Melbourne, Australia (Image credit: Janice Barry, 2012)
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Research
My research focuses on collaborative - and conflictual - approaches to planning. I have a particular interest in how the norms and discourses embedded in written planning policy and procedure shape the depth and breadth of shared decision-making processes.
My work is qualitative in nature and draws inspiration from a wide variety of theoretical traditions and conceptual frameworks, including communicative planning, social learning, new institutionalism, agonism, interpretative policy analysis, and critical discourse analysis. In recent years, my research has centred on planning with Indigenous peoples. My previous work as a protected area planner with the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources inspired my doctoral and postdoctoral research on different approaches to engaging Indigenous peoples in the planning of public lands. I am increasingly interested in how Indigenous rights and title are addressed in the urban environment, with a particular focus on interested the collaborative planning relationships that are beginning to emerge between municipalities and First Nations as land claims are settled and treaty land entitlements are fulfilled. |
New & Ongoing Projects
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I am currently leading a project that explores how treaty settlement lands are catalysing new relationships and new points of conflict between Indigenous peoples and municipal planners in Manitoba (Canada) and Canterbury (Aotearoa New Zealand). I am working with Dr. Michelle Thompson-Fawcett from the University of Otago and Professor Hirini Matunga from Lincoln University. We aim to identify how Indigenous aspirations to use those lands for economic development and cultural expression in the built environment are impacted by municipal planning, including its expectations around land use zoning, taxation and regional growth management. This study includes critical discourse analysis of municipal planning policy and procedure, as well as in-depth case studies of high profile examples of Indigenous-led property development. A series of three participatory workshops with Indigenous partners in each research location forms the backbone of the study. These workshops will be used to connect the case studies and policy analysis to the lived experience of Indigenous peoples.
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Recent Publications
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I am very pleased to announce the release of my book with Dr. Libby Porter (RMIT University, Australia). Planning for Coexistence? Recognizing Indigenous Right through Land-Use Planning breaks new ground in our understanding of contemporary Indigenous land justice politics. It is the first study to grapple with what it means for planning to engage with Indigenous peoples in major cities, and the first of its kind to compare the underlying conditions that produce very different outcomes in urban and non-urban planning contexts.
I also have two new book chapters:
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