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Dr Christina Ergler

Senior LecturerChristina Ergler image

Diplom (Bonn)
PhD (Auck)

 

 

Richardson Building, room 4C18
Office Hours: email to make an appointment
Tel +64 3 479 4647
Email christina.ergler@otago.ac.nz

Teaching

Christina contributes to:

  • ENVI 111 Environment and Society
  • GEOG 215/384 Urban Geography – Envisioning Cities
  • GEOG 219/379 Special Topic in Human Geography: (co-ordinator 2017)
  • GEOG 280 Research Methodology in Human Geography
  • GEOG 380 Field Research Studies (Arts) (co-coordinator 2017)
  • GEOG 376 Geographies of Contestation, Action and Change
  • GEOG 465 A Special Topic in Geography: Geographies of Justice
  • GEOG 472 Developments in Environmental Management

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Research interests

My research lie at the cross-roads of geography, sociology and public health in the minority and majority world. I focus on the relationships between wellbeing, place and lived everyday experiences. Where we live, play, study and spend our leisure time affects our health and wellbeing, be it through contacts with or exposure to hazards (e.g. drugs, accidents, waste), access to and utilisation of health care or by feelings of safety and wellbeing in a neighbourhood. My work contributes to a more just and sustainable world by alerting stakeholders and communities to the socio-spatial, structural and experiential dimensions of health and wellbeing. The “Geographies of Health and Wellbeing” are an important and growing area well linked to many job opportunities and attracts people who are interested in making the world a better place through the work they do.

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Current research projects

My current projects include:

  • Research club water and play: co-designing a research project with primary school children
  • First time parents: a migrant perspective
  • Yes we can! Pre-schoolers as evaluators of their city
  • Tertiary Students' wellbeing during exam time

In my research I trace social and environmental injustices drawing from a wider range of social theories including the work of Bourdieu, Gibson and Sen. I work to apply these theoretical frames in rigorous empirical studies of significant societal issues like substance misuse and mental wellbeing, the politics of accessing (health) care, the relationships between social norms, urban design and the obesity epidemic or children’s declining rights to cities.

To gain insights into people's lived socio-spatial realities and to contribute to a more equitable and liveable world, I am interested in creative, value-based, ethically and culturally appropriate methodologies that acknowledge the expertise of everyone and foster a meaningful participation in research activities (e.g. child-led participatory methods, SoftGIS, mixed-methods).

Link to Pre-schoolers as Competent Evaluators of their City

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Potential student projects

I am interested in supervising students on projects that broadly relate to any of my work, or who are interested to develop a project on:

  • Socio-spatial implications of reproduction medicine
  • Medical mobilities
  • Technology, childhood and socio-spatial wellbeing
  • Climate change, wellbeing and sustainable futures

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Postgraduate student supervision

I supervise postgraduate students who are interested in gaining research skills in the areas of (urban) social and environmental justice and wellbeing, socio-spatial inequities and wellbeing, liveable cities, changing landscapes of care or physical and social mobilities. I am keen to work with students who are interested in participating in research projects that take an integrated, transdisciplinary approach to the theorisation, empirical analysis and praxis of socio-spatial justice in the minority and majority world.

Current supervision
  • Swaiti Shah, PhD: "Reproductive justice and surrogacy" (co-supervision with Bryndl Hohmann-Marriott)
  • Callum Sutherland, MA: "The health limiting coast: the role of personal experiences I influencing the dualism of therapeutic and disruptive landscapes" 
  • Jovan Mokaraka-Harris, MA: "Participatory mapping in the Hokianga" (co-supervision with Professor Michelle Thompson-Fawcett)
  • Olivia Eyles, BA(Hons): Refugee's therapeutic landscapes in Dunedin
  • Fanny Monnet, Honours: Students mental wellbeing, cognitive enhancers and the university year. (co-supervisor with Eva Pilot, Maastricht University)
  • Tessa Porskamp, MSc: Young people's experiences of mobility in rural Otago (co-supervisor with Eva Pilot, Maastricht University)
Completed
  • Logan Copland, MPlan, 2017: ''Public and active transport to school in Dunedin adolescents'' (co-supervisor with Sandra Mandic)
  • Rachael Willox, MPlan, 2016: Tertiary students' experiences of home
  • Sherilyn Byron, MPlan: "Unpacking the sustainability of fresh water allocation systems" (co-supervision with Dr Nicola Wheen)
  • Jovan Mokaraka-Harris, PGDip, 2015: "Hokianga: Forms of self-determination" (co-supervision with Associate Professor Michelle Thompson-Fawcett)
  • Martin Swaffield, MPlan, 2014: "What makes a good bus stop?"
  • Gabriella Hyndemann, Honours, 2014: “Children’s Geographies: Breakfast programs in Dunedin’s schools” (co-supervision with Dr Sophie Bond)
  • Constance Hutchinson, MPlan, 2013 "What makes a city? A participatory approach with pre-schoolers towards urban planning"
  • Panwalkar, A, Honours, 2011: "The relationship between children, nature and environmental awareness". (co-supervision with Professor Robin Kearns, The University of Auckland)

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Publications

Mandic, S., García Bengoechea, E., Hopkins, D., Coppell, K., Smith, M., Moore, A., Keall, M., Ergler, C., Sandretto, S., … Flaherty, C., … Stephenson, J., … Spence, J. C. (2023). Examining the transport to school patterns of New Zealand adolescents by home-to-school distance and settlement types. Journal of Transport & Health, 30, 101585. doi: 10.1016/j.jth.2023.101585

Radka, K., Ergler, C., Wyeth, E., & Derrett, S. (2022). Migrants' work-related injuries in the New Zealand media: Hidden voices, missed opportunities. Injury Prevention, 28(Suppl. 2), (pp. A19). doi: 10.1136/injuryprev-2022-safety2022.58

Lovell, S., & Ergler, C. (2022). Building a culture of primary birth: Undertaking qualitative case study research with primary maternity units. Proceedings of the 12th Health Services and Policy Research Conference. 466. Retrieved from https://www.hsraanz.org

Chen, L., Moore, A. B., & Ergler, C. (2022). Applying geographically weighted logistic regression (GWLR) to find spatially varying relationships between active transport to school (ATS) and ATS factors. Proceedings of the New Zealand Geospatial Research Conference (NZGRC). Retrieved from https://geocollaboratory.massey.ac.nz/new-zealand-geospatial-research-conference-2022

Freeman, C., Latai Niusulu, A., Schaaf, M., Taua'a, T. S., Tanielu, H., Ergler, C., & Kivalu, M. (2022). Kinship and belonging: Pacific children’s perspectives on the diaspora. Childhood, 29(4), 612-627. doi: 10.1177/09075682221121681

Ergler, C. R. (2020). The power of place in play: A Bourdieusian analysis of Auckland children's seasonal play practices. Bielefeld, Germany: Transcript, 370p. doi: 10.14361/9783839436714

Authored Book - Research

Ergler, C. R., Kearns, R., & Witten, K. (Eds.). (2017). Children's health and wellbeing in urban environments. Abingdon, UK: Routledge, 257p. doi: 10.4324/9781315571560

Edited Book - Research

Ergler, C. R., & Freeman, C. (2020). Children, maps, and mapping. In A. Kobayashi (Ed.), International encyclopedia of human geography. (2nd ed.) (pp. 155-165). Oxford, UK: Elsevier. doi: 10.1016/B978-0-08-102295-5.10522-0

Chapter in Book - Research

Ergler, C. R., & Wood, B. E. (2019). Engaging with Bourdieu: A review of the utilization of Bourdieu within children and young people’s geographies. In T. Skelton & S. C. Aitken (Eds.), Establishing geographies of children and young people. (pp. 147-169). Singapore: Springer. doi: 10.1007/978-981-287-041-4

Chapter in Book - Research

Ergler, C. R., Kearns, R., & Witten, K. (2017). Introduction: A children's place in health geography. In C. R. Ergler, R. Kearns & K. Witten (Eds.), Children's health and wellbeing in urban environments. (pp. 1-16). Abingdon, UK: Routledge.

Chapter in Book - Research

Ergler, C. R., Kearns, R., de Melo, A., & Coleman, T. (2017). Being connected? Wellbeing affordances for suburban and central city children. In C. R. Ergler, R. Kearns & K. Witten (Eds.), Children's health and wellbeing in urban environments. (pp. 189-203). Abingdon, UK: Routledge.

Chapter in Book - Research

Ergler, C. (2016). Beyond passive participation: From research on to research by children. In R. Evans, L. Holt & T. Skelton (Eds.), Methodological Approaches. Singapore: Springer. doi: 10.1007/978-981-4585-89-7_11-1

Chapter in Book - Research

Ergler, C. R., & Wood, B. (2015). Re-imagining youth participation in the 21st century: Young people in Aotearoa New Zealand speak out. In P. Kelly & A. Kamp (Eds.), A critical youth studies for the 21st century. (pp. 394-409). Leiden, The Netherlands: Brill. doi: 10.1163/9789004284036_028

Chapter in Book - Research

Ergler, C., Sakdapolrak, P., Bohle, H.-G., & Kearns, R. (2015). From effective cure to affective care: Access barriers and entitlements to health care among urban poor in Chennai, India. In I. Luginaah & R. Bezner Kerr (Eds.), Geographies of health and development. (pp. 93-114). Farnham, UK: Ashgate.

Chapter in Book - Research

Ergler, C. R., Kearns, R., & Witten, K. (2013). Managed childhoods: A social history of urban children's play. In N. Higgins & C. Freeman (Eds.), Childhoods: Growing up in Aotearoa New Zealand. (pp. 110-125). Dunedin, New Zealand: Otago University Press.

Chapter in Book - Research

Herget, J., & Ergler, C. (2007). Stadtböden: Schlummernd lastendes Erbe der Geschichte. In H. Heinberg (Ed.), Westfalen regional: Aktuelle Themen, Wissenswertes und Medien: Siedlung und Landschaft in Westfalen. (pp. 70-71). Münster, Germany: Aschendorff.

Chapter in Book - Research

Ergler, C. R., Kearns, R., & Witten, K. (2017). Preface. In C. R. Ergler, R. Kearns & K. Witten (Eds.), Children's health and wellbeing in urban environments. (pp. xvi). Abingdon, UK: Routledge.

Chapter in Book - Other

Mandic, S., García Bengoechea, E., Hopkins, D., Coppell, K., Smith, M., Moore, A., Keall, M., Ergler, C., Sandretto, S., … Flaherty, C., … Stephenson, J., … Spence, J. C. (2023). Examining the transport to school patterns of New Zealand adolescents by home-to-school distance and settlement types. Journal of Transport & Health, 30, 101585. doi: 10.1016/j.jth.2023.101585

Journal - Research Article

Ergler, C. R., Freeman, C., & Guiney, T. (2022). Pre-schoolers' vision for liveable cities: Creating 'care-full' urban environments. Tijdschrift voor Economische en Sociale Geografie, 113(2), 131-150. doi: 10.1111/tesg.12461

Journal - Research Article

Freeman, C., Ergler, C., Kearns, R., & Smith, M. (2022). Covid-19 in New Zealand and the Pacific: Implications for children and families. Children's Geographies, 20(4), 459-468. doi: 10.1080/14733285.2021.1907312

Journal - Research Article

Freeman, C., Latai Niusulu, A., Schaaf, M., Taua'a, T. S., Tanielu, H., Ergler, C., & Kivalu, M. (2022). Kinship and belonging: Pacific children’s perspectives on the diaspora. Childhood, 29(4), 612-627. doi: 10.1177/09075682221121681

Journal - Research Article

Freeman, C., Latai Niusulu, A., Schaaf, M., Taua'a, T. S., Tanielu, H., Ergler, C., & Kivalu, M. (2022). Identity, belonging and place attachment amongst Pacific Island children: A photographic analysis. Children's Geographies. Advance online publication. doi: 10.1080/14733285.2022.2039900

Journal - Research Article

Monnet, F., Ergler, C., Pilot, E., Sushama, P., & Green, J. (2022). ‘Cognitive enhancers’: A qualitative exploration of university students’ experiences with prescription medicines for academic purposes. Policy Futures in Education, 20(7), 762-779. doi: 10.1177/14782103211061951

Journal - Research Article

Shah, S., Ergler, C., & Hohmann-Marriott, B. (2022). The other side of the story: Intended parents' surrogacy journeys, stigma and relational reproductive justice. Health & Place, 102769. Advance online publication. doi: 10.1016/j.healthplace.2022.102769

Journal - Research Article

Ergler, C. R., Freeman, C., & Guiney, T. (2021). Walking with preschool-aged children to explore their local wellbeing affordances. Geographical Research, 59, 118-135. doi: 10.1111/1745-5871.12402

Journal - Research Article

Mindell, J. S., Ergler, C., Hopkins, D., & Mandic, S. (2021). Taking the bus? Barriers and facilitators for adolescent use of public buses to school. Travel Behaviour & Society, 22, 48-58. doi: 10.1016/j.tbs.2020.08.006

Journal - Research Article

Narayanan, A., Gill, M., Leem, C., Li, C., Mein Smith, F., Shepherd, B., … Samaranayaka, A., Ergler, C., & Macmillan, A. (2021). Students' use of caffeine, alcohol, dietary supplements, and illegal substances for improving academic performance in a New Zealand university. Health Psychology & Behavioral Medicine, 9(1), 917-932. doi: 10.1080/21642850.2021.1990763

Journal - Research Article

Ergler, C. R., Freeman, C., & Guiney, T. (2020). Pre-schoolers' transport imaginaries: Moving towards sustainable futures? Journal of Transport Geography, 84, 102690. doi: 10.1016/j.jtrangeo.2020.102690

Journal - Research Article

Ergler, C. R., Freeman, C., & Latai, A. (2020). Samoan children's sense of place: Experiential landscapes in an urban village. Asia Pacific Viewpoint, 61(2), 391-398. doi: 10.1111/apv.12263

Journal - Research Article

Eyles, O., & Ergler, C. (2020). Former refugees' therapeutic landscapes in Dunedin, New Zealand. Sites, 17(1), 40-65. doi: 10.11157/sites-id456

Journal - Research Article

Arunkumar, K., Bowman, D. D., Coen, S. E., El-Bagdady, M. A., Ergler, C. R., Gilliland, J. A., … Paul, S. (2019). Conceptualizing youth participation in children's health research: Insights from a youth-driven process for developing a youth advisory council. Children, 6(1), 3. doi: 10.3390/children6010003

Journal - Research Article

Porskamp, T., Ergler, C., Pilot, E., Sushama, P., & Mandic, S. (2019). The importance of social capital for young people's active transport and independent mobility in rural Otago, New Zealand. Health & Place, 60, 102216. doi: 10.1016/j.healthplace.2019.102216

Journal - Research Article

Coen, S. E., Tillman, S., Ergler, C. R., McGuire, C., & Gilliland, J. A. (2018). Playing with poetry: Poetic representation of research in children’s geographies of nature and adventurous play. GeoHumanities, 4(2), 557-575. doi: 10.1080/2373566X.2018.1516956

Journal - Research Article

Mandic, S., Flaherty, C., Ergler, C., Kek, C. C., Pocock, T., Lawrie, D., … García Bengoechea, E. (2018). Effects of cycle skills training on cycling-related knowledge, confidence and behaviour in adolescent girls. Journal of Transport & Health, 9, 253-263. doi: 10.1016/j.jth.2018.01.015

Journal - Research Article

Mandic, S., Flaherty, C., Pocock, T., Kek, C. C., McArthur, S., Ergler, C., … García Bengoechea, E. (2018). Effects of cycle skills training on children's cycling-related knowledge, confidence and behaviours. Journal of Transport & Health, 8, 271-282. doi: 10.1016/j.jth.2017.12.010

Journal - Research Article

Mokaraka-Harris, J. J., Thompson-Fawcett, M., & Ergler, C. R. (2018). Tree grown from many layers: An Indigenous perspective of collective identity. New Zealand Geographer, 74(3), 121-130. doi: 10.1111/nzg.12159

Journal - Research Article

Ergler, C. R. (2017). Advocating for a more relational and dynamic model of participation for child researchers. Social Inclusion, 5(3), 240-250. doi: 10.17645/si.v5i3.966

Journal - Research Article

Ergler, C. R., Lovell, S., Watkins, A., Milligan, C., Thompson, L., Exeter, D. J., & Kearns, R. (2017). Looking back and moving forward: Health geography in Aotearoa and beyond. New Zealand Geographer, 73(3), 205-217. doi: 10.1111/nzg.12169

Journal - Research Article

Freeman, C., Ergler, C., & Guiney, T. (2017). Planning with preschoolers: City mapping as a planning tool. Planning Practice & Research, 32(3), 297-318. doi: 10.1080/02697459.2017.1374790

Journal - Research Article

Mandic, S., Flaherty, C., Pocock, T., Kek, C. C., Chillón, P., Ergler, C., & García Bengoechea, E. (2017). Parental perceptions of cycle skills training for adolescents. Journal of Transport & Health, 6, 411-419. doi: 10.1016/j.jth.2017.03.009

Journal - Research Article

Ergler, C. R., Kearns, R., & Witten, K. (2016). Exploring children's seasonal play to promote active lifestyles in Auckland, New Zealand. Health & Place, 41, 67-77. doi: 10.1016/j.healthplace.2016.07.001

Journal - Research Article

Mokaraka-Harris, J. J., Thompson-Fawcett, M., & Ergler, C. (2016). Te manako: The desire for self-determination. AlterNative, 12(3), 250-265. doi: 10.20507/AlterNative.2016.12.3.4

Journal - Research Article

Ergler, C., Smith, K., Kotsanas, C., & Hutchinson, C. (2015). What makes a good city in pre-schoolers' eyes? Findings from participatory planning projects in Australia and New Zealand. Journal of Urban Design, 20(4), 461-478. doi: 10.1080/13574809.2015.1045842

Journal - Research Article

Pawlowski, C. S., Ergler, C., Tjørnhøj-Thomsen, T., Schipperijn, J., & Troelsen, J. (2015). ‘Like a soccer camp for boys’: A qualitative exploration of gendered activity patterns in children’s self-organized play during school recess. European Physical Education Review, 21(3), 275-291. doi: 10.1177/1356336X14561533

Journal - Research Article

Ergler, C. R., Kearns, R. A., & Witten, K. (2013). Seasonal and locational variations in children's play: Implications for wellbeing. Social Science & Medicine, 91, 178-185. doi: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2012.11.034

Journal - Research Article

Sakdapolrak, P., Seyler, T., & Ergler, C. (2013). Burden of direct and indirect costs of illness: Empirical findings from slum settlements in Chennai, South India. Progress in Development Studies, 13(2), 135-151. doi: 10.1177/1464993412466506

Journal - Research Article

Kearns, R., Boyle, A., & Ergler, C. R. (2012). The legacy of an intervention: Exploring teenage walking school bus ‘graduates’ mobilities in Auckland. Sites, 9(1), 83-106. doi: 10.11157/sites-vol9iss1id190

Journal - Research Article

Ergler, C. (2011). Beyond passive participation: Children as collaborators in understanding neighbourhood experience. Graduate Journal of Asia-Pacific Studies, 7(2), 78-98.

Journal - Research Article

Ergler, C. R., Sakdapolrak, P., Bohle, H.-G., & Kearns, R. A. (2011). Entitlements to health care: Why is there a preference for private facilities among poorer residents of Chennai, India? Social Science & Medicine, 72(3), 327-337. doi: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2010.09.042

Journal - Research Article

Oliver, M., Witten, K., Kearns, R. A., Mavoa, S., Badland, H., Carroll, P., … Ergler, C. (2011). Kids in the city study: Research design and methodology. BMC Public Health, 11, 587. doi: 10.1186/1471-2458-11-587

Journal - Research Article

Badland, H. M., Schofield, G. M., Witten, K., Schluter, P. J., Mavoa, S., Kearns, R. A., … Ergler, C., … McPhee, J. (2009). Understanding the Relationship between Activity and Neighbourhoods (URBAN) Study: Research design and methodology. BMC Public Health, 9, 224. doi: 10.1186/1471-2458-9-224

Journal - Research Article

Huish, R., Ergler, C., & Georgeou, N. (2022). A pandemic of global inequality: a special issue on how COVID-19 deepened social inequalities on a global scale. Equality, Diversity & Inclusion, 41(1), 1-2. doi: 10.1108/EDI-02-2022-375

Journal - Research Other

Ergler, C., Huish, R., Georgeou, N., Simons, J., Eyles, O., Li, Y., … Tame, L. (2021). COVID-19 stigma in New Zealand: Are we really a 'team' of five million? New Zealand Geographer, 77(3), 174-179. doi: 10.1111/nzg.12313

Journal - Research Other

Lovell, S., Ergler, C., Kearns, R., Wiles, J., & Witten, K. (2021). The braided river of health geography. Social Science & Medicine, 288, 114370. doi: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2021.114370

Journal - Research Other

Mandic, S., Hopkins, D., García Bengoechea, E., Moore, A., Sandretto, S., Coppell, K., Ergler, C., Keall, M., … Spence, J. C. (2020). Built environment changes and active transport to school among adolescents: BEATS Natural Experiment Study protocol. BMJ Open, 10(3), e034899. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2019-034899

Journal - Research Other

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