Lincoln University Digital Thesis Copyright Statement The digital copy of this thesis is protected by the Copyright Act 1994 (New Zealand). This thesis may be consulted by you, provided you comply with the provisions of the Act and the following conditions of use: you will use the copy only for the purposes of research or private study you will recognise the author's right to be identified as the author of the thesis and due acknowledgement will be made to the author where appropriate you will obtain the author's permission before publishing any material from the thesis. NEGOTIATING THE EDGE: COMMUNITY MANAGEMENT OF THE GOVERNORS BAY FORESHORE A study of the interaction and negotiation between competing landscape discourses in the community management of a public landscape. A thesis --.- submitted in partial fulfIllment ....- of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Landscape Architecture at _Lincoln University by David Baxter Lincoln University 2001 1- I •. -> Negotiating the Edge " Abstract of a thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the Degree of MLA NEGOTIATING THE EDGE: COMMUNITY MANAGEMENT OF THE GOVERNORS BAY FORESHORE A study of the interaction and negotiation between competing landscape discourses in the community management of a public landscape. by David Baxter Landscape management is the process of directing the function and appearance of current and future landscapes. Much landscape research in Aotearoa/New Zealand has to date modelled the management making process as rational and apolitical with language a neutral medium of description. This study adopts an approach that both critiques these assumptions, and recognises the contingent nature oflanguage and its role in constituting our subjective realities. Governors Bay foreshore provides the case study for analysing discourses competing for influence in landscape management. Study of the conflict and negotiation between them gives an enhanced understanding of the meanings attributed by New Zealanders to their landscapes, and a better understanding of the issues that arise from community involvement in management of landscape values and amenity values. Keywords Landscape, landscape discourses, landscape management, community involvement, Banks Peninsula, Lyttelton Harbour, Governors Bay, Local Government ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I wish to take this opportunity to thank those people who made this project possible. First the people both of Governors Bay and elsewhere who gave me your time and shared your memories and experiences of the bay and the harbour. Second my supervisors, Dr Jacky Bowring and Roy Montgomery. Thank you for your time, ideas and guidance. Your enjoyment of ideas and willingness to discuss them has contributed greatly not just to this project but also to my education. Third, my fellow postgraduates for discussions, arguments, criticisms, and editing. Through shared food and discussions you hav'e created a stimulating environment that has made being at Lincoln University a rewarding experience. Good luck for your future work. Finally my family. Hugh and Margaret for support of all kinds, Erasmus, Aidan and Finn for being the reason I am here and most of all Cath; for always having faith, and for whom there are no obstacles, just challenges. Without you this would not have happened. Thank you. III TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT ........................................................................................................................................... U ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS .................................................................................................................... , ttr TABLE OF ILLUSTRATIONS .................................................................................................................vr CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY ....................................... 1 1.1 INTRODUCTION .. , ................................................... : ................................................................... 1 1.2 LANDSCAPE MANAGEMENT ........................................................................................................ 1 1.3 RESEARCH OBJECTIVES ........................................................................................................... 2 1.4 OUTLINE OF APPROACH .............................................................................................................. 2 1.5 SIGNIFICANCE OF RESEARCH ...................................................................................................... 3 1.6 CONTEXT ................................................................................................................................... 5 1.6.1 Governors Bay.............................................................................................. ........................ 5 1.6.2 ... And me ............................................................................................................................... 5 1.6.3 The Study Area ..................................................................................................................... 6 1.6.4 Legislative Context .. ............................................................................................................. 8 1.6.5 Devolution oflandscape management.. ................................................................................ 8 1.6.6 Local Government ........· ................................................................ ......................................... 9 1.7 STRUCTURE OF THE THESIS ........................................................................................................ 9 CHAPTER 2. THEORIES OF LANDSCAPE, DISCOURSE AND MANAGEMENT ..................... 10 2.1 INTRODUCTION ...... ~~ .................. , ............................................................................................. 10 2.2 EARLY CONCEPTIONS OF THE LANDSCAPE ................................................................................ 10 2.3 EXPANSION OF LANDSCAPE STUDIES ........................................................................................ 11 2.4 THE POST STRUCTURALIST LANDSCAPE .................................................................................. 13 2.4. I [ReJreading the landscape ................................................................................................. 14 2.4.2 Discourse ............................................................................................................................ 15 2.4.3 A model ofdiscourse: the case study as nexus ................................................................... 17 2.5 LANDSCAPE MANAGEMENT ...................................................................................................... 18 2.5.1 Introduction ...................................................................................................................... :.18 2.5.2 Management implications of .. ........................................................................................... 19 2.5.3 ... Early conceptions ofthe landscape ................................................................................. 19 2.5.4 ... Post-Structuralist Landscape .......................................................................................... 19 2.5.5 [ReJ Defining Landscape Management ...................................................................... :....... 20 2.5.6 Epistemology ofmanagement ............................................................................................. 21 2.5.7 Values implicit in management discourses ......................................................................... 22 2.5.8 Implicit assumptions ........................................................................................................... 23 2.6 COMMUNITY MANAGEMENT ..................................................................................................... 23 2.6.1 Introduction ........................................................................................................................ 23 2.6.2 Who is the community? ....................................................................................................... 24 2.6.3 Social Capital ..................................................................................................................... 25 2.7 CONCLUSION ............................................................................................................................ 26 CHAPTER 3. RESEARCH METHOD .................................................................................................. 27 3.1 INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................................ 27 3.2 QUALITATIVE METHODS .......................................................................................................... 27 3.3 USING A CASE STUDY ............................................................................................................... 27 3.4 THE METHODOLOGy ................................................................................................................. 28 3.5 BUILDING THE CORPUS ............................................................................................................. 28 3.5. I Archival searches ............................................................................................................... 29 3.5.2 In depth interviews .............................................................................................................