Towards integrating Indigenous culture in urban form

Kara Puketapu-Dentice, Sean Connelly, Michelle Thompson-Fawcett
unpublished
Indigenous peoples throughout Canada and New Zealand have long lived and continue to live within the urban environment, where they are commonly physically disconnected from their ancestral homelands. Indigenously grounded urban design and development principles provide an opportunity to bring Indigenous cultural connection into the urban environment. However, there remains a gap in the incorporation of Indigenous values and traditions within planning processes. Moreover, when Indigenous values
more » ... re recognised in planning it is primarily at the tribal or nation scale, therefore commonly neglecting the more pan-tribal values of the urban Indigenous diaspora. This paper explores the gap from a First Nations and Māori perspective. It draws on data from four First Nation communities in Vancouver, Canada and a predominantly Māori community in the Waiwhetū papakāinga in Wellington, New Zealand. The research illustrates how Indigenous cultural values can be utilised in the development and design of spatially just urban environments aimed at respectful coexistence. The authors argue that planners should allow for and encourage Indigenous communities to be decision makers in their urban environment and enable them to drive their own projects according to their own values, traditions and customs.
fatcat:mfojg4gykbdjbfv77i5pusr4zy