Many towns in Aotearoa New Zealand have been imposed upon the whenua using imported urban settlement models from the other side of the world, placed in vulnerable locations, with little consideration of the existing ecosystems on which they were imposed.
The consequences of which are today being strongly felt by coastal communities. This project will develop and document a Māori-led approach to whenua and settlement adaptation planning, developing and recording Te Whakatōhea’s journey (past, present and future) to long-term resilient and innovative whenua and settlement planning within the Ōpōtiki rohe, offering a uniquely Aotearoa New Zealand exemplar.
