11 April 2025 As more communities have to consider relocation, we explore what happens to the land after people leave

On The Conversation, Lincoln University's Dr Raven Cretney, Senior lecturer in Environmental Policy, along with Christina Hanna, Professor Iain White and Pip Wallace from Waikato University explore what happens to the places we retreat from when land is considered unsuitable due to various climate and hazard risks, including sea-level rise and coastal erosion, tsunami, cyclones, earthquakes, floods and landslides.

Once floodwaters subside, talk of planned retreat inevitably rises.

Within Aotearoa New Zealand, several communities from north to south – including Kumeū, Kawatiri Westport and parts of Ōtepoti Dunedin – are considering future relocations while others are completing property buyouts and categorisations.

Planned retreats may reduce exposure to harm, but the social and cultural burdens of dislocation from land and home are complex. Planning, funding and physically relocating or removing homes, taonga or assets – and even entire towns – is challenging.

Internationally, research has focused on why, when and how planned retreats occur, as well as who pays. But we explore what happens to the places we retreat from.

Our latest research examines 161 international case studies of planned retreats. We analysed what happens beyond retreat, revealing how land use has changed following the withdrawal of human activities.

Read the full article to learn how planned retreats transition landscapes, offering the potential for a new sense of place, meaning and strategic adaptation at The Conversation here >>

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