Environment

Project description

Vehicular housing—the use of motor-vehicles as a residential dwelling—appears to be proliferating. From instagram pictures of people enjoying an apparently care-free #VanLife, to the foot-loose travels of grey and digital ‘nomads’, to concerning rises in car-based homelessness, there is little research charting this proliferation in Aotearoa-New Zealand and abroad. This leaves us with minimal insights into both the experiences and conditions of those in vehicular housing, as well as the political-economic and socio-cultural shifts underpinning recent trends. This Summer Research project will involve collecting and analysing popular and academic writing relevant to vehicular housing, assisting the supervisors in the development of a strategy for subsequent primary data collection and a potential funding application, and (if applicable) will allow space for the Summer Scholar to develop their own project on this topic for later postgraduate study. The project would suit a self-directed and motivated person with skills in qualitative analysis and an interest in contemporary social and/or housing issues.

Project description

Rationale: Te Wai-o-Pareira / Henderson Creek has an important role for the environment with the tidal nature of the stream resulting in the mixing of salt water and fresh water, a migratory route for native fish and a home to both indigenous and exotic biodiversity (Project Twin Streams, 2023). The stream has also played an important role in the history of Henderson, being a starting location for on-land pathways, strategic pā site, logging and transportation of Kauri, brick and pottery yards, vineyards as well as the site for the first motorcamp in NZ – Tui Glen. Project Twin Streams facilitated by Community Waitakere since 2005 has aimed to put local people at the centre of restoring the natural waterways by working to encourage active modes of transport, improved water quality and raise awareness of environmental issues. However, the successfulness of Project Twin Streams has not yet been assessed.

Objectives: This co-designed summer project aims to be a scoping study of Te Wai-o-Pareira / Henderson Creek and the broader Project Twin Streams catchment (Figure 1) to help inform the renewed course design of GEOG 250. It is hoped that the course will ultimately contribute to evaluating the successfulness of Project Twin Streams. The co-designed nature of this summer project aims to bring student voice and partnership into the redesign of the course. The specific objectives of this summer project are:
1/ to explore an area of interest to the scholarship recipient (e.g. Art, History, Winemaking, Economics, Hazards, Urban Planning), that can inform a tutorial/ lecture and feature in the virtual companion app for the fieldtrip;
2/ to conduct interviews with various stakeholders situated along Te Wai-o-Pareira / Henderson Creek and in the broader Project Twin Streams catchment (e.g. members of project twin streams, councillors, business owners, residents, users of the walkway);
3/ to assess how the chosen research area of interest may also be evaluated in an alternative stream within Auckland

Methods: The primary research methods will be determined in partnership with the successful scholarship recipient as part of the co-design process with the project supervisors and it will also depend on the research area of interest selected. Some potential methods may include field observations, archival research, semi-structured interviews.

Outputs:
- Contribution to the course design of GEOG 250 in terms of the fieldtrip content
- An opportunity to deliver course content (e.g. lecture or tutorial in GEOG 250)
- Co-presentation with the project supervisors in an Ako Innovation Committee workshop 2024

Skills required:
- Completion of year two of an undergraduate degree in human geography or any other discipline of the social sciences and humanities
- A minimum B+ average grade equivalent to a GPA of 6
- Existing knowledge of GEOG 250 would be preferable

Figure 1: Image of Project Twin Stream Catchment and the section of Te Wai-o-Pareira / Henderson Creek that will be focused upon indicated in red (Project Twin Stream, 2023)

Project description

Rationale: Recent and current global events and processes such as climate change, armed conflicts and trade agreements/disagreements have demonstrated that sustainable access to food, water and energy may be compromised for millions of people around the globe and across borders, hence leading to new forms of transnational disasters. How national governments and international organisations address this emerging form of risk through new and creative policies at different scales is being debated. This project contributes to this debate through a case study of Aotearoa New Zealand, its national policies as well as its contribution to international agreements.

Objectives: This summer research project aims at documenting and unpacking Aotearoa New Zealand’s national policies and the country’s contribution to international agreements geared towards reducing the risk of transnational disasters. The specific objectives of the summer research are:

1. to collect and assess the scope of national policy documents that make specific mention to transitional disasters at the nexus between food, water and energy;
2. to identify and characterise Aotearoa New Zealand’s contribution to international binding and non-binding agreements around food, water and energy;
3. to analyse the nature of national policies and international contributions through the lens of the concept of governmentality.

Methods: The research will rely on a desk review and thematic analysis of media reports and national and international policy documents.

Outputs:
- a poster articulating key findings;
- a 3000-word written commentary of key findings.

Skills required:
- Completion of year two of an undergraduate degree in human geography or any other discipline of the social sciences and humanities
- Completion of GEOG325
- Some knowledge of the field of international relations
- A minimum B+ average grade equivalent to a GPA of 6

Project description

Background
Traffic is a crucial aspect of daily life for the residents of Auckland. However, there is a lack of a user-friendly, comprehensive tool to visualise traffic patterns and trends on a single platform. The current traffic data provided by the Auckland City Council is limited to peak hours and is displayed in a graphically coarse, mobile-unfriendly map. Furthermore, the 2018 census report only includes traffic data at the administrative level, making it difficult to understand traffic patterns at the road level.
Web GIS (Geographic Information System) offers a versatile solution with features like integrated graphs and maps, a visually appealing interface, mobile-friendliness, and interactive pop-ups for detailed information. In the post-pandemic era, it is also essential to present traffic data segmented by different days of the week (i.e. core weekdays, other weekdays, and weekends) to better reflect current trends.

Objectives

The aim of this summer project is to analyse and visualise traffic patterns in Auckland City using historical traffic data. The specific objectives include:

• Exploring and analysing traffic flow in Auckland at the road, suburb, and city levels.
• Developing functions to aggregate traffic data based on temporal scales of interest.
• Presenting the analysed data in an interactive dashboard called R Shiny to feature maps and graphs.
• Hosting the dashboard on the cloud for public access.

Prerequisites

• Proficiency in a GIS software, e.g. ArcGIS, QGIS.
• Good knowledge of R/Python, with a preference for experience in JavaScript for web hosting.
• Ability to read, analyse, and interpret graphs and deliver insights

Project description

Background
Auckland parents face a hectic morning routine, dropping off children at school. Studies show that over 70% of primary and intermediate school children are driven to school, leading to significant congestion and emissions around these schools. This situation not only creates traffic chaos but also poses health risks to the children due to increased pollution. Morning drop-offs are particularly challenging because the school gates open at a certain time, but the afternoons are equally competitive for parking spaces. Although initiatives like “walking buses” and “active travel to school” have been proposed, a clear, effective solution is still lacking. There is more need to develop scenario-based solutions to mitigate traffic congestion near schools.

Objective
This project will identify potential parking areas (e.g., roads without yellow lines or bus stops) around selected schools in Auckland City. It will also propose relocating parking and waiting zones to areas further away from the schools, thereby reducing traffic congestion and improving air quality. For example, we can recommend removing 5-minute parking spaces near 50m, 100m, or 200m of schools.

Prerequisites
The student will have the opportunity to work on a real-world project, develop valuable skills in GIS and data analysis, and contribute to a meaningful tool that will benefit the general public in Auckland. The project requires proficiency in GIS software, good knowledge of a programming language such as R or Python, and the ability to analyse and interpret graphs.

Project description

Housing is a central concern within both the everyday lived realities of people in Aotearoa, and their perceived futures in this place. It is widely accepted now that Aotearoa is in the midst of multiple overlapping housing crises. Yet, the way housing is understood and imagined is also having a significant impact on how people think about and enact their own interpersonal relationships. This project plans to begin to map those connections, between living in a housing crisis, and emotional geographies of interpersonal relationships. How are material experiences of, and broader ideas about housing transforming interpersonal relationships in Aotearoa?

Objectives: This summer research project aims to explore how the particular political economy of housing in Aotearoa is transforming the enactment of our interpersonal relationships:

- It aims to assess how housing is understood as a lived experience, in the present, and how it is imagined in the future
- It also aims to analyse how both ideas about, and enactments of, interpersonal relationships are being transformed through how housing is understood and imagined

Methods: The research will rely on a desk review and thematic analysis of, including but not limited to: news and popular media, personal blogs, podcasts, and social media.

Outputs: A data set of themes exploring interconnections between housing, and interpersonal relationships as seen in contemporary news media, and social media

Requirements:

- Completion of a number of stage two or three Geography papers
- A keen interest in housing as a topic, or social geography more generally

Project description

Long-lived and dominant, Kauri (Agathis australis) is an iconic and important foundation species of North Island forests. Interactions occurring at the plant-soil interface drive carbon, nutrient, and water cycling. Understanding these interactions are critical to advancing our knowledge on kauri’s influence at the stand level.

The summer student will contribute to studies investigating plant productivity (i.e. fine litterfall), decomposition, and soil characteristics (e.g., pH, nutrient availability). The work will include field-based measurements, collecting plant, soil and water samples, preparation of samples for lab analysis, lab work (e.g., particle size distribution, carbon and nitrogen analysis), and data analysis.

Prerequisites: Basic understanding of ecosystem processes (e.g. completed ENVSCI 101/ENVSCI 201 or equivalent), full driver’s license, willing and able to travel in the Auckland region, willing and able to do physical work outdoors, interest in lab work

Project description

This project’s research will examine changes in narratives of soil (by farmers in particular), over time. The Summer Scholar will be tasked with the following:

1) Collect/clean/analyse relevant research data (audio-visual material, literature, archival records);
2) Thematic analysis of the collated dataset(s).

The Summer Scholar will be interested in issues of soil/environmental/food politics, and further developing their qualitative and quantitative research capabilities.

The student might also have an opportunity to contribute to citizen science work with Soilsafe Aotearoa https://soilsafe.auckland.ac.nz/ depending on the timing of other related projects.

Project description

Like many other cities around the world, Auckland has been very much a car-oriented city for decades, with currently a modal share of almost 80% for car travel. If more people were to cycle, rather than travel by car, traffic congestion would be reduced, and noise and air pollutant emissions in urban areas would decrease. Because of the physical activity involved, there are also health related co-benefits associated with increased cycling. However, cycling may also lead to an increase in exposure to both air pollution and noise. Both are affected by the volume and nature of the traffic and road layout, as well as the urban design features that make up the road corridor, therefore the route chosen is critical to maximising the co-benefits of cycling. This study will provide a field survey of exposure to air pollution whilst cycling and use these data to link movement and pollution data to evaluate spatial and temporal trends in personal multi-exposure to air pollutants and noise levels while commuting along the main cycling paths in Auckland, New Zealand.

To undertake this project, it would be advantageous for an individual to have a genuine interest in both cycling and GIS (Geographic Information System/Science).

Project description

Rationale: In recent years, there have been many events (local and global) that have caused and continue to cause significant disruption to people’s everyday life. These events have had a resurgence on the production of certain types of dystopian and post-apocalyptic media, such as the Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes (2020), the Last of Us (2023), Fallout (2024), Civil War (2024), Furiosa (2024), and Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes (2024). In these films and television shows, themes that mirror events in the real-world, such as biological diseases, socio-political tension and unrest, environmental collapse, nuclear war, and cycles of violence are explored.

Alongside the critical acclaim of many such examples, there is growing quantity and popularity of these types of dystopian and post-apocalyptic fiction. As such, an exploration of people’s consumption habits and the reasons for their consumption to this media is important, given its increasing presence in popular culture.

Objectives: This summer research project aims at documenting and analysing the discourses on these types of dystopian and post-apocalyptic fiction, focussing on consumers. The specific objectives o the summer research are:

1. Assess the most important reasons for why people consume such dystopian and post-apocalyptic media
2. Explore the similarities and differences that might emerge between themes (e.g. comparing discourses of environmental collapse to nuclear war)
3. To highlight the significance of this consumption for anticipated futures (for production, and real-world policy impacts)

Methods:
The research will rely on a desk review and thematic analysis of online discussions, reviews, and commentaries about dystopian and post-apocalyptic media available from the Internet from the period 2020-2024.

Outputs:

- a structured data set articulating different themes together;
- a 3000-word written summary of findings.

Skills required:

- Completion of year two of an undergraduate degree in human geography or any other cognate discipline
- A minimum B+ average grade equivalent to a GPA of 6