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Centre for Māori and Indigenous Planning and Development

Lincoln University | Te Whare Wānaka o Aoraki

Overview

The Centre for Māori and Indigenous Planning and Development (CMIPD) was a nationally and internationally significant academic centre at Lincoln University. From the late 1990s through the 2000s, it played a pioneering role in advancing Māori and Indigenous approaches to planning, development, and self‑determination, and in embedding kaupapa Māori and Indigenous planning theory within a professional planning education context in Aotearoa New Zealand.

At a time when planning education remained largely grounded in Western epistemologies, the Centre provided a transformative counter‑narrative, asserting Māori planning as purposeful, applied, and politically grounded in rangatiratanga and Te Tiriti o Waitangi.

1. Origins and Foundations (1990s)

Lincoln University’s engagement with Māori development deepened significantly during the 1990s, driven by:

• Growing recognition of Treaty of Waitangi responsibilities
• Increasing Māori aspirations for rangatiratanga in land, resource management, and development
• A national need for planners capable of working meaningfully with iwi and hapū

In 1995, Lincoln University established one of Aotearoa New Zealand’s first Māori‑focused university degrees through the Centre for Māori Studies and Research. This initiative marked a decisive shift away from Māori studies as primarily cultural or descriptive, toward Māori development as a practical, applied, and planning‑focused field.

This intellectual repositioning laid the groundwork for the later establishment of a dedicated Māori and Indigenous planning centre.

2. Establishment of the Centre (1999 – Early 2000s)

The Centre for Māori and Indigenous Planning and Development was formally established in 1999, emerging as a distinct academic entity by the early 2000s.

The renaming from the Centre for Māori Studies and Research was deliberate and philosophical. It signalled a move away from limiting definitions of Māori studies toward a focus on:

• Māori planning as purposeful activity
• Māori development as applied self‑sufficiency
• Planning grounded in mātauranga Māori, tikanga, and lived Māori experience

At the time, CMIPD was internationally distinctive. Very few universities globally had an Indigenous planning centre embedded within a professional planning and environmental management school, rather than located solely within humanities or cultural studies.

3. Purpose and Intellectual Framework

The Centre’s purpose was to:

• Develop Indigenous planning theory and practice
• Train planners grounded in Māori values, tikanga, and mātauranga
• Support iwi‑led development, environmental governance, and community planning
• Provide a Māori and Indigenous counter‑narrative to conventional Western planning models

CMIPD acknowledged that Māori self‑determination must be:

• Planned and intentional
• Politically and culturally grounded
• Cognisant of contemporary Māori realities
• Responsive to the diversity of Māori experience

It also explicitly located Māori development within a global Indigenous context, fostering dialogue with Indigenous scholars and communities internationally.

4. Leadership and Key People

Professor Hirini Paerangi Matunga

A central figure in the Centre’s history was Professor Hirini Paerangi Matunga
(Ngāi Tahu, Ngāti Porou, Ngāti Kahungunu, Rongowhakaata, Ngāti Paerangi).

Roles

• Director, Centre for Māori and Indigenous Planning and Development
• Later Professor of Māori and Indigenous Development, Lincoln University

Contributions

• Foundational leadership in Indigenous planning scholarship
• Bridging academic theory, iwi practice, and public policy
• Mentorship of generations of Māori planners and researchers
• Strong international connections with Indigenous scholars in Canada, Australia, and the United States

Professor Matunga is widely recognised as one of the founding figures of Indigenous planning as a discipline, both nationally and internationally.

5. Teaching and Academic Programmes

Undergraduate Teaching

The Centre played a key role in embedding Māori and Treaty perspectives across Lincoln University curricula, including:

• Māori policy analysis
• Language and tikanga
• Social and economic development
• Environmental and resource management
• Treaty of Waitangi analysis

Teaching occurred through:

1. Dedicated Māori Studies courses, and
2. Integration of Māori perspectives into disciplines such as:
   • Planning and resource studies
   • Environmental management
   • Recreation and tourism
   • Landscape architecture
   • Natural resource sciences

Bachelor of Māori Planning and Development (c. 2003)

The introduction of the Bachelor of Māori Planning and Development around 2003 was a landmark achievement. The degree:

• Integrated kaupapa Māori, planning law, environmental management, and development studies
• Centred Māori worldviews in planning decision‑making
• Prepared graduates for careers in:
  • Iwi organisations
  • Local and central government
  • Environmental planning
  • Development consultancies and NGOs

Postgraduate Teaching and Supervision

CMIPD also contributed substantially to:

• Postgraduate courses in Indigenous Planning and Development
• Master’s and PhD supervision
• Cross‑faculty teaching in planning, development, and environmental governance

Many contemporary Māori planning papers and postgraduate theses at Lincoln University trace their intellectual whakapapa directly to this Centre.

6. Research, Partnerships, and Community Engagement

The Centre operated at the intersection of university, iwi, and policy practice.

Key Activities

• Applied research supporting iwi management plans
• Engagement with Treaty settlement processes
• Advice on Māori land development and environmental governance
• Hosting Indigenous scholars and participating in global Indigenous planning networks

Institutional Relationships

CMIPD strengthened Lincoln University’s relationships with:

• Local rūnanga and iwi authorities
• Māori organisations and development trusts
• Government agencies involved in land, planning, and resource management

7. Publications and Research Legacy

The Centre produced a substantial and influential body of scholarship that helped define Indigenous planning as a distinct intellectual field.

Key Publications (Selected)

• Matunga, H. P. (2013). Theorizing Indigenous Planning
  Foundational work articulating Indigenous planning as a culturally, politically, and intellectually distinct framework.

• Matunga, H. P. The Concept of Indigenous Planning as a Framework for Social Inclusion
  Examines Indigenous planning as a mechanism for supporting Māori aspirations within statutory planning systems.

• Matunga, H. P. (2016). Strategic Environmental Assessment and Iwi
  Explores environmental assessment processes through iwi and Indigenous planning perspectives.

• Matunga, H. P. (2017). Integrating Māori and Indigenous Approaches to Environmental Governance
  Advances Indigenous frameworks for co‑governance, kaitiakitanga, and environmental authority.

• Walker, R. & Matunga, H. (2013). Re‑situating Indigenous Planning in the City
  Addresses urban Indigenous planning and spatial justice.

• Bennett et al. (2021). Mana whenua engagement in planning processes
  Analyses iwi engagement in contemporary planning practice.

Postgraduate Research Supported by the Centre

• Pacey, H. A. (2005). The Benefits and Barriers to GIS for Māori
  A Master’s thesis examining Māori engagement with spatial technologies in planning contexts.

8. National and International Impact

National Impact

• Normalised Māori planning as a legitimate professional field
• Influenced planning education across Aotearoa New Zealand
• Graduates moved into leadership roles across iwi, councils, ministries, and consultancies

International Impact

• Contributed to the emergence of Indigenous planning as a global discipline
• Strong scholarly links with:
  • First Nations planning (Canada)
  • Aboriginal land governance (Australia)
  • Native American planning (United States)

Lincoln University became recognised internationally as a hub for Indigenous planning thought, largely due to the Centre’s work.

9. Legacy and Continuing Influence at Lincoln University

Although CMIPD no longer operates as a standalone unit, its influence remains deeply embedded in Lincoln University through:

• Ongoing Māori and Indigenous planning courses
• Kaupapa Māori curriculum delivered through Te Whanake
• Māori development governance via Te Puna Whakapuawai
• Treaty responsiveness embedded in planning, environment, and policy programmes
• Alumni working across planning, policy, and iwi development sectors

The Centre represents a transformational period in Lincoln University’s history, when Indigenous knowledge systems reshaped how planning was taught, researched, and practiced.

Its legacy is not institutional alone, but intellectual, cultural, and generational.

References

Centre for Māori and Indigenous Planning and Development

Lincoln University | Te Whare Wānaka o Aoraki

Lincoln University Archival Sources

Lincoln University. (1995–2000). Centre for Māori Studies and Research: Staff publications and research outputs. Lincoln University, Canterbury, New Zealand.

Lincoln University. (1999). Establishment of the Centre for Māori and Indigenous Planning and Development. Lincoln University website archive.

Lincoln University. (26 October 2002). Centre for Māori and Indigenous Planning and Development: Teaching, research agenda and publications. Lincoln University website (archived).

Lincoln University. (12 January 2004). Research in the Centre for Māori and Indigenous Planning and Development. Lincoln University website (archived).

Lincoln University. (14 October 2008). Centre for Māori and Indigenous Planning and Development: Teaching programmes and postgraduate study. Lincoln University website (archived).

Lincoln University. (24 November 2011). Te Whanake – Kaupapa Māori Unit. Lincoln University website.

Lincoln University. (5 December 2013). Māori development structure at Lincoln University. Lincoln University website.

Centre Research Reports and Discussion Documents

Matunga, H. P. (1995). Māori recreation and conservation estate. Information Paper No. 6, Centre for Māori Studies and Research, Lincoln University.

Poharama, A., Henley, M., Smith, A., Fairweather, J., & Simmons, D. G. (1998). The impact of tourism on the Māori community in Kaikōura. Tourism Research and Education Centre, Lincoln University.

Zygadlo, F. K., Matunga, H. P., Simmons, D. G., & Fairweather, J. R. (2001). Tourism and Māori development in Westland. Tourism and Recreation Research and Education Centre, Lincoln University.

Key Scholarly Publications (Centre-Related)

Matunga, H. P. (1995). Māori outdoor recreation: An exploration of the issues. In Outdoor Recreation Research in New Zealand. Department of Conservation, Wellington.

Matunga, H. P. (1999). Rites of passage: Journeys on to marae and the case of Hinemihi. Paper presented at the Archaeology and Anthropology in Dialogue Conference, Athens, Greece.

Matunga, H. P. (2001). Māori development and urban growth – Power of two cities. Keynote address, New Zealand Planning Institute Annual Conference, Tauranga.

Matunga, H. P. (2001). We’ve been down this road before – Local government reform revisited 1988–2001. National Māori Local Government Association Conference, Wellington.

Indigenous Planning and Environmental Governance Scholarship

Matunga, H. P. (2013). Theorizing Indigenous planning. Lincoln University Research Archive.

Matunga, H. P. (2013). The concept of Indigenous planning as a framework for social inclusion. In Planning Theory and Practice (conference and discussion paper).

Matunga, H. P. (2016). Strategic environmental assessment and iwi. New Zealand Impact Assessment Association Conference Proceedings.

Matunga, H. P. (2017). Integrating Māori and Indigenous approaches to environmental governance. Environmental governance conference paper.

Walker, R., & Matunga, H. P. (2013). Re‑situating Indigenous planning in the city. Lincoln University Research Archive.

Bennett, C., Matunga, H. P., Steyl, S., Borell, P., & Hāpuku, A. (2021). Mana whenua engagement in planning processes. Journal article.

Postgraduate Theses Supported by the Centre

Smith, A. L. (2001). Taranaki waiata tangi and feelings for place. Doctoral thesis, Lincoln University.

Pacey, H. A. (2005). The benefits and barriers to GIS for Māori. Master’s thesis, Lincoln University.

Institutional and Curriculum Sources

Lincoln University. (2003–2008). Bachelor of Māori Planning and Development programme documentation. Lincoln University.

Lincoln University. (2005–2013). Te Whanake: Kaupapa Māori curriculum and governance material. Lincoln University.

Lincoln University. (2008). Māori Studies undergraduate and postgraduate course listings. Lincoln University.