Damian Collins

Crossing roads, crossing boundaries: empowerment and participation in a child pedestrian safety initiative

Childrens journeys between home and school have become increasingly problematic in Western cities as a result of intensifying traffic and safety concerns. Many parents now take their children to school by car and, through driving, exacerbate congestion. In response to this situation, a number of school communities, in partnership with local authorities, have established walking school buses (WSBs). In this paper the WSB phenomenon is critiqued, with particular reference to the initiative adopted by a primary school in Auckland, New Zealand. It is concluded that WSBs offer participants a highly ambivalent form of empowerment and spatial freedom that is contingent upon adult surveillance and disciplinary power.

Exploring Social Mobilities: Narratives of Walking and Driving in Auckland, New Zealand

Recent studies have discussed the important role of the automobile in shaping contemporary urban social life. This research used a series of focus groups in Auckland, New Zealand, to illuminate the complex social attitudes and values associated with walking as well as driving. While the car is the dominant transport mode in Auckland, the shortcomings as well as the benefits of automobile use and dependence are well known. Moreover, while walking is often difficult in this urban environment, it continues to be perceived as a potentially useful and appropriate means of transport, and as an important and valued social practice. The papers findings suggest that the positive perceptions of walking, as a facilitator of health and social life, could be built upon by policy-makers to encourage a greater use of this active form of travel.

Uninterrupted Views: Real-Estate Advertising and Changing Perspectives on Coastal Property in New Zealand

This paper considers the landscape of coastal property in New Zealand through the lens of real-estate advertising. In analyzing a sample of 236 newspaper advertisements, it connects representations of coastal housing to broader concerns about the development of the coastline. Much public anxiety centres on the notion that coastal residential development and escalating property values signal private gain, but public loss. What is lost, it is claimed, is a landscape that is open, physically but also socially: the presence of imposing holiday homes detracts from the experience of going to the beach, and contributes to the unaffordability of staying at the beach. Such notions do not, of course, feature prominently in advertising. We find that views from private property over the coast are often prioritized in advertising, while the coast itself is typically portrayed as devoid of people. This invites viewers to place themselves in the image—as prospective property owners—and appeals to notions of going to the coast to secure privacy and opportunities for passive relaxation. Advertising for coastal real estate, we conclude, promotes a way of seeing the coastal landscape that is consistent with the ideology of enclosure.

‘Pulling up the Tent Pegs?’ The Significance and Changing Status of Coastal Campgrounds in New Zealand

Abstract This article considers the importance of beach-front campgrounds in New Zealand, both as physical sites offering affordable public access to coastal environments, and as sites of social and psychological meaning. It traces the evolution of coastal campgrounds from ‘freedom camping’, to more formal (if initially basic) facilities, to the development of relatively up-market holiday parks offering a wide range of services and accommodation options. While camping styles and options changed significantly over the twentieth century, coastal camping itself became valorized as a ‘kiwi tradition’. This mainstay of domestic tourism is widely perceived as an ideal way to use and access the coast. However, as part of a coastal property boom, many campgrounds are at risk of closure, and conversion to residential uses. Drawing on multiple sources of data, we chart the ongoing social and emotional significance of coastal campgrounds in New Zealand. While the immediate effect of closure is the displacement of a discrete number of current campers, the longer-term consequences include lost opportunities for future generations, the destruction of a sense of community, and a loss of place attachment.

Attitudes to smoke-free outdoor regulations in the USA and Canada: a review of 89 surveys.

Objective To review the published survey data on public support for smoke-free outdoor regulations in the USA and Canada (two countries at the forefront of such policies). Data sources and study selection We searched for English language articles and reports using Medline, Google Scholar and Google for the period to December 2014. We retained population-based surveys of the adult general population in jurisdictions in the USA and Canada, with a minimum survey sample of 500. Data extraction The analysis focused on assessing levels and trends in public support for different types of places and also explored how support varied between population groups. Results Relevant data were found from 89 cross-sectional surveys between 1993 and 2014. Support for smoke-free regulations in outdoor places tended to be highest for smoke-free school grounds (range: 57–95%) playgrounds (89–91%), and building entrances (45–89%) and lowest for smoke-free outdoor workplaces (12–46%) and sidewalks (31–49%). Support was lower among smokers, though for some types of places there was majority smoker support (eg, school grounds with at least 77% support in US state surveys after 2004). Trend data involving the same questions and the same surveyed populations suggested increased general public and smoker support for smoke-free regulations over time (eg, from 67% to 78% during 2002–2008 for smoke-free school grounds in the USA). Higher support was typically seen from women and some ethnic groups (eg, African-Americans). Conclusions Outdoor smoke-free regulations can achieve majority public support, including from smokers.

A healthy island blue space: from space of detention to site of sanctuary.

Island blue spaces are associated with restorative potential, but few studies examine this proposition when an island׳s use has changed over time. We examine Rotoroa Island (near Auckland, New Zealand) where, for almost a century, the Salvation Army ran an alcohol treatment facility. The island׳s relative isolation was central to its mixed therapeutic and carceral roles. Following change in treatment ideologies, the facility closed in 2005. It subsequently re-opened as a reserve for recreation, remembrance and environmental restoration. Our analysis focuses on the enabling resources at Rotoroa across these two eras, in the context of different constructions of healthy island blue space.

Smoking restrictions on campus: changes and challenges at three Canadian universities, 1970–2010

This article examines the restriction of smoking on university campuses in the Canadian context. Indoor smoking on campus is now completely prohibited by law, and universities are increasingly moving to restrict, or prohibit, outdoor smoking on their grounds. The research focuses on three case studies to identify changes in spatial restrictions on campus smoking over the last four decades (1970-2010), and to determine the challenges involved in establishing bans in outdoor areas of campus. The three universities were selected for their different approaches to the issue of outdoor smoking. Data collection involved semi-structured interviews with 36 key informants, conducted from September 2010 to January 2011, supplemented by documentary information. Interview data were analysed thematically. Protection against environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) on campus proceeded incrementally, via policy-making at the provincial, municipal and institutional levels. Historically, institutional bans on indoor smoking were particularly significant, but their health benefits could be limited by the presence of private property on campus. Universities continue to initiate smoking restrictions today, with respect to outdoor bans. However, respondents reported myriad challenges in developing, implementing and maintaining such bans. Five principal concerns were articulated: the need for ongoing policy communication; management of community relations as smokers are displaced from campus; enforcement to ensure that the policy has practical effect; safety concerns; and difficulties relating to campus layout. Because challenges are diverse and contextual, effective protection against outdoor ETS on campus is likely to require an ongoing commitment on the part of administrators.

Gentrification or ‘Multiplication of the Suburbs’? Residential Development in New Zealand's Coastal Countryside

This paper conceptualizes recent residential development in New Zealands coastal countryside, which has entailed dramatic escalations in land and housing values. It considers whether this process should be understood as gentrification, as has recently been suggested. The argument against this interpretation is twofold. First, some qualities of coastal development that echo themes in the rural gentrification literature may be better understood as characteristics of a buoyant real estate market. Second, various central elements of rural gentrification are absent. These include restoration and reuse of the built environment, a shift in locational preferences prompting in-migration, and countercultural lifestyle opportunities. The process is also unlikely to cause significant direct displacement, as growth has proceeded in large part through greenfield new-build. An alternative, and long-standing, conceptualization of rural coastal development in New Zealand is as a type of suburbanization. The reproduction of suburban forms and functions is illustrated with reference to a case study from the Northland region. The paper emphasizes that definitions of gentrification need to be tailored so as not to capture any type of real estate-related investment and upgrading.

“It’s freedom!”: examining the motivations and experiences of coastal freedom campers in New Zealand

Abstract Little is known about the motivations and experiences of freedom campers – travellers who choose to camp in open public spaces rather than formal campgrounds. In particular, the ‘freedom’ in their practices has not been examined – despite this concept being central to tourism, and leisure activities more generally. This article fills a gap in knowledge by describing the perspectives and behaviours of freedom campers, and by analysing the freedom(s) they experience. It focuses on the New Zealand context, where freedom camping is increasingly popular, especially at the coast. Over summer 2014–2015, we surveyed freedom campers at beachfront sites in three case study areas. The 61 participants characterised coastal freedom camping as a place-based activity, centred on locations offering views and leisure opportunities. Camping sites were typically selected on the basis of place appeal, recommendations and opportunity, rather than prior planning. Respondents indicated that freedom camping is a choice, and one that is often exercised alongside stays in formal campgrounds. Vehicle-based camping was understood to entail spontaneity, flexibility and mobility – inter-related benefits often labelled ‘freedom’. Participants valued the ability to travel without a fixed route, and to make opportunistic stops. They were also able to choose between sites offering privacy and spaciousness, and those offering social opportunities. The freedom of being able to camp without charge received inconsistent levels of emphasis. We conclude that freedom camping can be understood as offering a form of autonomy encompassing freedom from external constraints, as well as freedom to explore and to escape.

'A place for healthy activity': parent and caregiver perspectives on smokefree playgrounds.

Restrictions on outdoor smoking are increasingly common, especially for spaces associated with children. In Canada, playground smoking bans are in effect in 102 municipalities. A survey of parents and caregivers at three playgrounds in neighbourhoods of varying income levels was undertaken in Edmonton, Alberta in July 2013. Respondents expressed very strong support for smokefree playgrounds, informed by knowledge of smoking as a health risk that was out of place. Levels of support did not vary significantly across the three sites. Social enforcement of smokefree rules was complicated by low levels of awareness, and fears of confrontation.