Whakapiri tātou, hei manaaki tāngata, hei manaaki whenua Effective governance for urban sustainability Karen Webster A thesis submitted to Auckland University of Technology in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Institute of Public Policy 2009 Primary Supervisor: Professor Marilyn Waring Second Supervisor: Associate Professor Christine Cheyne Table of contents Table of contents ....................................................................................................................... iii List of appendices..................................................................................................................... vii List of figures ............................................................................................................................ vii List of tables ............................................................................................................................. viii Attestation of authorship .......................................................................................................... ix Acknowledgements .................................................................................................................... x Ethical approval ........................................................................................................................ xii Abstract..................................................................................................................................... xiii Glossary of Māori words .......................................................................................................... xv Abbreviations ......................................................................................................................... xviii PART 1 INTRODUCTION...................................................................................1 CHAPTER 1 RESEARCH OVERVIEW ..............................................................2 Research scope ........................................................................................................................ 3 A focus on urban sustainability .................................................................................................4 Local government, governance and democracy in a neoliberal political environment ............. 6 The roles of elected members................................................................................................... 8 Te Tiriti o Waitangi .................................................................................................................... 9 Limitations on research scope ................................................................................................ 10 Thesis outline .......................................................................................................................... 10 About the researcher............................................................................................................... 12 CHAPTER 2 RESEARCH DESIGN..................................................................15 Part 1 Approach ....................................................................................................................... 15 Phenomenology as the methodology...................................................................................... 18 Methods................................................................................................................................... 19 Ethical considerations ............................................................................................................. 21 Conduct of the research.......................................................................................................... 23 Part 2 Exploring the Pākehā House ....................................................................................... 24 Understanding the Pākehā House .......................................................................................... 24 The embedded case study methodology ................................................................................ 26 Documentary analysis............................................................................................................. 28 Elected member questionnaire development.......................................................................... 29 Piloting the questionnaire........................................................................................................ 29 Administering the Questionnaire............................................................................................. 30 Analysis of the questionnaire findings..................................................................................... 30 Framework for evaluating progress towards urban sustainability........................................... 31 Triangulation ........................................................................................................................... 32 Part 3 Exploring the Tikanga Māori House............................................................................ 35 Maori research methods ......................................................................................................... 35 Interviews with Māori............................................................................................................... 44 Analysing the interview findings.............................................................................................. 47 Conclusion................................................................................................................................. 48 PART 2 THE PĀKEHĀ HOUSE .......................................................................49 CHAPTER 3 GOVERNANCE IN A SUSTAINABILITY CONTEXT ..................50 Introduction ............................................................................................................................... 50 Context for governance for urban sustainability................................................................... 51 Implications of neoliberal political reforms............................................................................ 52 Defining governance................................................................................................................. 55 iii The shift from ‘government’ to ‘governance’........................................................................... 57 Local governance.................................................................................................................... 58 Community governance .......................................................................................................... 60 Good governance.................................................................................................................... 60 Governance as understood by New Zealand Māori ............................................................... 61 Europeanisation, globalisation, urbanisation .......................................................................... 62 International context for urban sustainability........................................................................ 62 New Zealand’s response to Agenda 21.................................................................................. 66 From environmentalism to sustainable development ............................................................. 68 Sustainability models .............................................................................................................. 70 The four forms of capital ......................................................................................................... 73 Social and institutional capacity for urban sustainability......................................................... 74 Dilemma of growth for urban sustainability ............................................................................. 78 Alternative pathways to sustainable development.................................................................. 79 Urban sustainability in local government............................................................................... 80 The DISCUS Project ............................................................................................................... 81 Comparing Local Governance: Trends and developments .................................................... 84 PLUS - Participation, Leadership and Urban Sustainability.................................................... 88 Conclusion................................................................................................................................. 92 CHAPTER 4 THE ELECTED MEMBER ROLE................................................94 Introduction ............................................................................................................................... 94 Understanding the elected member role ................................................................................ 95 The relationship between politicians and executives ......................................................... 102 Influences on the elected member role ................................................................................ 104 Reforming the elected member role...................................................................................... 108 Five case studies .................................................................................................................