Physical activity is essential for optimal physical and psychological health but substantial declines in children's activity levels have occurred in New Zealand and internationally. Children's independent mobility (i.e., outdoor play and traveling to destinations unsupervised), an integral component of physical activity in childhood, has also declined radically in recent decades. Safety-conscious parenting practices, car reliance and auto-centric urban design have converged to produce children living increasingly sedentary lives. This research investigates how urban neighborhood environments can support or enable or restrict children's independent mobility, thereby influencing physical activity accumulation and participation in daily life.

There is growing recognition within housing preference studies that younger housing consumers are more amenable to compact dwellings. Yet, there remains uncertainty around the drivers of these preferences. In Auckland, the development of a spatial plan emphasizing intensification has attracted opposition from residents, reinforcing a notion that compact housing is largely unappealing. Utilizing a housing pathways approach, we question this notion through examining the housing narratives of Generation Y, a cohort whose preferences are largely ignored in this debate and poorly understood within housing research. This paper highlights the influence of past experiences on attitudes to changing urban environments, providing several themes related to housing experiences that have the potential to influence preferences. We conclude that a process of ‘acclimatisation’ to density is likely as Generation Y become exposed to higher-density housing. However, to encourage positive experiences, compact dwellings must attend to the dynamic nature of contemporary housing pathways and provide quality housing, located where young people aspire to live.

Place-based community networks provide a resource that can be drawn on to protect and promote the wellbeing of residents. We investigate the role of social networking sites (SNSs) in community formation in a new master-planned, mixed tenure, affordable housing estate in Auckland, Aotearoa/New Zealand. Waimahia Inlet was developed by a consortium of Māori organizations and community housing providers. Community formation was an explicit developer goal with public spaces to encourage face-to-face interaction designed into the development and social infrastructure nurtured on site. New residents were invited to join a closed Facebook group, created and moderated by a residents’ association set up by the developer. In-depth interviews with 38 residents between 2017/18 revealed synergies between residents’ use of online and offline interactional spaces for producing and performing an engaged and supportive community. Neighbourhood networks contributed to strengthened attachment to place and sense of security by residents.