People and production in the peri-urban zone: Potential enablers to peri-urban food production in the face of urban growth within peri-urban New Zealand: A Selwyn District case study : A dissertation submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Planning at Lincoln University

Abstract

The peri-urban zone is often considered a ‘grey area’ by policy and planning processes, primarily in relation to its opportunities for urban expansion. Several areas of the Global North have centred their urban zones on versatile soils and productive land. Hence, urban encroachment into the peri-urban zone is a key threat to the future of food production, by diminishing the available land suitable for raising crops or animals for consumption. This conflict between housing and farming-based land uses dominates the decision-making process for the peri-urban zone. Consequently, policy and planning provisions often fail to recognise and provide for the strategic spatial advantage of peri-urban food production (PUFP) in its proximity to more densely populated areas. These issues have been observed within the Selwyn District, a highly-productive and diverse area of Canterbury, Aotearoa New Zealand. This dissertation focuses on issues associated with the protection and enhancement of local food producing landscapes within the peri-urban zone, in the face of urban growth and the need for more housing. It analyses seven case studies from four countries within the Global North: Australia, Japan, Sweden, and The Netherlands. It will then build a thematic analytical framework around the enablers for PUFP that were observed within the case studies, for application to the Selwyn District Plan (SDP). It will achieve the research questions through in-depth coding and thematic case study analysis, followed by strategic design of the PUFP Enabling Framework. The results of this study dictate a need for the Selwyn District Council (SDC) to regard the peri-urban zone as its own unique zone, and to enable and provide for PUFP through a spatially-specific strategic planning process.