Re-creating landscapes

1. FORESEEING THE IMPACTS OF
TRANSFORMATIONAL CHANGE IN
RURAL AND SMALL TOWN NZ
MIKE MACKAY
AGRESEARCH
CHRISTCHURCH, NZ
MIKE.MACKAY@AGRESEARCH.CO.NZ
NICK TAYLOR
NICK TAYLOR AND ASSOCIATES
CHRISTCHURCH, NZ
NICK@TBA.CO.NZ
2020 ISSRM – VIRTUAL CONFERENCE,
HOSTED BY IASNR JULY 11-26, 2020

2. OUR WORK IS EXAMINING
TRANSFORMATIONAL CHANGES IN
OAMARU, A SMALL TOWN
(POPULATION 12,000) LOCATED IN THE
WAITAKI REGION OF NEW ZEALAND’S
SOUTH ISLAND

3. LOCATING OAMARU,
WAITAKI VALLEY, N.Z.

4. OUR RESEARCH FIRST TAKES AN
HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE, TRACING
WAVES OF CHANGE IN NATURAL
RESOURCE USE AND THE BUILT
ENVIRONMENT OVER THE LAST 40
YEARS, AND THE FLOW ON EFFECTS OF
THESE CHANGES ON THE REGION’S
TOWNS AND COMMUNITIES

5. OUR RESEARCH THEN PROVIDES A
CONTEMPORARY PERSPECTIVE,
IDENTIFYING A SET OF FACTORS THAT
HAVE THE CAPACITY TO TRANSFORM
THE REGION ONCE AGAIN, INCLUDING
THE INTRODUCTION OF NEW
TECHNOLOGIES, THE GROWTH OF
TOURISM, AMENITY MIGRATION AND
NEW ENVIRONMENTAL REGULATIONS

6. SOCIAL IMPACT ASSESSMENT IS BEING
USED TO FORESEE THE COLLECTIVE
EFFECTS OF THESE AGENTS OF
CHANGE ON LOCAL COMMUNITIES
AND, MORE SPECIFICALLY, THE FUTURE
OF WORK, LAND-USES, HOUSING,
SOCIAL SERVICES, AND COMMUNITY
CAPITAL

7. THE ASSESSMENT IS ALSO EXAMINING
THE COMMUNITY’S CAPACITY AND
CAPABILITY TO ADAPT TO FUTURE
CHANGES/CHALLENGES, THROUGH
NEW GOVERNANCE ARRANGEMENTS
AND LOCAL COLLABORATIVE
INITIATIVES

8. OUR RESEARCH IS PART OF THE PUBLICLY-FUNDED BUILDING
BETTER HOMES TOWNS AND CITIES NATIONAL SCIENCE
CHALLENGE: KO NGĀ WĀ KĀINGA HEI WHAKAMĀHORAHORA
HTTPS://WWW.BUILDINGBETTER.NZ/RESEARCH/THRIVING_RE
GIONS.HTML