The Demographics of Resiliency: Decolonising Disaster Resilient Architecture

Aotearoa New Zealand is a group of geographically remote islands situated upon active tectonic systems and is beginning to observe the impacts of the changes in climate. Disasters, both natural and human-related, continue to exacerbate the precarity of the social and physical systems which support the societal functions of Aotearoa. However, when the effects of these disasters are examined, the adverse impacts are not evenly distributed throughout society and marginalised communities are inherently more vulnerable. In Aotearoa, a large part of societal vulnerability is dictated by the role colonisation has played in deteriorating the relationships which support communities, their identity, wellbeing, sense of belonging, and consequently their innate resiliency, particularly for Māori. Disasters are an increasingly normal part of the collective experience, but the impacts often remain devastating for the wellbeing of communities particularly those who are already in vulnerable situations.

As the conversations surrounding disaster relief infrastructure change from post-disaster response to pre-disaster resiliency, the social needs of communities must shift to the forefront of the discussions which surround disaster resiliency. For the architectural profession, which often places physical structural resiliency as the primary concern of disaster-resilient architecture, there is a struggle to also design architecture through ‘bottom-up’ approaches which will support the social resiliency of the community and benefit those in vulnerable positions.

This thesis explores decolonisation literature to build a framework which establishes ways to improve disaster resiliency strategies throughout Aotearoa by considering how to increase the social resiliency of community’s pre-disaster in order to support them in post-disaster contexts. A more resilient community pre-disaster will have greater capacity to deal with the impacts of disasters and will assist in post-disaster recovery. This thesis investigates how the design of architectural interventions could strengthen the social fabric of all communities in Aotearoa to ensure those who are most vulnerable have equal access to the resources needed in post-disaster contexts.

This thesis suggests that decolonising architectural resiliency strategies in Aotearoa must focus on consciously integrating tikanga Māori practices to place community needs at the forefront. This thesis also recommends that without co-design between iwi, hapū, architects and other design and construction professional, designs will likely continue to represent the dominating western worldview and may not effectively support vulnerable communities which Māori are overly represented in. Therefore, this thesis explores the ways in which non-Māori architects can better reflect the values agreed upon in Te Tiriti o Waitangi and create disaster resilient solutions suitable for all peoples in Aotearoa.