Inaugural Professorial Lectures

As an environmental planner, Claire Freeman’s research focuses on the intersection of the natural and built environment. She examines how environmental relationships can be enhanced through more effective planning policy, design and practice. In particular, she looks at how planning can help create urban environments that work better for children and young people, and for nature. It links across three major disciplinary fields; the social sciences, biological science and planning. Some current and recent projects she is involved with are: “Natural neighbourhoods for city children”, a Marsden-funded study exploring how children in Dunedin, Auckland and Wellington connect with nature in their daily lives; “the Dunedin Garden Study,” which investigates householders’ relationships with native biodiversity in their gardens; “Children and young people’s experiences following the Christchurch earthquake”; and a study of “Children’s experiences of neighbourhood” in New Zealand, Fiji and Kiribati. 20 September 2016