Arizona Haddon | McCall MacBain Kupe Leadership Scholar

Arizona (Tainui)

Master of Urban Planning (Professional)

Homeownership holds an unquestioned place within our country’s egalitarian narrative, despite its role in the settler-colonial project and today’s rising wealth inequality. We need only look to the occupation of Ihumātao and Takaparawhau to remind ourselves of the traumatic lengths Aotearoa is willing to traverse in the name of homeownership. Whose land gets developed, whose homes get demolished, what impact will the development have on the environment and how do neighbourhoods shape the privilege or disadvantage of our rangatahi – these are decisions that require critical and creative thinking to reverse the inequity and unsustainability embedded in our urban environments. Having grown up as an urbanised wāhine (Waikato Tainui) and second generation Aotearoa-born fafine (Lu’ua, Musumusu) in Tāmaki Makaurau, these questions motivate my interests, mahi and advocacy in decolonising and decommodifying our housing and urban landscapes. 

Sponsor: McCall MacBain Foundation

Mentor: Joanne Reidy, General Manager Māori Te Tāpui Atawhai/Auckland City Mission. Joanne previously ran the Residential Services at Te Tāpui Atawhai/Auckland City Mission and has a background in pschotherapy.