Doubling Down

Food is a powerful force in shaping social, economic, and environmental dynamics, offering a transformative lens to address urban challenges such as economic development, community cohesion, and social resilience. Centred on Havelock North in Hawkes Bay, Aotearoa New Zealand—a region renowned for its food and wine—this thesis explores alternative forms of urbanism which are grounded in food systems, asking: ‘What sort of urbanism could food produce here? What architecture makes up that urbanism? How does that architecture support this particular kind of urbanism?’ Through the conception of “agri-urbanism,” I propose a framework in which food production, distribution, and consumption are expressed in the urban fabric. While case studies of urban agriculture, food markets, and community hubs provide a broad foundation, the analysis focuses on Havelock North, offering site-specific insights into practical, cultural, architectural, and planning interventions. As the creative driver of this new urban paradigm, I employ design-led research to explore the relationships between the plains, foothills, rivers, and the village of Havelock North and its surroundings to embed food systems into urban design. While acknowledging the contributions of related disciplines such as landscape architecture and urban design, my approach focuses on architecture as a direct response to the unique socio-economic, horticultural, agricultural, cultural and environmental conditions of Hawkes Bay.

This work not only theorises but also demonstrates how Havelock North’s unique context—its existing village character, connection to the Tukituki River, the hill above Te Awanga, the foothills of Te Mata Peak, and the Heretaunga Plains—can serve as a foundation for reimagining urban development through the expression of food, which links us so strongly to our environment. By leveraging these specific geographical and cultural landscapes, my findings articulate a model of urbanism that gives form to the growing, harvesting, storing, and production of food, extending beyond the current global emphasis on consumption. This approach integrates food systems into the fabric of Havelock North and the wider Hawke’s Bay region, establishing food as a pivotal driver of a more resilient and dynamic future cities and towns.