DECOLONISING HOME OWNERSHIP IN AOTEAROA TO ALLOW FOR TE AO MĀORI HOUSING SOLUTIONS

The unaffordability of housing in Aotearoa challenges conventional unit-titled, individualised dwellingownership structures. The current structures serve the colonisers while Māori (the colonised) is left behind.

The ongoing colonisation process and the mental and emotional weight of coloniality take a toll on Māori,which is manifested in Māori being overrepresented in homelessness, overcrowding and housing inadequacystatistics. The majority of Māori in Aotearoa rent their home, leaving them at risk as New Zealand has some ofthe poorest rent controls in the OECD. Radical change requires the removal of the systemically racist structuresto allow Māori self-determination, flexibility and agency. A shift is required to a Māori worldview throughdecommodifying housing and realigning our relationship with place, whenua and collective thought.

Alternative, long-term, socially and economically sustainable housing solutions will be analysed andsynthesised to design authentic housing solutions specific to iwi, hapū or whanau. The analysis of alternativehousing solutions will be through an interpretive historical methodology. Method testing alternative housingsolutions through design will be used to understand the suitability and feasibility as long-term socially andeconomically sustainable solutions. The Māori design solutions are unique to Aotearoa, New Zealand andspecific to the iwi, hapū or whanau involved. The design solutions will be founded on Māori Design principles,including the Te Aranga Principles and assessed against a framework. The design methodology is to bedecolonial. As I am mātāwaka, mana whenua knowledge will be crucial in placemaking and creating suitablecooperative housing solutions that Te Āti Awa can identify. Māori designs, including Te Aro Pā urban papakāingaand Te Aro Park, are key design precedents.

Vertical papakāinga is a new form of high-density urban design that will be explored and used to test theassertions of this thesis. A vertical papakāinga design adjacent to Te Aro Park will be the site to explore thedesign and implementation of the tenure types. The Wellington-central site has a history that will be reflected innarrative design. Mana whenua knowledge was collected through site visits to papakāinga and interviews with acurrent urban papakāinga resident.