Our research centre is dedicated to providing opportunities for students to develop their research skills in a supportive collegial environment.
We offer opportunities for doctoral and postdoctoral research to talented early career researchers.
Current PhD Opportunities: Public housing and urban regeneration: Maximising wellbeing
Are you interested in improving the outcomes of tenants living in public housing? We are looking for enthusiastic and capable PhD students to build on the excellent research being conducted by the NZ Centre of Sustainable Cities at Otago University, Wellington and our research partners. These doctorates will support research being conducted through the MBIE Endeavour Programme, Public Housing and Urban Regeneration: Maximising Wellbeing. Our research will examine and compare seven public housing organisations’ arrangements for how they design and deliver housing & urban regeneration projects to optimise tenant and community wellbeing and advance environmental sustainability outcomes. This research could have a major impact on future housing and urban design policy.
Our research group
The New Zealand Centre for Sustainable Cities research team is led by Distinguished Professor Philippa Howden-Chapman. The team is based in the Department of Public Health, University of Otago, Wellington, with research partners from several other universities and organisations. The multi-disciplinary team includes researchers with expertise in both qualitative and quantitative disciplines, economists, scientists and expert practitioners. The team has established worldwide international research links.
General candidate requirements
Our ideal candidate will be passionate about housing and health and has a background in public health, statistics, economics, policy, papakāinga housing & Māori health, engineering, geography, anthropology, or architecture and is interested in pursuing a project in public housing on topics linked to the above measures.
Preference will be given to Māori and Pasifika students.
Person specifications:
We are looking for candidates who:
- have excellent writing, critical thinking and analytical skills
- have strong interpersonal skills; good listeners
- have an understanding of tikanga Māori and are comfortable in in both Māori and Pākeha settings
- are self-motivated, organised, reliable and able to work independently
- are passionate about advancing public health and reducing inequalities.
Topics
We invite PhD thesis enquiries on the following possible topics, but would welcome other proposals:
Inclusive design within public housing
The accessibility characteristics of homes and neighbourhoods are crucial to the wellbeing of people with a disability as they determine their mobility opportunities which in turn can either enable or impede social, recreational and employment participation. There is a strong need for accessible design in public housing as one in four New Zealanders has a disability (including 21% of adults under 65 and 11% of children under 15).
Doctoral studies on this topic would involve a mixed-methods investigation; auditing dwelling and neighbourhood design features in selected public housing developments and interviewing tenants on the impacts of design features on their mobility, participation and wellbeing. The research could focus on a particular age group and/or type of community participation or have a policy focus on design standards and their implementation. You will be supported to develop appropriate research methods and to disseminate your findings to various audiences through academic articles and workshop and conference presentations.
Tenure mix and the wellbeing of public housing tenants
Whether the wellbeing of public housing tenants is enhanced or hindered by living in a mixed tenure development is an oft-debated but poorly answered question. The six case study sites selected for the Public Housing and Urban Regeneration programme have varying levels of mixed tenure. A PhD candidate investigating tenure mix and tenant wellbeing would have wide scope to define a useful research question/s. For example, potential projects could investigate: the various forms of tenure mix across the sites; the theory of change held by the different housing providers and how these are expressed through the on-the-ground delivery of a tenure mix development; how the physical design and social infrastructure of developments support inclusion or separation by tenure; how public housing tenants experience tenure mix; and whether - and if so how - some individuals or groups feel included/excluded compared to others.
The successful candidate will be supported to develop appropriate research questions and methods. Opportunities will be provided to disseminate research findings to various audiences through academic articles and workshop and conference presentations.
Register your interest
Please send a copy of your CV, academic transcripts and cover letter to Kate Murphy, Programme Manager (kate.murphy@otago.ac.nz)