{"id":{"repo_id":"auckland-ms","oai_identifier":"oai:researchspace.auckland.ac.nz:2292/74779"},"canonical_url":"https://search.dev.ndltd.org/etd/auckland-ms/oai:researchspace.auckland.ac.nz:2292/74779","repository":{"repo_id":"auckland-ms","name":"University of Auckland","base_url":"https://researchspace.auckland.ac.nz/server/oai/request"},"display":{"title":"Exploring the implications of suburban intensification for residents’ experiences of neighbourhood place attachment in Auckland, New Zealand","abstract":"Cities are increasingly turning to growth management strategies that favour urban consolidation. In the New Zealand context, consolidation is being delivered through the intensification of existing low-density suburbs, primarily through infill and the construction of medium-density housing (MDH). However, intensification represents a socio-material remaking of existing neighbourhoods and has implications for residents’ everyday experiences of place. While existing housing research has examined the economic and political implications of intensification, the experiential, affective dimensions of intensification have received less attention. In addition, existing research on place attachment overlooks the importance of materiality in shaping people-place experience. This thesis explores the human experience of intensification through uncovering residents’ everyday enactments of place attachment in the context of an intensifying neighbourhood. The research is guided by a phenomenological approach that foregrounds the everyday routines and experiences of both existing residents and residents living in MDH across three intensifying central Auckland suburbs. Data was gathered from 27 semi-structured interviews and an additional 23 neighbourhood photo-journeys with residents living in and around three MDH case studies across the suburbs of Onehunga, Mount Albert, and Three Kings. The findings reveal that intensification presents a challenge to existing residents’ place attachments through the restructuring of valued material, social, and symbolic features of the neighbourhood. Existing residents faced distinct stages of disruption in relation to the nearby MDH development, which resulted in the renegotiation of place attachment. Findings further highlight that MDH residents value the materiality of an established neighbourhood yet some experience a disrupted attachment at the development and neighbourhood scale through challenges in adapting to living at density. Finally, while existing and MDH residents were conditionally accepting of future neighbourhood intensification, residents remained anxious about the loss of valued features of a low-density neighbourhood. Based on their lived experiences, residents articulated an aesthetic of what they considered to be ‘good’ MDH, which was anticipated to reduce disruptions from future intensification. Together, these findings highlight that the experiential dimensions of intensification, understood at the human scale, matter in understanding the social sustainability of MDH, resident responses towards future intensification, and resident understandings of what constitutes successful intensification.","abstract_html":"Cities are increasingly turning to growth management strategies that favour urban consolidation. In the New Zealand context, consolidation is being delivered through the intensification of existing low-density suburbs, primarily through infill and the construction of medium-density housing (MDH). However, intensification represents a socio-material remaking of existing neighbourhoods and has implications for residents’ everyday experiences of place. While existing housing research has examined the economic and political implications of intensification, the experiential, affective dimensions of intensification have received less attention. In addition, existing research on place attachment overlooks the importance of materiality in shaping people-place experience. This thesis explores the human experience of intensification through uncovering residents’ everyday enactments of place attachment in the context of an intensifying neighbourhood. The research is guided by a phenomenological approach that foregrounds the everyday routines and experiences of both existing residents and residents living in MDH across three intensifying central Auckland suburbs. Data was gathered from 27 semi-structured interviews and an additional 23 neighbourhood photo-journeys with residents living in and around three MDH case studies across the suburbs of Onehunga, Mount Albert, and Three Kings. The findings reveal that intensification presents a challenge to existing residents’ place attachments through the restructuring of valued material, social, and symbolic features of the neighbourhood. Existing residents faced distinct stages of disruption in relation to the nearby MDH development, which resulted in the renegotiation of place attachment. Findings further highlight that MDH residents value the materiality of an established neighbourhood yet some experience a disrupted attachment at the development and neighbourhood scale through challenges in adapting to living at density. Finally, while existing and MDH residents were conditionally accepting of future neighbourhood intensification, residents remained anxious about the loss of valued features of a low-density neighbourhood. Based on their lived experiences, residents articulated an aesthetic of what they considered to be ‘good’ MDH, which was anticipated to reduce disruptions from future intensification. Together, these findings highlight that the experiential dimensions of intensification, understood at the human scale, matter in understanding the social sustainability of MDH, resident responses towards future intensification, and resident understandings of what constitutes successful intensification.","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Naismith, Larissa"],"institution":"ResearchSpace@Auckland","degree_name":"PhD","degree_level":"Doctoral","degree_discipline":"Geography","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":[],"advisors":["Kearns, Robin","Murphy, Laurence"],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2026,"date_issued":"2026","date_published":"2026","updated_at":"2026-07-24T01:04:15Z","subjects":[],"languages":[],"rights":["Items in ResearchSpace are protected by copyright, with all rights reserved, unless otherwise indicated."],"rights_urls":["https://researchspace.auckland.ac.nz/docs/uoa-docs/rights.htm"],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://hdl.handle.net/2292/74779","outbound_label":"Handle","outbound_source":"dc:identifier.uri"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor.advisor","label":"Advisor","values":["Kearns, Robin","Murphy, Laurence"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Naismith, Larissa"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.accessioned","label":"Dc Date Accessioned","values":["2026-03-02T19:03:20Z"]},{"key":"dc:date.issued","label":"Date","values":["2026"]},{"key":"dc:publisher","label":"Institution","values":["ResearchSpace@Auckland"]},{"key":"dc:type","label":"Dc Type","values":["Thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Geography"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Doctoral"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["PhD"]},{"key":"thesis:institution_name","label":"Thesis Institution Name","values":["The University of Auckland"]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:rights","label":"Dc Rights","values":["Items in ResearchSpace are protected by copyright, with all rights reserved, unless otherwise indicated."]},{"key":"dc:rights.uri","label":"Rights URI","values":["https://researchspace.auckland.ac.nz/docs/uoa-docs/rights.htm"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier.uri","label":"Identifier URI","values":["https://hdl.handle.net/2292/74779"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["Cities are increasingly turning to growth management strategies that favour urban consolidation. In the New Zealand context, consolidation is being delivered through the intensification of existing low-density suburbs, primarily through infill and the construction of medium-density housing (MDH). However, intensification represents a socio-material remaking of existing neighbourhoods and has implications for residents’ everyday experiences of place. While existing housing research has examined the economic and political implications of intensification, the experiential, affective dimensions of intensification have received less attention. In addition, existing research on place attachment overlooks the importance of materiality in shaping people-place experience. This thesis explores the human experience of intensification through uncovering residents’ everyday enactments of place attachment in the context of an intensifying neighbourhood. The research is guided by a phenomenological approach that foregrounds the everyday routines and experiences of both existing residents and residents living in MDH across three intensifying central Auckland suburbs. Data was gathered from 27 semi-structured interviews and an additional 23 neighbourhood photo-journeys with residents living in and around three MDH case studies across the suburbs of Onehunga, Mount Albert, and Three Kings. The findings reveal that intensification presents a challenge to existing residents’ place attachments through the restructuring of valued material, social, and symbolic features of the neighbourhood. Existing residents faced distinct stages of disruption in relation to the nearby MDH development, which resulted in the renegotiation of place attachment. Findings further highlight that MDH residents value the materiality of an established neighbourhood yet some experience a disrupted attachment at the development and neighbourhood scale through challenges in adapting to living at density. Finally, while existing and MDH residents were conditionally accepting of future neighbourhood intensification, residents remained anxious about the loss of valued features of a low-density neighbourhood. Based on their lived experiences, residents articulated an aesthetic of what they considered to be ‘good’ MDH, which was anticipated to reduce disruptions from future intensification. Together, these findings highlight that the experiential dimensions of intensification, understood at the human scale, matter in understanding the social sustainability of MDH, resident responses towards future intensification, and resident understandings of what constitutes successful intensification."]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Exploring the implications of suburban intensification for residents’ experiences of neighbourhood place attachment in Auckland, New Zealand"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor.advisor":["Kearns, Robin","Murphy, Laurence"],"dc:creator":["Naismith, Larissa"],"dc:date.accessioned":["2026-03-02T19:03:20Z"],"dc:date.issued":["2026"],"dc:description.abstract":["Cities are increasingly turning to growth management strategies that favour urban consolidation. In the New Zealand context, consolidation is being delivered through the intensification of existing low-density suburbs, primarily through infill and the construction of medium-density housing (MDH). However, intensification represents a socio-material remaking of existing neighbourhoods and has implications for residents’ everyday experiences of place. While existing housing research has examined the economic and political implications of intensification, the experiential, affective dimensions of intensification have received less attention. In addition, existing research on place attachment overlooks the importance of materiality in shaping people-place experience. This thesis explores the human experience of intensification through uncovering residents’ everyday enactments of place attachment in the context of an intensifying neighbourhood. The research is guided by a phenomenological approach that foregrounds the everyday routines and experiences of both existing residents and residents living in MDH across three intensifying central Auckland suburbs. Data was gathered from 27 semi-structured interviews and an additional 23 neighbourhood photo-journeys with residents living in and around three MDH case studies across the suburbs of Onehunga, Mount Albert, and Three Kings. The findings reveal that intensification presents a challenge to existing residents’ place attachments through the restructuring of valued material, social, and symbolic features of the neighbourhood. Existing residents faced distinct stages of disruption in relation to the nearby MDH development, which resulted in the renegotiation of place attachment. Findings further highlight that MDH residents value the materiality of an established neighbourhood yet some experience a disrupted attachment at the development and neighbourhood scale through challenges in adapting to living at density. Finally, while existing and MDH residents were conditionally accepting of future neighbourhood intensification, residents remained anxious about the loss of valued features of a low-density neighbourhood. Based on their lived experiences, residents articulated an aesthetic of what they considered to be ‘good’ MDH, which was anticipated to reduce disruptions from future intensification. Together, these findings highlight that the experiential dimensions of intensification, understood at the human scale, matter in understanding the social sustainability of MDH, resident responses towards future intensification, and resident understandings of what constitutes successful intensification."],"dc:identifier.uri":["https://hdl.handle.net/2292/74779"],"dc:publisher":["ResearchSpace@Auckland"],"dc:rights":["Items in ResearchSpace are protected by copyright, with all rights reserved, unless otherwise indicated."],"dc:rights.uri":["https://researchspace.auckland.ac.nz/docs/uoa-docs/rights.htm"],"dc:title":["Exploring the implications of suburban intensification for residents’ experiences of neighbourhood place attachment in Auckland, New Zealand"],"dc:type":["Thesis"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Geography"],"thesis:degree_level":["Doctoral"],"thesis:degree_name":["PhD"],"thesis:institution_name":["The University of Auckland"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T01:04:15Z"}