Abstract:
One of the challenges of Planning is how to consider ‘difference’ in urban society. This becomes crucial when the context of ‘difference’ is a global city, where ‘difference’ among the population grows due to an increasing flow of immigration. Acknowledging the importance of recognition before policy-making and (re)distribution of resources to achieve equitable outcomes, this research delivers a new (theoretical and methodological) understanding in Planning to recognise ‘difference’ in a global city. This study applies place attachment to understand ‘difference’ within the context of Planning. The study of place attachment focuses on the everyday life experiences of people in a given context. In this case, the subjects of ‘difference’ will be Afghan immigrant women in Auckland. Place identity, sense of belonging and rootedness, and sense of community and social bonding are amongst the constructs of place attachment that I will apply in studying the everyday life experiences of Afghan women in Auckland. Following a postcolonial feminist approach, I, as a female researcher from a non-Western country, conduct an extensive fieldwork study. My goal is to provide an in-depth understanding of the different subjectivities of the participants in relation to their experience of the public life of Auckland. The study shows that the participants relate to the public life of the city differently according to their different layers of identity. Additionally, the study shows that the Planning and policy framework in Auckland does not take a sensitive approach towards recognition of ‘difference’ before distributing services among the population. This thesis contributes to the knowledge of Planning by applying place attachment in terms of both theoretical and methodological approaches to the recognition of ‘difference’ in a global city. My research also develops a postcolonial approach to Planning, challenging the rational approach of (Western) Planning in a global city like Auckland.
