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Where do graduates go? It depends on their degree Recent BSc Graduates at Victoria University of Wellington’s capping parade in May 2022. Graduates from all fields of study other than agriculture are attracted to locate in places that have high overall quality of business, which tend to be the large cities. Photo: Louise Thomas. A…

Social Impact Assessment: Guidelines for thriving regions and communities A city council considered a programme of works to develop new cycle ways and improve public transport creating busways and bus stations along arterial roads. They wanted to understand the social impacts of these proposals in order to decide on preferred routes and an appropriate level…

Jetties and small settlement regeneration The Church Bay jetty was successfully restored by the community by December 2016, after the Christchurch City Council made the decision in 2011 not to finance the jetty repair. The overall effect was of “bringing the community together”, with the grand re-opening occasion marked by a sign stating “We have…

Sustainable paving selected as ‘top venture’ The Alps to Ocean pavement design concept was one liked by Timaru residents in Imogen’s survey. Photo: Imogen McRae. A sustainable paving project sponsored by Venture Timaru, with support from AgResearch via the Thriving Regions programme of the Building Better Homes, Towns and Cities National Science Challenge, has recently…

The social impacts of irrigation Irrigation in the Lower Waitaki and Amuri brought changes in land ownership, land uses, farming systems, and farm size. Photo: Dr Mike Mackay. A Building Better research team has recently looked at the social impacts of irrigation developments in the Waitaki Valley (North Otago) and Amuri (North Canterbury) as part…

Enhancing the role of benevolent property developers in town-centre regeneration The rise of e-retailing and changes in transport and vehicle parking preferences, and opportunities in edge- and out-of-centre sites, has meant that regional town-centres must innovate to attract investment. Timaru’s Stafford Street. A team of Building Better researchers studying town-centre regeneration in the South Island…

Urban employment growth in NZ’s smaller cities Local job networks may promote growth in big cities, but not in small ones. Wellington docks: Photo by James Coleman. European regional policy promotes “smart specialisation” by encouraging regions to expand into activities that build on local strengths. The idea is that bringing together people with complementary skills…

Searching for community wellbeing in Oamaru A rejuvenated waterfront in Oamaru contributes to the area’s prosperity and wellbeing. Photo: Mike Mackay, AgResearch. Regions around New Zealand are striving to create positive futures. To do so, the issues that need to be considered are wide and varying and include the future of work in rural areas…

Defining functional labour market geography Administrative labour market areas don’t necessarily capture the effects of commuting networks to deliver workers to firms. Photo: Craig Boudreaux on Unsplash. Building Better Thriving Regions researchers Dr Dave Maré and Ben Davies have been delving into the nitty gritty of how to define the geography of interactions between employers…

The price of Airbnb The impact on long-term rental availability in Waitaki Airbnb growth in Waitaki, from July 2018 to July 2019, saw the number of short-term rentals rise from 263 to 322. An increase in Airbnb accommodation reduces the number of long-term rentals available, resulting in rental price increases. Photo: Mike Mackay, AgResearch. Airbnb…

Social impacts of cycle trails on small towns and settlements The A2O is a 300km, mostly off-road, cycle trail that descends from the base of Aoraki Mt Cook in the national park, through several small settlements located in the Waitaki Valley, before reaching the regional town of Oamaru on the Pacific coast. Photo: Mike Mackay,…

Drivers of urban development in New Zealand The cost of building new housing rises as population increases in a city. Photo: Chris Gray on Unsplash. New research by Stuart Donovan, Dr Arthur Grimes, and Dr David Maré uses census data to reveal the drivers that influence urban development in New Zealand. The modelling looks at…

Where do bright young things settle after graduation? Graduates from all fields of study other than agriculture are attracted to locate in places that have high overall quality of business, which tend to be the large cities. High quality of life is also an attractor for some students but its impact is more diffuse than…

Regeneration & revitalisation The role of the built environment Thriving regions: “Stakeholders need to understand the real function of the town, who the potential residents and visitors are, the mix of retail, service, and social activities needed and where they should be located to create employment opportunities and the vibrancy small settlements need.” How do…

Commuting to diversity People from neighbourhoods with high residential diversity tend to commute to workplace neighbourhoods that are also more diverse than average. Photo: Fabrizio Verrecchia, Pexels. Does commuting increase workers’ exposure to difference and diversity? The uneven spatial distribution of different population subgroups within cities is well documented. Individual neighbourhoods are generally less diverse…

Welcoming newcomers in regional settlements Studies find evidence for a community-based approach Photo: Dr Mike Mackay, AgResearch. There are plenty of theories about how to attract and retain newcomers to a regional area, but little in the way of actual empirical evidence of success according to a recent international literature review by the BBHTC Thriving…

Building Better sunshine value research cited internationally Photo: Jack Redgate, Pexels. Building Better research on Valuing Sunshine has recently been cited by researchers in the United States in the Building and Environment journal. The paper, The value of daylight in office spaces, cites the BBHTC paper by David Fleming, Arthur Grimes, Laurent Lebreton, David Maré,…

Regional district and town profiles show positive results While there are key issues facing many regional settlements, such as aging populations, the research shows that there are also many positive influences afoot in some areas. Building Better Thriving Regions: Supporting Success in 2nd Tier Settlements researcher Malcolm Campbell has recently completed an analyse of three…

Moving for business or pleasure? Do people choose to move to locations with better quality of life or better quality of business? Moving. Photo: Mike Bird from Pexels. A new study from Motu Economic and Public Policy Research for the Building Better Homes, Towns, and Cities National Science Challenge uses a deep-dive analysis of census…

Local growth is complex! Local job networks promote growth in big cities, but not in small towns. Wellington docks: Photo by James Coleman. Current European regional policy promotes “smart specialisation” by encouraging regions to expand into activities that “build on local strengths”. Smart specialisation rests upon the idea that bringing together people with complementary skills…

The regeneration of Oamaru With a population of around 14,000 and climbing, the regeneration of Oamaru continues to be a New Zealand success story for the revitalisation of second-tier settlements. The town provides a primer for how to reboot a region and prevent the development of “zombie” settlements. The Oamaru case study by Building Better…

Success in Regional Settlements team delivers results at RSA Conference Places that are attractive to live in tend to be sunny, dry and near water. Kerikeri River. Photo: Louise Thomas. Building Better’s Supporting Success in Regional Settlements research team was out in force to deliver research results from Phase 1 at the Regional Studies Association…