māori are to be included in the planning and management of natural and physical resources. At the time it was seen as an innovative policy due to new processes that would ensure Māori voices were included in decision-making and leadership.

Over 30 years later and there has been little action, with local areas having chosen to make their own processes that see Māori involvement in external engagement and working groups for consultation. Having policies in place provides plenty of opportunity for Māori to be further engaged in planning processes. However, the challenge is finding ways to increase utilization in meaningful ways based on current barriers.

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In cities today, disasters and their impact are seen as negative events while being defined by their relation to human life. Yet the authors point out that pre-colonization, indigenous peoples have sought to understand disasters and take advantage of them in order to survive. Indigenous peoples today are at a higher risk of impact from disasters due to their marginalization putting them into communities that are more exposed to hazards and less likely to recover quickly following an event.

Kinship is a central component of Indigenous communities which is a key strength when coming together and mobilizing following a disaster. By engaging indigenous peoples in disaster planning and recovery, their communities can be strengthened, and they can help make better-informed decisions for the future by sharing their experiences.

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The Treaty of Waitangi, signed in 1840, established the rights of settlers to govern while the Māori were guaranteed ongoing sovereignty of cultural, social, and physical resources. However it was largely ignored for most of the 1800s and 1900s, which resulted in Māori rights being actively suppressed in favour of settler interests. In 1975 the Treaty of Waitangi Act established an independent tribunal to hear claims of treaty breaches in the present day which allowed for legal and tribal knowledge to be presented as evidence. This process brought traditional knowledge to the forefront for non-Māori, leading to a greater appreciation and valuing of traditional knowledge in planning processes.

Settlements from the tribunal have included the limited return of land, cultural redress, and some monetary compensation which has helped to change the urban development process by strengthening the resource base of the Māori. Due to the involvement of the Māori in restoration projects, it is now expected and soon to be required to include them in decision-making processes for resource use.