A Place For Everyone: Reshaping Social Boundaries

New Zealand is home to a broad demographic of people. We are proud to label ourselves as a multicultural nation that is accepting of all backgrounds and cultures. Unfortunately, social structures upheld by mechanisms of capital and profit have rendered certain groups in our community as worse off than others – and this is not an invisible phenomenon. Our sidewalks serve as beds for the homeless and our parks serve as meeting rooms for the jobless. Whilst our public spaces may intuitively tell you that they are open for everyone, the occupation of such spaces is determined by narratives purported of those that are trying to capture space for their own purposes. There are some that claim that public space is under threat from the actions of developers and corporations more concerned with profit than public use; by overzealous law enforcement agencies who value order over democratic expression; by modernist planners who value rationality over community. Conversely, others will argue that rather it is drug dealers, teenage gangs, and other ‘anti-social’ groups who have appropriated public space through intimidation and violence. Each of these narratives is concerned with the erosion of public space by those they claim are anti public. The heroes and villains change depending on who is telling the story. Te Aro Park, Wellington, is an example of a public space that has a contested history. The surrounding neighbourhood is home to both middle- and upper-class businesses, as well as social and emergency housing tenants (Cornish & Te Ora, 2021). This concoction has led to a social divide within our inner-city, where two differing social spheres have collided to cause friction and feelings of unsafety toward one another. This perception of the ‘Other’ has further perverted the sense that certain bodies represent a threat to public-private space in the re-made city (Hillier & Rooksby, 2005, p. 230).

Is there a way urban design and architecture can foster positive social interactions between different groups of people? Is there a way architecture can activate public spaces to break down stigma to regenerate the social boundaries of our inner cities? This thesis proposes an approach to the revitalisation of Wellington’s Te Aro suburb. It examines the appropriation of public-private space through a sociological and architectural lens, addressing how space and people interact in infinitely different ways. The success of this approach will be dependent on the investigation into thresholds between public-private space, the marriage of public spheres, public and social facilities, and activities that are conducive to fostering social capital and social interaction in the wider community.

Overall, this research seeks to provide an example of urban regeneration that destigmatises the perception of those that require social services, easing ways in which widely varying demographics are able to mix and foster a greater sense of community.