New Zealand Centre for Sustainable Cities

I am very interested in the function of communal green spaces, whether they be edible gardens or amenity parks and plantings, in the development of sustainable communities, suburbs and cities.

In addition to the food and leisure resources provided by communal green spaces, the design/development processes and ongoing management of those resources also provide an opportunity to empower community decision making, cooperation and local governance.

There a three main themes I would like to explore in my research:

- the role of the landscape or urban designer as a facilitator in participatory landscape design

- local governance models effective in supporting the long term development of communal spaces.

-the personal and social benefits generated through these processes for marginalised individuals and communities

I completed my ecology BSc from Victoria in 2006. For the last three years I have been working for a landscape design and construction firm and also facilitating environmental education and community waste minimisation projects for the Porirua City Council. I am very passionate about the development of sustainable cooperative communities and the power of interaction with the natural environment as a source of personal and social healing.