Private gardens collectively comprise the largest green space in most cities and the greatest potential for increasing the extent of wildlife-friendly and native-dominated habitat, improving the quality of ecosystem services, and providing opportunities for urban dwellers to reconnect with nature. Because attitudes and values driving landscape preferences in gardens are complex and often not conducive to biodiversity, and a gap exists between the possession of knowledge or values and the expression of pro-environmental behavior, facilitating change in gardening behavior is challenging. We attempted to improve knowledge and influence values, attitudes, and gardening behavior of 55 householders in favor of native biodiversity and environmentally friendly practices, through a two-way communication process, or interactive dialog, during a process of biodiversity documentation of their gardens. Informative feedback on their garden with a normative component was also provided. Despite being well educated and knowledgeable about common species at the start of the study, an increase in knowledge and shift in attitude was detected in 64% of householders: 40% reported a greater understanding of wildlife, and 26% made changes in their gardens, 13% to support native biodiversity. The normative component of our feedback information was of particular interest to 20% of householders. Because neighborhood norms influence gardening practices, changes adopted by a proportion of householders should be perpetuated across neighborhoods. The process of biodiversity assessment, dialog, and feedback was effective in improving knowledge of wildlife and native species, and stimulated a shift in attitude that resulted in native-friendly gardening practices. These changes were detected primarily through open self-report questions, rather than quantitative measures

Although research has long established that interaction with the natural environment is associated with better overall health and well-being outcomes, the Western model mainly focuses on treating symptoms. In Aotearoa/New Zealand, the Indigenous Māori have long demonstrated significantly more negative health outcomes than non-Māori. Little research has examined the causes compared to Western populations or the role of the natural environment in health outcomes for Māori. An exploration of rongoā Māori (traditional healing system) was conducted to ascertain the importance of landscape in the process of healing. Eight rongoā healers or practitioners took part in semi-structured narrative interviews from June to November 2020. Transcribed interviews were analysed using an interpretative phenomenological analysis and Kaupapa Māori techniques. The findings show how rongoā is underpinned by a complex set of cultural values and beliefs, drawing from the connection to wairua (spirit), tinana (body), tikanga and whakaora (customs and healing), rākau (plants), whenua (landscape) and whānau (family). Incorporating such constructs into the landscape can foster our understanding of health and well-being and its implications for conceptualising therapeutic environments and a culturally appropriate model of care for Māori and non-Māori communities.

Cittaslow is an Italian-inspired global network of towns that collectively resist globalization and mainstream corporate-centred development through planning and urban design that prioritize each town's local, unique and historic resources. Internationally, Cittaslow's regulations-for-action approach has assisted towns to more effectively implement sustainable development principles. This paper presents research from three New Zealand case-study towns, to assess the potential application of Cittaslow principles to aid sustainable development and economic growth in small towns. The findings revealed that planners and community members generally perceived Cittaslow as a superfluous ‘brand’ that imposed additional unnecessary regulations and an approach that lacked general community support.

The “sea change” phenomenon, or the movement of people from metropolitan to non-metropolitan parts of the country (and especially to coastal areas) is well-documented in Australia, but is now becoming increasingly apparent in New Zealand also. Since 2000 there has been an unprecedented and extremely rapid expansion in the property market, with prices booming for settlements in scenic locations, especially along the coast. This paper reports on a study of six coastal settlements in New Zealand, all of which have experienced this property boom. It found that many of the characteristics of gentrification are becoming increasingly apparent in coastal New Zealand, with particularly negative ramifications for certain parts of the community, namely indigenous communities and low income rental residents, though for many residents, the experience has been largely positive. Planning has so far failed to engage with the gentrification process or to recognise its implications for the wider coastal user community. The paper explores the contradictions associated with the gentrification process. It argues that the future of these communities needs to be wrested back from the dictates of the property market by implementing community-based planning, supported by local government.