Building Better in the news – media articles

9 December 2022
What: Te Ao Māori News article by Mana Wikaire-Lewis

A team of Māori researchers are working alongside communities to create a repository of knowledge and resources dedicated to ensuring housing security for rangatahi Māori.

Tātaiwhetu ki te Rangi, He Rangatahi ki te Kāinga is a four-year research project investigating pathways to safe, secure and affordable homes for youth in Tāmaki Makaurau. It will also explore potential kāinga (housing) innovations designed to support Māori intergenerational housing aspirations.

Led by Ngā Wai A Te Tūī Māori and Indigenous Research Centre with the support of BBHTC, early research from the project has already identified a severe lack of reliable data and support services available for rangatahi.

From left, Hanna-Marie Monga and Maia Ratana. Photo: Te Ao Māori News.

28 November 2022
What: Radio interview with Dale Husband for Waatea News

Maia Ratana, one of the three researchers who make up the rangatahi ahu for Kāinga Tahi, Kāinga Rua – the flagship Māori housing research programme for the Building Better Homes, Towns and Cities (BBHTC) National Science Challenge was interviewed by Dale Husband for Waatea News.

Maia Ratana. Photo: Desna Whaanga-Schollum.

 

23 November 2022
What: Te Ao Māori News article, reprinted in Stuff

Many rangatahi Māori are choosing severe housing deprivation over having to engage with government agencies responsible for providing much-needed support.

According to BBHTC and kaupapa Māori researcher Jacqueline (Jackie) Paul, the lack of appropriate support and continuing discrimination Māori face when seeking help will continue to increase housing disparity.

20 September 2022
What: The Conversation article by Kelly Dombroski and Amanda Yates

In the aftermath of a series of earthquakes that devastated Ōtautahi Christchurch 12 years ago, impromptu and transitional organisations kickstarted the city’s recovery.

On the many vacant sites in the demolished city, they supported pop-up shops, installations and events to keep city life and urban wellbeing going during the slow post-quake rebuild.

The Commons in Christchurch is now a regular space for markets and events. Photo: Gap Filler, CC BY-ND.

18 August 2022
What: Ōpōtiki News article

A wetland restoration project in Te Kaha is about to launch into an exciting phase with funding secured to build a predator-proof fence around the Te Kinakina wetlands. The project, led by Kathleen Morrison and Violet Aydon-Pou, is using mātauranga Māori as a core principle to restore the whenua to its natural state after decades of dairy farming under Crown management.

The Te Kinakina wetland restoration project is supported by the Building Better Homes, Towns and Cities National Science Challenge through the Poipoia Te Kākano Kia Puāwai research programme, led by BBHTC researchers Dr Fiona Cram and Dr Tepora Emery. The programme enables mātauranga Māori around housing and whenua, to allow Māori to blossom by nurturing research that is by, with, and for whānau, hapū, iwi, and Māori communities.

Kathleen Morrison and Violet Aydon-Pou.

13 July 2022
What: Te Ao Māori News article and broadcast, by Muriwai Hei

A video broadcast and article in Te Ao Māori News by Muriwai Hei examines the work at Te Puea Marae in delivering transitional housing.

With researchers supported by Building Better (BBHTC), Manaaki Tangata E Rua is New Zealand’s first marae-based transitional housing programme. Whānau engaging with Te Puea are experiencing transformative results.

BBHTC researcher and Ngā Wai A Te Tūī director Professor Jenny Lee-Morgan says the evidence compiled identifies pivotal ways of thinking about marae and their ability to support communities.

The Manaaki Tāngata Programme Kaimahi.

26 June 2022
What: TVNZ Q and A broadcast and article by Jack Tame

A leading Māori architect says new housing developments need to more culturally appropriate and designed with Māori and Pasifika families in mind.

Rau Hoskins told Q+A with Jack Tame that in the wake of the housing crisis, the initial effort has been to build, build, build.

“I think it’s to be applauded that the Government is finally putting major resourcing Into getting the volume of our state housing up. The next challenge is looking at the quality of those environments for Māori, Pacific and inter-generational whānau.”

Marae designed by Rau Hoskins.

19 May 2022
What: Te Ao Māori Māori Television broadcast and article, by Arohanui West

Top-ranking university, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), has awarded Māori researcher and Architecture lecturer Jacqueline Paul a full scholarship.

Jackie Paul on Te Ao Māori.

13 May 2022
What: NZ Herald article, by Te Rina Triponel

Papakura born and raised Jacqueline Paul (Ngāpuhi, Ngāti Kahungunu ki Heretaunga, Ngāti Tūwharetoa) is on her way to the world’s top university, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

Jacqueline Paul, 28, will head to the US to champion her PhD at the world’s top university, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Photo: Emma Wharepouri

12 April 2022
What: Te Ao Māori Māori Television broadcast and article, by Tumamao Harawira

Te Ao Māori News reporter Tumamao Harawira reported on the Building Better Homes, Towns and Cities National Science Challenge co-governance arrangements, with Tangata Tiriti and Tangata Whenua co-chairs and co-directors sharing equal authority and accountability for the Challenge.

Māori Television.

9 April 2022
What: TV3 Newshub broadcast and article, by Te Rina Kowhai

The official opening of six kaumātua units in Awarua, near Bluff, has signalled the first step towards building an intergenerational housing community. It’s all part of a vision the Ngāi Tahu iwi began working towards more than two decades ago.

The official opening of six kaumātua units in Awarua signals the first step towards building an inter-generational housing community. Credits: Newshub.

7 April 2022
What: Te Ao Māori article, by Deborah LaHatte

Te Ao Māori News reporter Deborah LaHatte reported on the almost complete new block of Kaumātua housing in Bluff. The beginnings of this papakainga have long been an aspiration of the Te Rau Aroha Marae.

The motu’s southern-most marae at Bluff has just opened six homes for kaumātua, fulfilling a 20-year dream by the Te Rau Aroha Marae whānau. Photo: Te Ao Māori News.

5 April 2022
What: Southland Times Stuff article, by Laura Hooper

Southland Times/Stuff reporter Laura Hooper reports on the new block of six Kaumātua units in Bluff. The beginnings of this papakainga have long been an aspiration of the Te Rau Aroha Marae.

Labour MP for Te Tai Tonga Rino Tirikatene, left, Invercargill mayor Sir Tim Shadbolt, Minister of Housing MP Megan Woods, Upoko o Awarua Rūnaka Tā Tipene o Regan and Invercargill Labour List MP Dr Liz Craig at the opening of six new kaumātua units in Bluff. Photo: Stuff/Kavinda Herath.

2 November 2021
What: Timaru Herald Stuff article, by Yashas Srinivasa

New ideas can be a slippery slope, but not if University of Canterbury student Imogen McRae has her way.

The third-year product design student has been working on developing non-slip pavers made of waste material sourced from South Canterbury businesses as part of Venture Timaru’s ‘Sustainable Is Attainable’ initiative. She recently featured in the Timaru Herald News and on Stuff in this article by reporter Yashas Srinivasa.

The project is sponsored by Venture Timaru, AgResearch, and is part of the Building Better Home, Towns and Cities Thriving Regions programme.

University of Canterbury school of product design student 20-year-old Imogen McRae is working on non-slip pavers for Timaru’s CBD.

22 October 2021
What: NZ Herald/Rotorua Daily Post article, by Roimata Mihinui

This article includes an interview with BBHTC researcher Dr Amanda Yates (Ngati Rangiwewehi, Ngati Whakaue, Te Aitanga a Māhaki, Rongowhakaata) Associate Professor at AUT and Leader of BBHTC’s Kainga Ora – Urban Wellbeing programme about the team’s Compass Tool.

“It’s a collaboration between AUT, Canterbury, with Te Tatau as our key research partner, and SCION and Manaaki Whenua partners also, we are looking at how to increase urban mauri ora – social, cultural-ecological wellbeing. It’s really important at this time because of the climate emergency, but also because we’re in a biodiversity emergency also, a 6th mass extinction event. At the same time there are these issues around the pandemic, around access to affordable homes, energy, food etc.”

Te Tatau o Te Arawa Housing Development Wellbeing Compass. Image: Te Tatau o Te Arawa

September 2021
What: North and South magazine – cover article, by Rebecca Macfie

In a single generation New Zealand has transformed itself from a home-owning democracy into a society fractured by property wealth — between those who have it, and those who do not. How did it happen and what is it doing to us?

The cover story, involving BBHTC researchers and evidence, is one that affects every Kiwi. In a must-read article, award-winning journalist Rebecca Macfie follows the thread of soaring house prices, plunging home ownership and exploding housing insecurity all the way back to its starting point. It’s the story of a country where most people could afford a healthy home, where you could work hard on a modest wage and buy a house in which to raise a family and leave something behind for your kids, a country with one of the lowest inequality rates in the developed world — and how we deliberately dismantled all of that, piece by piece.

25 September 2021
What: TVNZ 1 News broadcast and article

BBHTC housing researcher Bev James says homelessness among older Kiwis can often be “hidden”.

“We’re not talking about these people necessarily being visible like rough sleeping or on the streets. They’re more likely to be in situations where they’re sharing with others in difficult circumstances.

“They’re under sufferance there or they’re in sleepouts, garages, sheds, non-residential dwellings like farm buildings or commercial buildings.”

Image: 1News, TVNZ.

18 September 2021
What: Stuff Long Read, Podcast, and interactive

Three sisters, Mei, Charmaine, and Francess Whaanga, were children when their whānau moved from the East Coast to the city. Now in their 60s, they, like so many children of the great Māori urban migration, are without homes of their own.

Stuff’s senior reporter Ethan Te Ora put together this Stuff Long Read, podcast, and, with Visual Journalist Rosa Wood, an interactive. The story includes BBHTC research and interviews with several of our researchers.

University of Canterbury senior research fellow and BBHTC researcher Matthew Rout says urbanisation is part of the reason for poor housing outcomes. Photo: John Kirk-Anderson, Stuff.

29 August 2021
What: NZ Herald Opinion article by Arthur Grimes

BBHTC researcher and Motu Economic and Public Policy Research Senior Fellow Arthur Grimes writes in the NZ Herald – “Past governments have done little as house prices climbed, but the current one has caused a crisis to become a catastrophe – exacerbating wealth inequality and hardship.”

Arthur says house prices have risen as a result of two key factors: constraints in building new houses and high net migration.

Dr Arthur Grimes. Photo: Motu.

4 August 2021
What: NZ Herald article by reporter Ben Leahy

Reporter Ben Leahy discusses recent BBHTC research in a special edition of the New Zealand Population Review journal with researcher Dr Kay Saville-Smith.

About one in five Kiwis aged over 65 are now renters, with a greater proportion living in the regions.

According to the 2013 Census, one in three people aged 75 and over in Ruapehu were renting – the district with the highest percentage of elderly renters in the country.

Photo: Sofia Shultz, Pexels.

As well as the NZ Herald, this article was also published in:

• The Otago Daily Times
• NewsTalk ZB

17 July 2021
What: Stuff Life and Style article on housing affordablity by reporter Geraden Cann

Reporter Geraden Cann discusses a recent BBHTC Research Bulletin and interviews researcher Dr Kay Saville-Smith.

The number of properties in the hands of investors increased about 191 per cent between 1986 and 2018, research has found.

In real terms, that constituted 288,714 more properties entering the hands of investors, resulting in the group owning over a quarter of the occupied housing stock, or 440,025 properties.

Dr Kay Saville-Smith. Photo: Louise Thomas.

2 July 2021
What: The Spinoff article and podcast by Bernard Hickey

Reporter Bernard Hickey was shocked at how shocked readers were at his loss of hope for the housing futures of young renters. Challenged to come up with new ideas unconstrained by political and financial limits, he went in search of hope elsewhere and dreamed up a big new idea of his own.

Bernard spoke to BBHTC’s co-leader for Affordable Housing for Generations, Dr Kay Saville-Smith, in a podcast. Kay said she was more hopeful than she’d been in decades of housing research and policy advice. She said policy makers, politicians and many in the sector had finally realised the scale of the issues and the need to change many things, through regulation, investment and policy changes. She was positive about the role of community housing providers and Kāinga Ora in building new homes, and also pointed to the potential for councils to use special rates to capture value uplift on land values when councils rezone areas and/or make the land more valuable by investing in infrastructure in and around it.

Photo: Louise Thomas.

18 June 2021
What: Stuff article by Chloe Ranford Local Democracy Reporter

In this Stuff article, Building Better Researchers Dr Bev James and Dr Kay Saville-Smith argue that rents in the Marlborough Council’s senior units were too high for many seniors. The council is looking to adjust their rental prices upward.

Bev said figures from the Ministry of Social Development showed almost half of the pensioners renting a house in the region, including many in council housing, were on the Accommodation Supplement – a benefit paid to those who could not afford their own housing costs.

“This, by definition, means their current rent is unaffordable.”

Housing researcher Dr Bev James says senior rents should be capped at 25 per cent of income. Photo: Chloe Ranford/LDR/Stuff.

27 May 2021
What: Scoop Community article

A Scoop article which interviews Building Better Researcher Dr Bev James on the Budget 2021 announcements in relation to housing.

“The acceleration of new builds is clearly important. Our research shows that housing stress affects not just low-income households, but also modest income households, including in some regions, households with incomes above the regional household income median.

“All housing new builds should be price pointed to ensure that there is housing affordable to those on different income levels within a region, not just to increase aggregate housing supply. The progressive homeownership programme and investment into public housing recognises that,” says Bev.

Finance Minister Grant Robertson announcing Budget 2021 highlights to media. Photo: Scoop.

14 April 2021
What: Newsroom Opinion article by Building Better researcher Dr Michael Rehm, University of Auckland

The Reserve Bank is laying out its plans to stimulate the economy while reining in housing prices. Sidestepping a debt-to-income limit would amount to a poisoned chalice for first-time buyers as they assume massive mortgages and will be the first to fall into negative equity when house prices inevitably ease.

Without the eagerness of banks to pile increasing debt onto the shoulders of owner-occupiers and residential investors, says Michael Rehm, the current obscene prices would not be possible. Photo: Anete Lusina, Pexels.

11 April 2021
What: Stuff Life and Style article, part of a series called Off the Ladder on housing affordablity, by reporter Geraden Cann

A 2019 report by Building Better Homes, Towns and Cities researchers Matthew Rout, John Reid, Di Menzies and Angus MacFarlane titled Homeless and landless in two generations – Averting the Māori housing disaster found in 1936, 71 per cent of Māori lived in dwellings owned by their whānau.

By 1991, the ownership rate had fallen to 56 per cent, by 2013 it was at 43 per cent, and by May 2019 it was likely below 40 per cent.

This article about Julia Frelan, who lost her family home in 2009 after a family illness resulted in some financial problems, discusses the housing crisis for Māori using research by Building Better researchers.

A Ngāpuhi woman, Julia Frelan, who has been priced out of ever owning another home says she feels the housing crisis has resulted in the loss of her identity as a New Zealander. Photo: Chris McKeen/Stuff.

18 March 2021
What: Stuff Life and Style article, part of a series called Off the Ladder on housing affordablity, by reporter Geraden Cann

In March 2018, home-ownership was at its lowest in almost 70 years. Since then the median price has almost doubled and rent is up by a quarter. Stuff’s Off the Ladder series talks to those priced out of the market.

Holly Tipene’s mother and grandmother spent their entire lives in rentals. Until recently, she had resigned herself to also never owning a home, and having nothing to pass on to her three children.

This article references a 2019 BBHTC report titled Homeless and landless in two generations – Averting the Māori housing disaster.

Kere and Holly Tipene both work but did not have the ability to raise a deposit for a first home. Photo: Mark Taylor/Stuff.

11 March 2021
What: Stuff Life and Style article on housing affordablity by reporters Ethan Te Ora and Susan Edmunds

Two Wellington would-be first-home buyers say rules that prevent them from accessing their KiwiSaver funds to get into the property market are illogical and unfair.

This article about two section-owners’ struggles to access funding to build interviews BBHTC researcher Dr John Reid, University of Canterbury.

“Lots of people find themselves in their late 40s and 50s, and having to take on larger loans to get onto the property market,” says John.

John says homeownership is worse among “minority populations”, particularly Māori and Pasifika. There was also a legacy issue with older minority populations, who bought houses in the 1970s and 80s and whose children couldn’t do the same.

Gurdip Singh can’t afford to build a house on land he owns in Porirua – and worries he’ll have to rent for the rest of his life. Photo: Monique Ford/Stuff.

8 March 2021
What: Stuff Life and Style article, part of a series called Off the Ladder on housing affordablity, by reporter Geraden Cann

In March 2018, home-ownership was at its lowest in almost 70 years. Since then the median price has almost doubled and rent is up by a quarter. Stuff’s Off the Ladder series talks to those priced out of the market.

This article about divorcee Sue Boyce, discusses a BBHTC research paper Pathways to renting among older former homeowners, due for release later this year, which says the most common reasons for loss of home ownership was relationship breakdown, followed by financial hardship.

Of the 66 former home-owning tenants interviewed for the paper, 67 per cent were either widowed, separated, or divorced. Divorce or separation was the primary reason for leaving owner occupation for seventeen people, while eighteen seniors reported that financial crisis or shock triggered leaving owner occupation.

Sue Boyce says she realised a year after her divorce she would never own another home. Photo: John Bisset/Stuff.

6 March 2021
What: Stuff Life and Style article, part of a series called Off the Ladder on housing affordablity, by reporter Geraden Cann

In March 2018, home-ownership was at its lowest in almost 70 years. Since then the median price has almost doubled and rent is up by a quarter. Stuff’s Off the Ladder series talks to those priced out of the market.

This article about Hayden Taylor, who has worked since he was 16 years old, but finds himself part of a growing cohort of single people priced out of the market, interviews BBHTC researcher Dr Kay Saville-Smith.

Kay said mortgage brokers would be inclined to advise singletons it would be easier to buy in a relationship or as part of a group because it increased income and reduced risk.

“In today’s world where mostly both partners are in employment, it mitigates that risk for the bank because there is someone who can pick up the debt if you fall over.”

Hayden Taylor was in a position to buy a house but was priced out of the market within three weeks after the country-wide Covid-19 lockdown was raised. Photo: Monique Ford/Stuff.

4 March 2021
What: Stuff Life and Style article, part of a series called Off the Ladder on housing affordablity, by reporter Geraden Cann

In March 2018, home-ownership was at its lowest in almost 70 years. Since then the median price has almost doubled and rent is up by a quarter. Stuff’s Off the Ladder series talks to those priced out of the market.

This article is about Dot Hutton, a 78-year-old who depends on temporary support payments to supplement her pension and make rent. Even with the Temporary Additional Support (TAS) benefit – which Hutton said she must reapply for every three months – it’s a struggle to make ends meet. The reporter interviews BBHTC researcher Dr Kay Saville-Smith.

“In 20-30 years time it is likely that less than half of those turning 65 years will be owner occupiers.”

Dot Hutton lives in a small flat in Masterton with her dog. Photo: Piers Fuller/Stuff.

1 March 2021
What: Stuff Life and Style article, part of a series called Off the Ladder on housing affordablity, by reporter Geraden Cann

In March 2018, home-ownership was at its lowest in almost 70 years. Since then the median price has almost doubled and rent is up by a quarter. Stuff’s Off the Ladder series talks to those priced out of the market.

This article about legally blind student Roamen Humphris’s struggles to find a flat mentions work undertaken by the Building Better Homes, Towns and Cities Affordable Housing For Generations (AHFG) programme, led by researcher Kay Saville-Smith, which also found older people in rentals were much more likely to be disabled than those in their own homes.

Roamen Humphris is now on a waitlist for social housing and hopes to have a place of his own in time for university in 2022. Photo: Monique Ford/Stuff.

11 January 2021
What: Guardian Opinion article by BBHTC researcher Iain White

Many of us express concern about the country’s soaring house prices – but we also vote for policies that let them stay that way.

“… while stocks and shares are expected to rise and fall, all major parties support housing as an asset class that should only ever increase in value – all while expressing concern, and all supported by voters. Perhaps most striking is how many New Zealanders are happy about the situation. They don’t want change, they want the current policy settings to remain.”

New Zealand house prices surged to record levels for the second month in a row in December 2020. Wellington apartments with suburbs beyond. Photo: Louise Thomas.

19 September 2020
What: Stuff Close to home news item, article and video by Nelson reporter Tim Newman

Could dividing your property into smaller flats or building a granny flat be the “silver bullet” to ease New Zealand’s housing supply crisis?

In a 2017 Building Better Homes, Towns and Cities report, it was estimated there were about 180,000 houses suitable for partitioning in New Zealand (according to 2013 census data).

Nelson City Councillor Matt Lawrey, left, and Architect Peter Olorenshaw at the site of a tiny house, built by Lou Perkins in Nelson. Photo: Martin De Ruyter/Stuff.

19 September 2020
What: Stuff Close to home news item, article by Nelson reporter Samantha Gee

In the last 30 years, New Zealand’s population has grown by 1.2 million and around 90,000 homes have been built by the Government, local councils and community housing providers. Samantha Gee reports on the growing demand for social housing.

The article includes an interview with Building Better Homes and Spaces researcher Dr Kay Saville-Smith.

Carrie Mozena, director of Nelson Tasman Housing Trust with homes built by the trust in the Brook Valley, Nelson. Photo: Martin De Ruyter/Stuff.

21 April 2020
What: The Spinoff Opinion article by Building Better researcher Prof. Iain White, University of Waikato

As New Zealand prepares to move out of the strictest lockdown status, we need to ask a wider question: What kind of economy to we want to build? Iain White writes.

“Like you, I want things to go back to the way they were. I crave normality. I miss my morning coffee from my local café, I miss my friends, and I miss my colleagues and students. Governments and businesses want the same thing, too. To take stock and get back up and running. It’s understandable to want to restore business-as-usual.”

The fountains, Christchurch. Photo: Christchurch City Council.

1 April 2020
What: Build magazine, Issue 177, article by James Berghan and David Goodwin

Could some of our problems with affordable housing be solved by establishing communities based on social mortgages where there are mutual responsibilities, shared values and close relationships? Building Better researchers James Berghan and David Goodwin from the University of Otago investigate.

1 April 2020
What: Build magazine, Issue 177, article by Kay Saville-Smith

While more new houses are going up, they’re not necessarily ones that middle and low-income New Zealanders can afford, leaving the housing affordability crisis unresolved writes Building Better researcher Kay Saville-Smith.

22 February 2020
What: NZ Herald article (paywalled) by Simon Wilson, featuring research by Kay Saville-Smith

“This is a story of collapse, all told in one remarkable graph.

“The graph was created by Kay Saville-Smith, a social scientist who specialises in housing. Saville-Smith knew there had been a long-term decline in the construction of low-cost housing. The Productivity Commission had already identified it. The purple line on her graph shows it. But she wanted to know why, so she pored through decades of raw data, looking for the cause.

“She found it,” writes Simon Wilson.

23 January 2020
What: Urban Studies article by BBHTC researcher Iain White, University of Waikato

Building Better researcher Iain White from the University of Waikato blogs about the influence of data. He examines the selection, application, and wider effects of ‘calculations’ in urban planning to better understand why, when we say we want urban areas to be more affordable and liveable, and we enjoy a stronger evidence base than ever before, were some of the outcomes deemed poor. The blog includes a link to Iain’s recently published paper in the Urban Studies Online Journal.

3 December 2019
What: The SpinOff article by Leonie Hayden, Ātea Editor, featuring research by James Berghan

“It’s a way of living that is often mistaken for either a ‘hippy commune’ or a boarding house, but cohousing is slowly becoming a viable solution to New Zealand’s growing housing needs. It’s also a way of fighting the isolation and loneliness that is harming our collective wellbeing.”

The Spinoff’s Leonie Hayden interviews Building Better researcher James Berghan about his research on social mortgages and co-housing.

“The social mortgage component was how you can bring in a social element to housing, which means you have a contract with your neighbours and you have to put work into it but you get social benefits as well. It shifts housing from a financial asset to a community asset that everyone has a stake in,” says James.

19 November 2019
What: Real Estate Magazine article featuring research by James Berghan

The Real Estate Institute of New Zealand writes about BBHTC research by James Berghan. James examines the different ways the built environment can deliver housing based on the idea of a “social mortgage”.

With the release of New Zealand’s first Wellbeing budget in late May 2019, it’s more obvious than ever that the built environment needs to move towards planning models that deliver social and environmental sustainability.

Deeply invested in the places they live and wanting to ensure their property provides spaces for generations, communities are looking for the option of alternative developments that aren’t subject to the same commercial demands as the open market.

11 November 2019
What: NZ Local Government Magazine article by Ruth Berry

Local councils need more policy options and resources to address the impacts of accommodation sharing platforms. BBHTC Director Ruth Berry details recent research in an article for NZ Local Government Magazine.

Peer-to-peer rental platforms such as Airbnb have opened up a wide variety of affordable options for families and groups wanting self-contained properties.

Globally, Airbnb’s entry to the travel market in 2008 has significantly altered perceptions of what constitutes holiday and business accommodation.

Many Kiwi property owners have benefited from the introduction of this easy peer-to-peer shared property economy.

Yet new evidence from Building Better Homes, Towns and Cities (BBHTC) National Science Challenge suggests that for long-term residents living in towns that have a high concentration of Airbnbs, there are negative impacts, alongside the benefits for both residents and the region.

21 October 2019
What: Article in Landscape Architecture Aotearoa (online magazine) by Rebecca Kiddle

‘Where do we dance?’ is a research project led by Dr Rebecca Kiddle along with Dr Wokje Abrahamse from Te Herenga Waka – Victoria University of Wellington. The project explores where New Zealanders create connections and build communities and what spatial design attributes those spaces which support community building are most likely to have. The project is funded by Better Homes, Towns and Cities, National Science Challenge 11.

Everyone has a “local” in the United Kingdom. Photo: Adrian Dorobantu, Pexels.

17 September 2019
What: Radio Waatea news item with Rau Hoskins – for full radio interview see our podcast page

BBHTC researcher Rau Hoskins talks with Waatea News about the innovative resources for marae looking at housing programmes that were launched at Te Puea Marae in Māngere last week.

These resource were developed over the past two years by researchers funded through the Kainga Tahi, Kainga Rua programme in the Building Better Homes, Towns and Cities, National Science Challenge.

Rau Hoskins, who led the Te Manaaki o te Marae along with Unitec Professor Jenny Lee-Morgan, says marae started as the centres of kainga, but over the years most have lost their housing apart from a few kaumātua flats.

29 July 2019
What: Article in Gisborne Herald by Andrew Ashton

Reporter Andrew Ashton from the Gisborne Herald examines the implications for Gisborne from Motu’s Research for the Building Better Homes, Towns, and Cities National Science Challenge.

At the time of the 2013 census, Gisborne was ranked around the middle of urban areas in New Zealand for quality of life and quality of business. ‘Natural’ factors such as climate have a positive impact on quality of life of places, but the study shows that Gisborne has room to improve in the quality of life and quality of business on offer to residents and prospective newbies.

Andrew interviews Motu’s research programme leader Arthur Grimes to get his views on where to from here for Gisborne.

4 July 2019
What: Article in Talk Wellington by Kōrero Wellington

Lead researcher Dr Rebecca Kiddle is mentioned in this Talk Wellington article for her research “investigating (amongst other things) the extent to which modern Ao-NZ urban form systemically prioritises private space in our suburbs, cities and towns. Turns out we do this a lot, and to the detriment of the public realm and common spaces.”

The article says, “This is bad news for us collectively because it’s common and public spaces, third places that let us connect with other humans outside our household, ‘bumping into’ spaces where you can have regular, low-stakes interactions with people. ‘Bumping into’ spaces in modern towns let us quietly expand our ‘circle of empathy’ to others beyond those we select to invite to our private space (who are inevitably A Lot Like Me).”

26 June 2019
What: Article in Newsroom – Ideasroom by Rebecca Kiddle

As a result of giving ourselves too much private space, New Zealanders are missing out on the benefit of communal public space, writes the Victoria University of Wellington’s Dr Rebecca Kiddle.

In the UK, it’s the local pub — a neutral space where members of the community can gather to relax in each other’s company. Meanwhile, in China, at dusk, people come out of their houses to dance. You see it all over the country. Residents exercising, talking, gossiping, building community. . .

Everyone has a “local” in the United Kingdom. Photo: Adrian Dorobantu, Pexels.

22 June 2019
What: Article in TEU’s Hau Taki Haere newsletter by Jessica Hutchings

At the Shift Aotearoa conference earlier this month, Kāinga Tahi, Kāinga Rua kaupapa Māori research evidence was presented that showed that since 1991, and the disestablishment of state support for housing in Aotearoa, there has been a rapid decline in Māori home ownership. The research concluded that if the government does not make structural interventions at the economic level, Māori will be almost entirely a population of renters by 2061.

Dr Jessica Hutchings (Ngāi Tahu, Ngāti Huirapa, Gujarati), Tumu Whakarae for Building Better Homes, Towns and Cities: Ko ngā wā kāinga hei whakamahorahora, shares her kōrero in the Tertiary Education Union newsletter, Hau Taki Haere, on the importance of Kaupapa Māori research paradigms and methodologies in unlocking solutions to the Māori housing crisis. Photo: Louise Thomas.

7 June 2019
What: Article in RNZ by Māni Dunlop, Te Manu Korihi Reporter

The Shift Aotearoa conference in Wellington saw people from across the housing sector get together for three days to discuss the current and future state of housing in New Zealand.

Mother, Tammy, addressed the large crowd at the conference, telling a story that unfortunately is all too familiar to many whānau in Aotearoa.

“Our home was cold, it was damp, we had no curtains or flooring. One of my children who was 6 years old, he also was not well and had attended hospital clinics 317 times. I looked at my children and I was sad, I was working part time and I promised I would not move them until we owned our own home, we had many houses but we didn’t have a home.”

Mother, Tammy, address the Shift Aotearoa conference. Photo: Louise Thomas.

5 June 2019
What: TVNZ’s Te Karere feature item with reporting by Eruera Rerekura

The vexed issue of Māori homelessness, could a treaty-based housing solution provide the answer? Reporting on the SHIFT Conference, Eruera Rerekura – Te Karere explores this question.

BBHTC’s Dr Ella Henry on TVNZ’s Te Karere.

5 June 2019
What: TV interview and article at Te Ao Māori News by Tema Hemi

One of the country’s top Māori researchers says there is no cohesive communication between government and Māori around sustainable and affordable housing, particularly in urban areas.

It comes as over three hundred researchers have gathered at Wellington’s Te Papa Museum to share innovative ideas of how to best tackle housing issues for Māori.

Lawyer and Māori researcher Moana Jackson says, “Māori have the right to have shelter in our own home and this land is our home so ultimately, like in so many things, I think constitutionally, Māori need to be given the authority back to work out how that can best happen.”

Lawyer and Māori researcher Moana Jackson on Māori Television.

2 June 2019
What: Article in NZ Local Government Magazine by Rebecca Kiddle

The UK has its pubs. In China, people go out at dusk to exercise in the streets. So, where do Kiwis go to socialise in the suburbs?

Rebecca Kiddle says research shows a significant gap in planning for neutral ‘bumping spaces’. She presented her findings to date at the recent NZPI Conference in Napier.

“Aotearoa New Zealand suburbs are seemingly the spatial underdog of our towns and cities. As part of the research programme Building Better Homes, Towns and Cities I am leading a project called Where Do We Dance? with dance being the metaphor for socialising, making friends and building community. The project asks where, physically, community happens in this country and how might we improve the way we design and plan our built environments to better serve the making of communities.”

Where do we dance? A street mural in Naenae, Lower Hutt. Photo: Rebecca Kiddle.

21 May 2019
What: Ideas Feature in Newsroom by Marc Aurel Schnabel and Shuva Chowdhury

Designing an urban environment involves confronting complex physical and social issues such as cultural contexts, economic situations, regulatory systems and personal and community preference.

The design process should take these issues into account, but most of the design methods currently used by urban design professionals are ‘top down’ approaches where the designer, rather than users, dictates the process and outcomes. These top down approaches also don’t leave space to communicate with users or develop multiple design ideas to suit a variety of needs.

One of the obstacles preventing a better relationship between designers and citizens is the lack of tools available to visualise the space through the planning process. Photo: Lynn Grieveson/Newsroom.

20 May 2019
What: Column in Architecture Now by Penelope Carroll and Karen Witten

Cities are generally designed for adults and cars. Their built form and safety concerns constrain children’s play and mobility, and a default planning position largely confines children’s use of the public realm to places such as playgrounds, skate parks and sports grounds. If children’s well being is compromised through restricted outdoor play and mobility opportunities, the social sustainability of our towns and cities is in question.

A BBHTC project is researching the best ways to engage children in the co-design of public spaces so that our towns and cities become more child-friendly.

A neighbourhood drawing of the Puhinui Stream regeneration project from one of the Wiri Central School’s student co-designers.

22 April 2019
What: Radio New Zealand article

Radio New Zealand report on a Building Better Homes, Towns and Cities study by Malcolm Campbell, Hamish McNair, Michael Mackay, and Harvey Perkins. Is Airbnb disrupting the regional housing market in New Zealand? If so, how and to what extent? New research suggests there could be a link between areas with high housing costs and a big concentration of Airbnbs.

1 February 2019
What: Build magazine, Issue 170, article by Arthur Grimes

A Building Better Homes, Towns and Cities National Science Challenge study has looked at why some places are better to live and do business in. Lessons from this could help other towns and cities improve their economic viability and liveability.

1 February 2019
What: Build magazine, Issue 170, article by Sally Blackwell

New Zealand has struggled to deliver new builds that are accessible to all ages and abilities. Now, a Building Better Homes, Towns and Cities research project is looking at ways to deliver affordable functional housing, particularly for older people.

18 January 2019
What: Column in Architecture Now magazine by Kylie Bailey

Architecture researcher Maia Ratana is on a mission to empower young Māori to take control of their spaces.

“I can remember when buildings first began to fascinate me,” Maia Ratana recalls. “I was seven. Ever since, I’ve compulsively picked up pen and paper to map out floor plans.”

Currently studying for her Masters in Architecture at Unitec, Maia is one of the three emerging researchers who make up the rangatahi ahu for Kāinga Tahi, Kāinga Rua – the flagship Māori housing research programme for the Building Better Homes, Towns and Cities (BBHTC) National Science Challenge.

14 December 2018
What: RNZ, Nine to Noon

Kāinga Tahi, Kāinga Rua Principal Investigator Jenny Lee-Morgan talks on air about her team’s research and why the work being done at Te Puea Memorial Marae is successful at getting people off the streets for good.

Te Puea manaakitanga tangata kaimahi – core team led by Hurimoana Dennis. Photo: The Treehouse Creative.

23 November 2018
What: RNZ, Morning Report, with Conan Young reporting

While plans are being made for the future of Christchurch’s red zone, one researcher is keen to ensure the area’s past is not forgotten. Radio New Zealand Morning Report interview with Canterbury University’s Donald Matheson. Donald is a researcher in Building Better’s contestable research project called Understanding Place, and has developed an app that enables people to upload videos of themselves talking about parts of the red zone that are special to them.

23 November 2018
What: Column in Architecture Now magazine by Arthur Grimes

Arthur Grimes, programme leader for the Supporting success in regional settlements research team writes about findings from a recent study his team has completed regarding what individuals and businesses prefer when it comes to locale. It seems that the things that make a place liveable and the things that make a place good for business are at odds. But can we have both?

20 November 2018
What: New Zealand Herald, interactive, by Keith Ng

Sun and surf, universities and hospitals – what makes a town a great place to live and work? A new paper for Building Better, Homes, Towns and Cities by researchers at Motu ranks 130 New Zealand towns and cities by their quality for life and business, from 1973 to 2013. See how your town rates as a place to live and work.

20 November 2018
What: RNZ, Nine to Noon, with Kathryn Ryan

New research reveals what makes our towns and cities good places to live and do business – but we can’t always have both. Kathryn Ryan talks to Building Better’s Principal Investigator on the Supporting success in regional settlements team, Arthur Grimes.

26 October 2018
What: Column in Architecture Now magazine by Rita Dionisio and Mirjam Schindler

Building Better’s Next Generation Information for Better Outcomes researchers Rita Dionisio and Mirjam Schindler discuss the new Envision Scenario Planner (ESP). The ESP is a free, web-based geo-spatial planning tool that uses digital, evidence-based information to assist the exploration of urban regeneration scenarios at a neighbourhood level.

The ESP was nominated as one of three finalists in the Environment and Sustainability category at the Asia-Pacific Spatial Excellence Awards held at Te Papa in Wellington in October, and it has recently received high praise for the way it embeds sustainability at every level. It was created to help planners and decision-makers assess the impact that different urban regeneration scenarios, building typologies, and open spaces will have on a range of outcomes. These outcomes are based on the three pillars of sustainability: environmental, economic, and social.

4 October 2018
What: Architecture Now, In practice column by Landscape Architecture Aotearoa with Jacqueline Paul and William Hatton

Te Aranga Māori Design Principles were developed by Māori design professionals as a response to the New Zealand Urban Design Protocol in 2005. Over time the principles have evolved and been adopted by the Auckland Council with the support of Ngā Aho and are being promoted across all council built projects.

1 October 2018
What: RNZ, Lately with Karyn Hay, interview with Dr Kay Saville-Smith

Dr Kay Saville-Smith discusses the burgeoning renters sector, predicting that in 20 years’ time more than half of those over 65 will be renting – and even now many are turning to flatting.

20 September 2018
What: RNZ Te Manu Korihi news article

The grass-roots model an Auckland Marae developed to house hundreds of homeless people is being seen as a viable way to deal with urban homelessness. For the last year, Te Puea Marae has worked with the Building Better Homes, Towns and Cities National Science Challenge on a research project to show why its transitional housing programme has been a success.

Dr Jessica Hutchings at the Te Puea Marae. Photo: RNZ/ John Boynton

19 September 2018
What: NZ Herald article

NZ Herald Māori Affairs reporter, Michael Neilson, takes a look at what make Te Puea Marae special and outlines the Building Better research project into transitional housing.

“A homeless father carried his son on his shoulders from the opposite side of Māngere to Te Puea Marae, because he heard they might have space for them to stay.

“They did, and now they are two of the 332 people Te Puea Marae has helped find homes since it opened its doors to homeless whānau on July 24, 2016, in the midst of Auckland’s housing crisis.”

Te Puea Marae chairman Hurimoana Dennis said they had been successful at helping homeless Māori because they did not judge. Photo: NZ Herald

18 September 2018
What: Coverage on Māori Television

Māori Television’s Jessica Tyson covered research around Te Puea Marae and its work to address homelessness that was released at a symposium at the marae on 19 September.

Over the past year, researchers from the Building Better Homes, Towns and Cities National Science Challenge has been working with the marae to develop the Te Manaaki Tāngata E Rua programme.

The research aims to better understand why Manaaki Tāngata E Rua is so successful at supporting whānau Māori who are homeless using tikanga Māori.

The project is co-led by Unitec Institute of Technology’s Rau Hoskins and University of Waikato Associate Professor Jenny-Lee Morgan.

17 September 2018
What: Waatea News article

Te Puea Memorial Marae plans to share what it has learned about tackling urban homelessness.

It is holding a symposium on Wednesday, 19 September with researchers from Ko ngā wā kāinga hei whakamahorahora – the Building Better Homes, Towns and Cities National Science Challenge – who have been working with the Mangere-based marae over the past year.

Research co-leaders Rau Hoskins and Jenny-Lee Morgan say having the ability to study what works in Māori communities has given new insights.

20 July 2018
What: Podcast from Indigenous Urbanism – Episode 5

Podcast from Indigenous Urbanism: Jade Kake interviews Building Better Homes, Towns & Cities Kāinga Tahi, Kāinga Rua researcher, Rau Hoskins. “On this episode of Indigenous Urbanism, we travel to Tāmaki Makaurau, our largest city, to look at how Māori designers are working alongside mana whenua to re-shape the city to better reflect their unique identity and culture and to create a distinctive sense of place that benefits us all.”

July/August 2018
What: New Zealand Geographic article. Issue 152

A great article, outlining the tiny house movement in New Zealand, in the July/August issue of the New Zealand Geographic.

Building Better Homes, Towns and Cities National Science Challenge gets a mention for research analysing the property titles registered in Auckland over the past three decades, and the part that covenants can play to restrict smaller, affordable housing at a time when New Zealand desperately needs it.

The figures are still being finalised, but researcher Dr Kay Saville-Smith says it looks like about 55 per cent of Auckland residential titles in 2017 had a covenant – compared with less than 10 per cent in 1980. Very often, those covenants mandate large dwellings, she says.

“The worst I’ve seen is a minimum of 245 square metres. You’ll hear a lot about how affordable housing is affected by planning regulations; that’s a typical public narrative. You don’t hear a lot about the use of covenants – anyone can put them on, but they’re very hard to get rid of.”

17 July 2018
What: Stuff National article

What is the future of housing for our elderly? Minister for Seniors Tracey Martin weighs in on the affordable housing debate. Stuff article which includes reference to a paper written by BBHTC’s Dr Kay Saville-Smith and Dr Bev James, as part of a consultation process about the ageing population. The paper highlights how New Zealand’s future older population will mostly live in rentals, as home ownership rates have continued to fall over the last 15 years.

Image: Minister for Seniors Tracey Martin.

05 July 2018
What: Nine to Noon Radio NZ interview with Ella Henry

Smaller housing developers are being locked out by bureaucracy costs, and experts say the government must connect people with expertise so affordable housing, particularly for Māori, can be built. Listen to Building Better researcher Ella Henry from the Shaping Places: Future Neighbourhoods team talking Māori affordable housing this week on Radio New Zealand’s Nine to Noon programme:

Photo: RNZ, Claire Eastham-Farrelly.

14 June 2018
What: Blog post by Scion’s Lisa Tovey on the Pure Advantage website

What happens to the water that gurgles down your shower drain? For many people it disappears out of sight and out of mind, but not for civil engineers, town planners or those working in wastewater treatment. They are busy maintaining the intricate infrastructure that takes care of your wastewater so you don’t have to think about it. A blog post from Scion’s Lisa Tovey outlines the work of the BBHTC’s Novel Wastewater Processing team led by Daniel Gapes at Scion.

4 June 2018
What: The Marlborough Express article

One of Building Better Homes, Towns and Cities lead researchers in the Architecture of Decision Making research programme, Dr Kay Saville-Smith, has been awarded the New Zealand Order of Merit in the 2018 Queen’s Birthday Honours.

31 May 2018
What: North Harbour News article

Shaping Places: Future Neighbourhoods Principal Investigator Errol Haarhoff is interviewed about the impact of high density living on well-being and housing satisfaction at Hobsonville Point.

The suburb is unique in that it’s the first of its kind: a greenfield built from scratch and founded on the principle of high density living, says Errol. And it seems to be working well.

28 May 2018
What: Stuff – Business Day article

Dr Kay Saville-Smith from the Building Better Homes, Towns & Cities Architecture of Decision Making research team discusses partitioning homes to provide “new” affordable housing options with Rob Stock of Business Day

Brick houses in Muswell Hill, London, where many houses have been partitioned into individual flats. Image: Royalty-free for non-commercial editorial, by Zoltan Gabor.

28 May 2018
What: Landscape Architecture feature

Jacqueline Paul, from the Building Better Homes, Towns & Cities Shaping Places: Future Neighbourhoods Māori Research team, features in this month’s Landscape Architecture Aotearoa. Now that she’s finished Unitec the 24-year-old has just reached out to her local trust up North. Her next 10-year plan is to return to the Takou Bay area (where her father is from and grandparents are buried) to support her whānau plan their papakāinga (housing development on ancestral land) and marae development.

Jackie Paul at Te Ngaere Marae near Matauri Bay in Northland. Photo: Landscape Architecture

18 May 2018
What: North and South magazine article

The feature article of the June 2018 North and South Magazine features the Building Better Homes, Towns and Cities National Science Challenge, in particular the Supporting Success in Regional Settlements programme. Arthur Grimes, Mike MacKay, Harvey Perkins and Director Ruth Berry are all interviewed for the feature.

Saying goodbye to the city

Would life really be better in a small town? Joanna Wane asks what you should weigh up before you book a one-way ticket to the country.

Making tracks to Wairarapa

With Wellington house prices booming, more people are forging new lives across the Rimutakas. Mike White checks out Featherston on the Wairarapa Line.

2 May 2018
What: Bay of Plenty Times article

Building Better National Science Challenge researcher Dr Bev James has studied the 15 SHAs in the Tauranga and Western Bay of Plenty districts and questions whether Special Housing Areas are actually providing affordable homes in Tauranga.

An aerial view of Papamoa East, where nine out of 14 Special Housing Areas in Tauranga are located. Photo: Andrew Warner, Bay of Plenty Times

21 March 2018
What: NBR Radio interview with Prof. Laurence Murphy

Professor Laurence Murphy says relying on simply building more houses is not an effective pathway to generating affordable housing as the market is very good at producing market prices. He discusses the challenges of Special Housing Areas with Grant Walker on NBR Radio.

8 March 2018
What: Radio Waatea interview with Dr Jessica Hutchings

Dr Jessica Hutchings, the director Māori on the building better homes national science challenge, spoke with Radio Waatea, she says her team has been looking at how to create culturally fit-for-purpose housing both in the regions and the cities where space is short.

She says housing is more than bedrooms, a roof and a place to put the car. “We talk about a housing shortage. We talk about whānau Māori being life long renters. But also in the Challenge we are really interested in supporting the well being of whānau into houses so it is not just about building houses,” Dr Hutchings says.

14 December 2017
What: Nine to Noon Radio NZ interview with Dr Kay Saville-Smith

Dr Kay Saville- Smith was interviewed on Radio New Zealand’s Nine to Noon programme about New Zealand’s hidden homes :