Health, sexuality and place: the different geographies of HIV-positive gay men in Auckland, New Zealand

This paper employs interview narratives alongside participant-led photography and caption writing to examine the different daily geographies of 15 HIV-positive gay men in Auckland, New Zealand. Difference for these men is rooted in both their HIV status and their sexuality, and this difference has implications for their engagement with the world at a range of spatial and temporal scales. Giving voice to such experiences begins to answer calls for geographers to consider more deeply the connections between health, sexuality and place.     

Neighbourhoods and health: A review of the New Zealand literature

Over the past two decades, there has been a resurgence of interest into place‐based influences on health. Researchers have identified that various characteristics of neighbourhoods exert an influence on the health outcomes and behaviours of local residents. Understanding the processes linking places to health provides considerable potential for a range of policy interventions. We review the New Zealand‐based neighbourhoods and health research. Consideration is given to the types of neighbourhood characteristics, as well the range of health outcomes that have been studied. Finally, we suggest some priorities for further research into the mechanisms underpinning neighbourhood influences on health in New Zealand.     

Putting together the pieces of the puzzle: Traces of New Zealand in international school geography textbooks

How does a fairly remote space (the islands of New Zealand) contribute to the development of geographical literacy in the geography textbooks of post‐socialist (Romania), Western (Germany) and post‐colonial (Mexico) countries? A four‐step analysis of three textbooks of international selection revealed different regionalisation cultures combined with traditional and recently implemented educational paradigms of geography education and led to a similar result. Despite the many ways in which New Zealand's geographical distinctiveness could be used to enhance geographical literacy, there are few operationalisations of educational targets that might contribute to sustainable long‐term learning. Further, these results also offer a possible explanation for the absence of the ‘southern lands’ on students' cognitive maps of the world.     

Providing the evidence: Geographic accessibility of maternity units in New Zealand

Abstract:  Public health planners should be providing evidence to the public that maternity units are fairly distributed. This research demonstrates how a Geographical Information System (GIS) can be used to provide information on travel time to the closest maternity unit from the 38 000 population census enumeration districts in New Zealand. The distribution of accessibility is mapped and regions and population groups that appear under-serviced are highlighted. We conclude by stating that GIS accessibility models provide important evidence for health policy and that the information generated from these models should be routinely produced for a wide range of health services and communicated to the public.     

Ledgers and landscapes: Indicators of rural landscape change in southern New Zealand, 1878–1919

Our objective was to develop and calibrate numerical measures to represent the timing and magnitude of landscape change between 1878, and 1919 using information in a stock and station agency's ledgers. Relative expenditures on fencing materials peaked in the 1880s, were lowest in the early 1900s, and rose to one‐fifth of annual expenditures from 1914 onwards. In contrast, relative expenditures on soil preparation, cropping and harvesting grew steadily after 1879, peaked in 1900, and declined from then until 1919. This research found that periods of intensive landscape investment between 1878 and 1919 were separated by longer intervals of landscape maintenance.     

Placing narrative correspondence in the geographer's toolbox: Insights from care research in New Zealand

Abstract:  To date, narrative correspondence has been relatively neglected as a geographical research method. This is particularly true within the subdiscipline of health geography. Drawing on the literature on narrative approaches, as well as a qualitative study of informal carers' experiences of transitions in the place of care for older people in New Zealand, this paper highlights the valuable insights this approach can offer into the interrelationship between people, place and care. More specifically, it explores how caring identities and care related behaviour are constructed and reconstructed over time and space.     

Place ‘From One Glance’: the use of place in the marketing of New Zealand and Australian wines

Associations between place and wine are historically deep. Past and current narratives of wine production are wedded to environment attributes of particular places, and in both the European and Australasian settings this has been codified by way of formal labelling requirements for the place of origin for wines. In this paper we explore the role of place references on the front labels of Australian and New Zealand wines through a small initial survey. The results reveal that the importance of place references is stronger for New Zealand wines. We argue that this reflects strongly the very different structures of the industries in the two countries, with the emphasis for New Zealand producers on high-quality wines for which origin statements are expected as opposed to the Australian focus on the production of bulk, value-driven wines dependent on the blending of wines across regions and places. This in turn has implications for the future development and marketing trajectories of the two industries.     

Place invaders: Identity,place attachment and possum control in the South Island West Coast of New Zealand

The pesticide 1080 (sodium fluoroacetate) is used in New Zealand as the primary means of controlling the Australian brushtail possum, a problem pest. This study identified place and its role in identity as an important mediator of the perspectives of those that either strongly supported or opposed its use. Individuals' differing constructions of place influenced the way they perceived ‘others’ as a threat to their place and their views on control of its management and protection. This study may contribute to a new understanding of the importance of place in this and other similar natural resource disputes.     

'There is a tide': An examination of the evolution of New Zealand Coastal Policy Statements

Abstract:   In this paper the proposed New Zealand Coastal Policy Statement is set within the context of its Resource Management Act legislative framework and in terms of the evolution of the fundamental influence of policy statements on coastal management in New Zealand. This discussion is coupled with an examination of the development of strong policy directions in the proposed statement and the potential impact of giving effect to these policies on the regional and unitary authorities tasked with this responsibility.     

River Dog: Re‐imagining and re‐representing the environment and de‐idealising the rural in New Zealand film

The depiction of pristine countryside in New Zealand film has engendered a cultural disconnection with the environmental stories within the landscape. In this essay, we briefly examined the meaning of rural New Zealand landscape and its role in film. This research was done in part by making a short documentary, River Dog, a film about the rural New Zealand landscape. The character, plot and underlying message of River Dog were framed within visually relevant archetypes to form a constructive environmental message. Here, we examined River Dog's use of empathetic storytelling, an approach used to communicate an environmental issue without promulgating science or politics.     

Globalisation,contest and paradox in a continuing cultural landscape: Land reform in the New Zealand High Country

Geografisk Tidsskrift—Danish Journal of Geography 109(2):161–179, 2009

A key feature of globalization is the way that local landscapes are progressively opened up to the influence of global markets, consumers and capital. The transformations that result are frequently politically contested, and can profoundly and quickly affect cultural landscapes that have evolved slowly over long periods. The contests over policy direction may draw upon long established ideals of occupancy and ownership, and such ‘policy myths’ may paradoxically serve to undermine the very landscapes from which they are drawn. The New Zealand South Island High Country is a distinctive continuing cultural landscape that is currently undergoing radical change as a result of land tenure reform. The unarticle demonstrates the way that cultural and political narratives and ideals are critical factors in mediating the relationship between globalization and local landscape change in this iconic landscape.     

Effectiveness of reforestation in erosion mitigation and implications for future sediment yields,East Coast catchments,New Zealand: A review

This paper argues that reforestation of unstable and degraded parts of the East Coast region, predominantly with exotic pines, has successfully stabilised existing erosion forms and prevented the initiation of new ones. Effectiveness is often assessed by capturing erosion scars on aerial photography taken before and after reforestation and any change in scar size is measured in a geographic information system (GIS). Combined with forest age data, modelled reforestation scenarios indicate that sediment generation from earth flows and shallow landslides would be negligible within eight to 10 years after planting, and if all remaining gullies were to be reforested before 2020, sediment yield could halve by 2030 and remain constant thereafter. In a similar time frame, the risk to infrastructure by sedimentation and flooding would likely decrease.     

Preserving coastal natural character: Court interpretations of a long‐standing New Zealand policy goal

New Zealand's policy goal to preserve coastal natural character was first incorporated into planning legislation in 1973 and protected area legislation in 1977. An evaluation of 100 relevant Resource Management Act Court decisions determined the Courts' interpretations of this policy goal. The Courts have repeatedly found that natural character is of nature (not culture), including natural elements, patterns, and processes. There is a continuum of naturalness from pristine indigenous ecosystems to the urban environment. A 2014 Supreme Court decision has upheld the use of environmental bottom lines for natural character and the importance of protection as part of sustainable management.     

'This is like my comfort zone': Senses of place and belonging within Oruāmo/Beachhaven, New Zealand

Abstract:  This paper examines the culturally specific experiences of belonging within Oruāmo/Beachhaven, a suburb in North Shore City. In-depth interviews with 32 caregivers of young children expose the fact that the ethnic groups represented – Māori, Samoan and Pākehā– vary in their uses and understandings of, as well as feelings for, residential neighbourhood. Examination of the themes of natural environment, social relations, continuity of residence, facilities, organisations and place transformation reveal that, while representatives of all groups had views on these matters, there was a variable degree of engagement with and priority afforded to these concerns.     

Defining Regions: the making of places in the New Zealand wine industry

As a product, wine is closely associated with place. The industry has devised various strategies in order to delimit space and create places that are marketable as brands. Although demarcated by supposedly ‘natural’ features, these spaces are socially constructed in order to maximise accumulation. This article reports on the use of place-making strategies in the case of the New Zealand wine sector and the role of capital and agency in their production. Two case studies—Martinborough and Gimblett Gravels—are offered where contrasting geographical strategies have been employed. The work concludes that the employment of flexible delimitation is a strategy that allows contestation in creatively destructive ways. Such an approach allows for specialised identity construction within the framework of semi-porous boundaries. This calls for local economic policy that sits between the two extremes of open-ended neoliberal capital accumulation and arbitrary regional planning.     

Dynamic changes and transitions of agricultural landscape patterns in mountainous areas: A case study from the hinterland of the Three Gorges Reservoir Area

Analyzing the agricultural landscape patterns in mountainous areas is critical to clarify the dynamic changes and development direction of agricultural landscapes. This also plays a significant role in the rational planning and management of agricultural land. A theoretical framework for agricultural landscape pattern transitions in mountainous areas is proposed to fill the gap of current research with an empirical study in the Caotangxi Watershed, Three Gorges Reservoir Area (TGRA), China. The transition characteristics of agricultural landscape patterns from 2000 to 2018 as represented by sloping farmland, abandoned land, and orchards are analyzed from a holistic-local perspective. The results indicate that the orchards expanded along river valleys, and abandoned land expanded at high elevations, which led to reduced sloping farmland. This phenomenon gives regional landscape differences at the holistic and local levels. Namely, it enhances the region’s holistic landscape diversity but causes fragmentation and aggregation of landscape patches in local areas. The agricultural landscape pattern transitions within the farming range in the study area are manifested primarily in four modes: sloping farmland-orchard conversion type (FOCT), comprehensive conversion type (CCT), partially abandoned type (PAT), and wholly abandoned type (WAT). Each transition mode reveals different development stages of the mountainous agricultural landscape patterns. In general, the agricultural landscape pattern transition is driven by socioeconomic factors in mountainous areas of the TGRA and is bidirectional. This attribute is expressed as the transition from the traditional grain-planting landscape with an even distribution to the eco-economic win-win orchard in valleys and transitions from sloping farmland to abandoned land in high-elevation areas. Overall, the results of this study reveal the uniqueness of agricultural landscape pattern evolutions in China’s mountainous areas in recent decades, which has enlightened the in-depth understandings of rural land use and agricultural ecosystems in mountainous areas of the TGRA, as well as improvements in rural developments and ecological environments.     

Regional dynamics in the globalising wine industry: the case of Marlborough, New Zealand

The rapid expansion of the New Zealand wine industry has rested largely on a specific wine commodity form, Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc. Global demand for a specialised product has provided the impetus for substantial development at the regional level, an increasingly complex industry structure, and for the intrusion of international capital. This paper explores the contests and relations within the industry through attention to the commodity's value-added chain, wherein recent developments are interpreted as a contest over the brand rents. The contemporary situation therefore may be explained through overlapping organisational and geographic framings of these relations: producer versus buyer-driven dynamics; regional–national and global interests; and inter- and intra-corporate strategies. The commercial contest for control of the region-varietal commodity reveals some paradoxical outcomes in which the region is reaffirmed as a site of investment in an evidently globalised industry, and the significance of who controls what fraction of the value chain is re-asserted.     

Bank branch closures in New Zealand: the application of a spatial interaction model

Banking is going through a revolution that is radically altering the way banks work and the way customers use them. It is a revolution driven by global competition and enabled by technology. Unlike the back-room developments of previous decades, contemporary restructuring is directly affecting the network of bank branches and opportunities customers have to interact with them. Today virtually all retailing banks are seeking ways of reducing their extensive and costly network of branches and experimenting with alternative means of interacting with customers. Many of the difficulties of deciding what branches to close relate to predicting the impact of such closures on remaining parts of the bank’s network. The aim of this paper is to illustrate the application of a GIS-based spatial interaction model designed to help banks make that decision. Applied in the New Zealand context, it draws attention to some of the opportunities, as well as difficulties, a spatial interaction model creates in assessing the consequences of closing branches, both for the bank itself and for the wider community.