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Compared with other countries in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) New Zealand's engagement with regional and local development has been a rather modest undertaking reflected more in political pronouncement than in significant intervention and policy support on the scale which characterised post-war Britain and the European Union over recent decades (see Barca, McCann, & Rodgriguez-Pose, [1]; Pike, Rodriguez-Pose, & Tomaney, [10]; McNeill, [5]). The papers which follow in this special issue provide insight into the post-1980s experience of local and regional development in New Zealand (NZ), paying particular attention to the regions that is, the smaller towns, rural areas and administrative regions which make up non-metropolitan NZ. [Extracted from the article]

COVID‐19 brought public health challenges to the public transport system throughout the world. As a result, a range of response measures were implemented to ensure the safety of passengers while maintaining a functioning system. This paper explores the responses of public transport agencies in New Zealand's metropolitan cities (Auckland, Christchurch and Wellington) to the COVID‐19 pandemic by examining their physical and communication measures. We analysed public transport agencies' websites to understand the response measures implemented, including the accessibility of COVID‐19‐related information, and the communication of information via websites and social media platforms. The results show that 13 service responses were implemented across the three public transport agencies, with Auckland implementing the most measures. Seven infrastructural responses were implemented, with Christchurch implementing all seven. Wellington was found to be the public transport agency that used social media the most during the pandemic. The website accessibility findings suggest that the more accessible a public transport agency's website was, the less information was present. The research concludes that all three public transport agencies in New Zealand performed reasonably well and were able to maintain a safe and responsive public transport system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Weeds are known as 'plants out of place', but how do we come to understand what belongs in place and what does not? Organisms that thrive beyond boundaries of control threaten life that is 'in place', or nature. As a threat to life and nature, weeds are transformed into objects of hate and elimination. Exploring the collective hate of weeds helps to untangle the affective dimensions of colonisation. Using the story of the blackberry in Dunedin, both through its settler history and contemporary relationship with urban foragers, this paper describes how weeds have become powerful affective objects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A second phase of New Zealand engagement with the International Geographical Union spans from 1956 to 1974. The nature of this engagement which culminated in the hosting of a Regional Conference in New Zealand in 1974 is the subject of this paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As a prequel to the centenary of the International Geographical Union in 2022, this paper discusses connections between New Zealand and the International Geographical Congresses as a site of knowledge creation from the 1870s up to the mid‐20th century. New Zealand featured initially as an example in the work of others at early International Geographical Union Congresses. There was fleeting New Zealand attendance before the country was represented by proxy as part of the British Empire delegation prior to the first direct university geographer attendance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A significant percentage of the smaller urban centres around the world are losing people which raises questions regarding the appropriate responses to this challenge. Responses from the state have generally been muted, and as a result, concepts of new localism and new regionalism are useful for understanding the role played by place‐based leadership and partnerships between local businesses, community groups and individuals. Key within this space is the role of endogenous responses anchored on local social capital and resilience. This paper overviews key themes in the literature before examining statistical evidence of small town growth, stabilisation or decline in New Zealand. This leads into an examination of how three small towns in the country are responding to demographic and economic change. The cases illustrate the importance of local‐led responses to the debilitating effects of change and the degree to which place based development can be critical in the context of coping with change in small towns. The paper further argues that "right‐sizing" to a new economic and demographic reality may be the appropriate focus of local attention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Biogeographers use the language of islands to theorise insular communities, extending the term beyond coastal environments to include so-called 'mainland' islands. This paper suggests a similar approach is needed within cultural geography to account for places that are connected to archipelagos despite being unenclosed by water. The paper begins with a critique of materialist definitions of islands and the methodological assumptions underpinning them. It then speculates on an alternative theory of islands, which views them as autonomous objects and dynamic systems for reordering times and spaces within and beyond their watery margins. Auckland's Waitākere Ranges are considered as an example. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines the relationship between temporary migration and regional development in the context of the Covid‐19 global pandemic. Focusing specifically on Invercargill and Queenstown in Aotearoa New Zealand, I outline how temporary migration has become central to population growth and economic prosperity and how this relationship has been disrupted by the onset of border controls in response to Covid‐19. The paper outlines how the pandemic has revealed several challenges associated with temporary migration, including mismatches between the national management of migration and the local impacts, the availability of suitable data to understand migration, and the path dependency associated with population growth reliant on temporary migration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Professor Kenneth Cumberland's presidential address at the first New Zealand geography conference in 1955 considered the achievements, aims and objectives of the discipline, which he positioned as a chorological science. This view of geography posed difficulties for the scope of historical geography, one of Cumberland's main areas of research. He addressed this problem in a second conference presentation, which has remained unpublished. This unpublished hitherto "lost manuscript" has been located and is examined with an eye to Cumberland's role as a disciplinary gatekeeper and boundary rider of New Zealand geography in the 1950s. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper outlines the results of mixed‐methods research on Māori and cycling. Our findings suggest that Māori cycle at similar rates to Pākehā (NZ European); however conditions may differ, possibly indicating higher levels of "necessity cycling" amongst Māori. Māori experience similar barriers to cycling, including a lack of suitable cycling infrastructure, but these occur against a backdrop of stark social, economic and transport‐related inequities. Particular barriers for Māori may include inflexible work conditions, concerns about neighbourhood safety, inadequate provision for social cycling, and lack of access to places of importance to Māori. We identify potential solutions, including more whānau‐friendly and culturally safe cycling infrastructure, and cycling programmes designed around Māori commitments to whanaungatanga and kaitiakitanga. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The cycling priorities and experiences of low‐income communities have traditionally received less research attention. This paper explores community perceptions of new cycling infrastructure within the Te Ara Mua – Future Streets project in the low‐cycling, low‐income, predominantly Pacific neighbourhood of Māngere Central, Auckland. Themes from seven key informant interviews and three focus groups included: local cycling norms; socio‐economic barriers; appreciation of the new community walking and cycling trail; desire for connectivity beyond the neighbourhood; concerns about on‐road bike lanes; support for local cycling champions; and tensions between views of the project as "experimentation" versus "investment." We explore the implications of these findings for cycling promotion in Aotearoa. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Housing Accords and Special Housing Areas Act 2013 (HASHAA) was passed under urgency to deal with housing affordability and land supply challenges across New Zealand. Representing a particular response at a particular point in time, the HASHAA was introduced under urgency and included provisions that allowed the Crown to override (housing) decisions of local authorities. Using post‐political theory in the analysis of evidence collected from transcripts from New Zealand Parliamentary Debates (Hansard), this paper exposes how processes and provisions of the HASHAA were an erosion of democracy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Increasing migration regulation affects long‐term resident non‐citizen populations. Using New Zealanders living in Australia as an example, this paper explores the effect increasing migration regulation has had on this population and their ability to obtain Australian citizenship. Results from an online survey found that although 44.7% of respondents want to become a citizen, the eligibility requirements, cost and the application process were the main barriers to them doing so. Leaving them unable to secure their legal status in Australia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examined the relationship between rurality and unintentional non‐fatal hospitalisations for falls and motorised vehicle transport injuries and their geographic patterns in New Zealand. Data were constructed from Statistics New Zealand's Integrated Data Infrastructure. Logistic regression revealed that the odds of hospitalisations from falls were lower in more rural areas, but motor vehicle injuries were higher. The odds of injured people being discharged from a ward increased with rurality for both injury types. This study discovered geographical disparities in the two injury types. The findings of this study direct attention to underlying contextual factors that require targeted prevention strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Remote rural areas have encountered significant change and the need for renegotiation of economic and social priorities in the late 20th and early 21st century. In our broader research, we ask how have such communities been responding to this change? What role have different organisations and agencies played? And, how have they acted on the aspirations of marginalised communities? In this paper we examine these issues through a case study of Westland District on the west coast of Aotearoa New Zealand's South Island. We probe the general shift towards prioritising tourism in the District, and highlight particular experiences in regard to Indigenous endeavour in tourism. We find that those engaged in leading local development and tourism have not collaborated strategically across the sector and have not established meaningful partnerships with the community that recognise both economic and socio‐cultural aspirations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The New Zealand government approach to regional development and the economy more broadly has oscillated from the 1970s economic growth and investment focus to 1980s neoliberal neglect, followed by the more recent rediscovery of the regions' importance in national economies, all with tenuous outcomes. This paper explores the changing scope of regional development initiatives by successive New Zealand governments over the last 60 years to show a pattern of opportunism and neglect that suggests regional development is more aligned to electoral priorities than regional success. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Regional development has evolved in response to shifting local and global priorities. These shifts have transformed both the way we think about regions, their role and how that shapes the outcomes and benefits that might occur from engaging in regional development. Key debates centre around the ability (or desirability) of regional development interventions to unsettle path dependence and "lock‐in" created by past approaches and to create opportunities for alternative development futures and to provide choices between sectoral‐based investments to support economic activity in contrast to a more place‐based approach to regional development. This paper overviews the dynamic nature of regional development to offer reasons for its recent resurgence by highlighting the key debates about the purpose and function of regions and what regional development can or should do. We then discuss the New Zealand context specifically and use the first year of Provincial Growth Fund investments to reflect on how the processes, objectives and goals reflect particular interpretations of the meaning and purpose of regional development. We conclude that a strong adherence to a growth imperative has the potential to reinforce path dependencies at the expense of alternative development pathways. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The main components of most economic development ( ED) strategies are very similar. The visions and aspirational goals also sound alike for most communities. Most communities have also had a series of ED strategies that, over time, were often never implemented because of poor stakeholder buy-in. This paper considers the importance of community support for an ED strategy and compares the engagement processes of the Auckland Council and the Hawke's Bay in developing their respective regional economic development strategies. In the Hawke's Bay situation, the process is more important than the actual strategy document. This paper argues that garnering stakeholder buy-in is the most critical component of the strategy development process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ben Garnier was appointed to teach geography at the University of Otago in 1945. The circumstances by which Garnier accepted the appointment and his role as a teacher, researcher and officer of the New Zealand Geographical Society until his departure in 1951 are examined. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses a research on mobilities and transformation in New Zealand. It highlights the major role of geographers in the research through application of holistic ways of geographies and mobile system. Also emphasized is the impact of mobility of academic projects to the networks and regions in the country.

There has been a significant growth in childcare in New Zealand (NZ) since 2006. Shaped by debates around the marketisation of childcare, this paper will make some key observations about the NZ childcare market. I will argue that the landscape of childcare has changed in favour of a burgeoning private sector and consider the recent impetus for corporatisation. Finally, I will examine the discourse of parental 'choice' which pervades policy discussions around ECE in New Zealand and how this plays out in the face of an expanding private for-profit sector. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article explores the islands of New Zealand based on biographical, political and economic importance. Topics discussed include the impact of the islands on the country's art, the extended sovereign and economic power brought by the islands into New Zealand's vastness, and studies over the so-called "islandness" of the islands of New Zealand. Also mentioned are metaphors that make more accessible elements of the archipelago including as a sanctuary and tourist destinations.

The article explores the history of feminist geographical scholarship in New Zealand, which has been promoted by the Women and Gender Geographies Research Network (WGGRN) since 2013. Topics discussed include events organized and services offered by WGGRN to its members, the state of women geographers in New Zealand prior to the consolidation, and issues tackled at the "Gender, Sex, Space and Place: Gendered Geographical Knowledge" specialist session.

We take a broad approach to thinking geographically, but a narrower view on the point at which thinking geographically is critically evaluated and assessed in our education system. The Scholarship Assessment Specification attracted our interest. The Scholarship is offered as the capstone assessment of a 3‐year Geography programme in New Zealand secondary education. We describe the institutions, actors and formats of Geography Scholarship. Our purpose is to promote thinking and scholarship as an integral part of the intellectual development of Geographers in contemporary education and beyond. Our concluding comments outline some of the options we think are available to Scholarship candidates and geography teachers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the context of the current review of New Zealand's National Certificate of Educational Achievement (NCEA), the paper reflects on the nature and relevance of geography in education, life and work. The context of school geography programmes is critically examined, and a checklist of points for further consideration and action is presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

John Turnbull Thomson is more known in New Zealand for his work as Chief Surveyor of Otago Province (1856-1876) and first Surveyor General of New Zealand (1877-1879). He was also a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society of London from 1848 until his death in 1884. Thomson was an important and early self-declared 'does' of geographer in New Zealand, prior to the establishment of university geography in 1937. Thomson's contribution included survey and mapping but he also gave public lectures on geography and contributed to debates about glaciation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper describes the creation of two new geographical boundary files, known respectively as lower zones and upper zones, for investigating social phenomena and visualising disparities in health outcomes in the Auckland Region of New Zealand. We test the effectiveness of contemporary automated zone design tools before applying an interactive approach which integrated computational power with expert local knowledge and visual interpretation to develop meaningful zones. We demonstrate that an interactive approach addresses multiple zone design criteria (e.g. respecting physical barriers, compactness and homogeneity) more effectively than is possible with an automated approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The New Zealand Curriculum (NZC), Realigned Geography Achievement Standards and Social Science Teaching and Learning Guidelines-Geography combined are playing a key role in transforming senior school geography into a subject suited for 21st century learners. While they provide geography teachers with the permissiveness to plan coherent school-based geography programmes that are relevant and responsive to students' needs, the implementation process can prove challenging. Adjusting to the increased trust and responsibility assigned to teachers, as they undertake the role of curriculum makers, is a key focus of this paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The research described in this paper sought to review the public health issues arising from the presence of feral deer, goats and pigs in New Zealand. Key findings were that while recreational hunting of these animals is likely to provide physical and mental health benefits, and contribute to food security, likely health-related harms from these animals include (i) injury risks from the associated firearms used in hunting; (ii) as reservoirs for zoonotic diseases; (iii) reduced mental health benefits of wilderness experience and natural ecosystems; and (iv) likely contribution to flooding risk via forest damage. Further research could better quantify these issues. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

New Zealand's best‐known record of surface air temperature is the partially homogenised seven‐station series of the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research. The homogeneity analysis used in constructing this series depends on the completeness of the site histories and issues arise if relevant information is missing. Recent developments in the online availability of searchable historical records provide an opportunity to supplement early metadata. This potential is explored here using Albert Park (Auckland) as a case study. A wealth of relevant historical information about Albert Park was found in online archives, especially related to a major episode of site disturbance, evolving site environment and instrumentation changes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This short paper aims to discuss the role and the importance of the Census in New Zealand. It also discusses some of the multitude of uses of Census data in various contexts to help us understand the demographic and socio-economic landscape of New Zealand. Debates internationally on the nature, scale and frequency of a national Census, or even whether a Census is necessary at all, mean that we cannot take this valuable resource for granted. With this in mind, we as geographers have a wealth of data to explore and analyse that we should take full advantage of. What gets counted counts! [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

'Alternative' food initiatives ( AFIs) are often interpreted as political movements, constructed as defiant alternatives to industrial agri-food relations, and represented by a performance of singular alterity. This understanding of alternative collapses into a mere politics of identity, criticised in the literature for its oversimplification. In this paper, we utilise an established methodological framework that retains AFI diversity, to create a novel typology of AFIs by diverse and embodied practice rather than animating political project. In doing so, we point to the political potential for AFIs to 'do' food otherwise and make different worlds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A review of social research on rural New Zealand undertaken as part of the National Science Challenge (NSC 11) "Building Better Homes, Towns and Cities" allows a fresh look at rural development within the context of New Zealand's colonial history. The research suggests that government development programmes and legislation privileged those responsible for producing the bulk of New Zealand's export income. Cultural attitudes, structural inequalities and a failure to understand how the character of, and social relations in, rural areas have changed has impeded particularly Māori economic growth, the participation of women, and non‐farm sectors of rural society, to the detriment of all. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The author discusses New Zealand's island geographies as presented in the "Aotearoa's Archipelago: Reimagining New Zealand's Island Geographies" issue. Topics discussed include the value of Aotearoa/New Zealand as a something complex in the way that it is far-from-straightforward and multifaceted, the importance of New Zealand as a reality that forms the modes of being, becoming, existing and relating, and the epistemological concern over the archipelago.

We provide a perspective on the ubiquity of PFAS (a suite of unique per‐ and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or 'forever chemicals') as toxic, pervasive and environmentally persistent more‐than‐human agents. We situate our discussion of these more‐than‐human contaminants in our location of Aotearoa New Zealand (NZ), a post‐production, post‐consumption contaminated site. We therefore make an Antipodean contribution to PFAS research—a predominantly North American/European body of work—providing an account of the specific landmasses, cultural contexts and regulation here, while also noting simultaneous entanglements with the global environment. In dealing with this group of contaminants, we identify opportunities for Aotearoa NZ's regulatory and management processes to consider the more‐than‐human theorising of aspects of 'the natural world', not for their utility but for the intrinsic value of more‐than‐human lives, and in order to do regulation, policy and practice differently. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Brettanomyces (Brett) is an awkward, a yeast subject to much debate in the wine world. Brett changes taste profiles, but not in any simple or stable way. In doing this, Brett is an active agent in the making of wine, the social construction of taste/quality and the social experience of wine drinking/expertise. This article draws on ongoing ethnographic and auto‐ethnographic research to argue that Brett's entanglement in social relations with humans is geographically and socially varied. Brett has different relations in natural wines for example. Coming to know Brett is therefore inherently relational, a sensorial and cultural experience as much as a matter of science. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With respect to transport and mobilities literatures this paper (1) offers from historical geography, the suggestion that mobilities insights are not restricted to the present or future, (2) illustrates this through a microscale analysis of road maintenance and (3) and, most importantly, focusses on the upkeep of the road network whereas most of the existing work is on the creation and extension of roads as part of state building projects. Road maintenance it is concluded is itself a highly mobile activity and it is also contended that the road itself is a mobile and not a stable platform. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents the author's views regarding the research on mobile institutionalization in New Zealand. The author highlights the impact of mobility of academic projects to the networks, regions and futures in the country. An overview on the transformation of the mobilization for sustainable cycling initiatives, is also emphasized.

This Research Note provides the first reliable figures on the numbers of seasonal workers from the Pacific Islands who participated in the Recognised Seasonal Employer (RSE) scheme between July 2007 and June 2022. The method for deriving these figures is explained briefly before examining the frequency of return by men and women for employment in subsequent seasons from the nine participating Pacific states. Clarification of the numbers of seasonal workers involved in the scheme, as distinct from work visas issued each year for RSE employment, is timely for two reasons. Firstly, the RSE scheme is under review in March 2023 by Immigration New Zealand. Secondly, the three major sources of Pacific seasonal labour are raising questions in 2023 about the impact of the scheme on their domestic labour markets and economies. Robust data on numbers of Pacific seasonal workers during the scheme's first 15 years contributes important information in both these contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The period following the election of the National government in 2008 has been controversial for Aotearoa New Zealand's aid programme for a number of reasons. This article examines changes in funding modalities and other aspects of non-governmental organisation (NGO)-government relations as the sites of contested philosophies that surround aid and development discourse. In focusing on the introduction of the Sustainable Development Fund in 2010, the article argues that this shift has generated significant uncertainty among the aid community and may ultimately undermine many of the relationships NGOs previously enjoyed with partners in the Global South. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

New Zealand's freshwater management has traditionally operated under effects‐based legislation which neglects socio‐political dimensions and a 'democratic deficit' persists between government organisations and individual landowners. Frustrated communities have formed catchment management groups to readdress this democratic deficit. We investigated catchment group aspirations to understand their motivation and potential and contribution to water governance. We found disparity between scientific water quality indicators and perceptions of water quality from the community. The resultant tension and distrust between stakeholders can be best understood through a hydrosocial lens, as freshwater challenges are the product of both biophysical and social dynamics of the catchment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Today, in Central Otago, New Zealand, with competing claims for water beyond irrigation, farmers and water conservation interests are at loggerheads, and freshwater management has become a site of intense debate, competition and political action. We comment on the polarised politics of water governance in Central Otago, writing from the perspective of fish and gamebird management. Our commentary is allied to an interpretation of freshwater allocation for irrigation in New Zealand, which emphasises the emergence and dominance of a singular 'more water' discourse in rural development in the 2000s. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The New Zealand experience continues to make an outsized imprint in water governance scholarship globally. The articles collected here press forward frontiers in hydrosocial and narrative approaches to water politics, reporting much‐needed grounded accounts of governance experimentation and providing critical insight into approaches towards decolonizing environmental governance. Although the contributions are – and must be – carefully situated within the specific historical and geographical context of Aotearoa, they do not shy away from the 'big questions' and have much to offer international readers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The governance of water encapsulates fundamental choices about how to mediate struggles between core values and interests across society. This Special Issue illustrates how New Zealand is driving frontiers of experimentation in water governance as well as theoretical innovation in water governance research. This scholarship pushes forward global thinking about the epistemological politics of water, transformations in decision‐making and the roles of non‐state actors in water politics. This research carries forward the longstanding interest of New Zealand geographers in freshwater politics, generating analytical insights of global significance and practical relevance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines the material, social and legal drivers of contemporary lake politics in Aotearoa New Zealand through semi‐structured interviews with freshwater experts. Despite the rise of freshwater as a mainstream political issue, we find that lakes receive limited attention in a national discourse dominated by rivers and streams. We elaborate how the slow accumulation of environmental changes in lakes, a history of reactive legislation, variability in regional governance and social disconnection from lakes collectively contribute to a 'politics of neglect'. We suggest pathways towards a revitalised lake politics that draws attention to the health and values of diverse waterbodies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over the course of the COVID‐19 pandemic, it has become increasingly apparent that a public health crisis exposes underlying inequalities in society. This commentary focuses on emergent digital inequalities in Aotearoa New Zealand, noting the accelerated use of digital tools and technologies such as smartphone applications, online maps and vaccination booking websites during the pandemic. It argues that there is a need to address both the underlying population inequalities and the associated digital inequalities that have arisen during the pandemic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The mediatised circulation of narratives that invite or induce strong emotional responses has been a key dimension of the COVID‐19 pandemic. These circulations have shaped the affective dimensions of pandemic life—including collective feelings of fear, anger, relief and happiness—while also contributing to polarised debates regarding lockdowns and vaccinations. In this context, this commentary examines the emergence of public outrage in Aotearoa New Zealand over two women alleged to have broken a lockdown travel restriction. It describes an escalation of judgement and anger, and considers whether the mediatised cultivation of such feelings might displace or undermine empathy and civility. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]