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Michelle Thompson-Fawcett imageProfessor
(Ngāti Whātua)

BTP(Auck)
MPlan(Auck)
DPhil(Oxon)

Richardson Building, room 4C17
Tel +64 3 479 8762
Email michelle.thompson-fawcett@otago.ac.nz

Inaugural Professorial Lecture

Michelle's Inaugural Professorial Lecture is available as to stream via Youtube:

Inaugural Professorship Lecture (2018)

Teaching

Research interests

  • Processes, practices, contests & power relations of urban place making and landscape change
  • Indigenous planning/resource management aspirations, practices, influence
  • Transformation in spatial planning and governance in local government

View recent Research Grants

Postgraduate student supervision

Current doctoral students

  • Altami C Arasty 'Transnational Climate Change Governance: Transformation of Institutions' Worldview in Emerging Countries'
  • Dyanna Jolly 'How far have we come? Iwi and hapū experiences using cultural impact assessment'
  • Jovan Mokaraka-Harris 'Merging the worlds of Geography through a Te Ao Māori worldview'

Recently completed doctoral theses

  • Ben Payne (2017) (primary supervisor) "'Beyond interfering greenies': The contested place of Tenure Review in New Zealand's high-country"
  • Crystal Filep (2016) (primary supervisor) "Challenging Neighbourhood Conceptions: The Stockholm Study"
  • Katie James (2015) (primary supervisor) "Environmental governance and climate change adaptation in the Top of the South"
  • Nicola Bould (2012) (primary supervisor) "Towards designing scenarios for a more sustainable future"
  • Johnnie Nyametso (2011) (primary supervisor) "Improvement of squatter settlements : the link between tenure security, access to housing, and improved living and environmental conditions"
  • Sophie Bond (2007) (primary supervisor) "Participation, urbanism and power"
  • Gail Tipa (2002) (co-supervisor) "Indigenous communities and the co-management of natural resources: the case of New Zealand freshwater management"

Publications

Quigg, R., Thompson-Fawcett, M., Thompson-Fawcett, D., & Tawera, K. (2025). Indigenous urban identity: The impacts of enhancing Māori food sovereignty and design practices in the city. Proceedings of Indigenous Futures International Conference: Indigenous Futures Unbound: Reimagining Indigenous Futures Through Knowledge and Praxis. Retrieved from https://indigenous-futures.org/news-events/ifc-conference-2025 Conference Contribution - Published proceedings: Abstract

Thompson-Fawcett, M. (2025). Experiences of Indigenising urban spaces: The case of Ōtepoti Dunedin, Aotearoa New Zealand. Proceedings of Indigenous Futures International Conference: Indigenous Futures Unbound: Reimagining Indigenous Futures Through Knowledge and Praxis. Retrieved from https://indigenous-futures.org/news-events/ifc-conference-2025 Conference Contribution - Published proceedings: Abstract

Qviström, M., Luka, N., Butler, A., Broto, V. C., Doughty, K., Garlick, B., … Thompson-Fawcett, M. (2025). On moving ahead, staying put, and engaging fully with landscape studies of planning. In M. Qviström (Ed.), A research agenda for landscape studies of planning. (pp. 179-186). Cheltenham, UK: Edward Elgar. doi: 10.4337/9781803929705 Chapter in Book - Research

Doyle, C., & Thompson-Fawcett, M. (2025). Insurgent Indigenous practices and the guardianship of cultural landscapes. In M. Qviström (Ed.), A research agenda for landscape studies of planning. (pp. 75-90). Cheltenham, UK: Edward Elgar. doi: 10.4337/9781803929705 Chapter in Book - Research

Jolly, D., & Thompson-Fawcett, M. (2025). Explaining variability in cultural impact assessment outcomes: Insights from Aotearoa New Zealand. Impact Assessment & Project Appraisal. Advance online publication. doi: 10.1080/14615517.2025.2555110 Journal - Research Article

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