Housing qualities: Myths and meanings in Auckland, New Zealand

Abstract

Housing qualities are crucial influences in our everyday lives that contribute to well-being. Many residential quality concepts determine quality at the legislative level and are matters of compliance reflected in implementing standards and in the residential construction and urban design process. These approaches to housing quality focusing on material dimensions dominate the literature and are commonly quantitatively measured. This study moves beyond the reductionist representation of housing quality concepts that often do not incorporate insider experiences and non-material dimensions; instead it develops a distinct pluralistic concept with experiences as quality indicators. This thesis questions the meaning of ‘housing qualities’ in the residential built environment in Auckland, New Zealand. The broader context is one of rapid urbanisation and population growth having led to a growing demand for residential environments. While official directives and strategies are promoting intensification, affordability and sustainability, the recent Auckland Council initiatives to transform Auckland into the ‘world’s most liveable city’, emphasizes the significance of identifying qualities in the built environment. In theoretical terms, the thesis is situated between spaces of representation, the experienced spaces and representational spaces, the conceived spaces. Qualitative methodologies are employed to explore the everyday experiences and perceptions of housing through the lens of owner occupants. The thesis employs a grounded phenomenological perspective to portray housing qualities in residents’ everyday urban settings. It draws on data derived from 39 semistructured interviews in three case studies that are aligned with urban transformation processes in Auckland: gentrification, suburbanisation and intensification. Data collection further included participatory methods such as brainstorming. The perspectives of 20 urban gatekeepers portray insights, practices and expertise of their everyday engagement with housing qualities and contribute to the contextual background of this study. The findings identify ways in which housing qualities represent a crucial part of the making of Auckland’s urban landscape through occupants’ material and social constructions of dwelling places. A shift from an emphasis on material indicators towards embodied experiences of qualities of home and surroundings is illustrated by a micro-geography of experienced housing qualities through home making processes, do-it-yourself, and qualities that contribute to a sense of place, in a range of locales. The study concludes that the embodiment and belonging in place is not only achieved through everyday routinisation and constancy in the social and material environment but also through ontological security and the expression of self that enables residents to experience housing qualities.