Wellbeing in Aotearoa New Zealand

This Issue This is a part of the Building for wellbeing feature

By - , Build 183

The term ‘wellbeing’ is referenced in the purpose of the Building Act 2004. But what does wellbeing mean for New Zealanders and the building and construction industry in particular?

Figure 1: Maori concept of wellbeing or haurora. (Developed by Dr Mason Durie, Professor of Maori Studies, Massey University.)

AS NOTED IN THE ARTICLE in Build 181, Wellbeing and our buildings, wellbeing is now a key government policy. The achievement of wellbeing is explicitly stated in the purpose of not only the Building Act 2004 but also the Resource Management Act 1991 and the Local Government Act 2002.

What is lacking is a clear understanding of what wellbeing means. Despite being included in these statutes, the term itself is not defined, making actions to achieve wellbeing difficult to conceive let alone action.

Buildings impact our wellbeing

We conduct most of our lives in or around buildings and the built environment. Research has estimated that New Zealanders spend about 70% of their lives in the indoor home environment. Therefore, how we interact with buildings and housing in particular has the ability to impact our quality of life and general wellbeing.

As Australian academic Iain Butterworth noted, ‘The built environment provides the setting and backdrop by which we live our lives, and impacts on our senses, our emotions, participation in physical activity and community life, our sense of community, and general wellbeing.’

To date, research has been completed in New Zealand that directly and indirectly addresses the relationship between wellbeing and the built environment. This covers topics such as housing, climate change, mental health, ageing in place and indoor environmental quality.

However, this research has not yet been stitched together to provide oversight of the impact that the built environment has on wellbeing and opportunities to improve it. Nor has it defined specifically what wellbeing means in relation to New Zealand and its built environment.

Wellbeing not well defined

Wellbeing is considered to encompass many domains of a person’s life, with their physical environment – including the built environment – being just one. As well as being people-focused, it also has an inherent relationship to place and liveability.

The government’s Wellbeing Budget 2019 defined wellbeing as when ‘people are able to lead fulfilling lives with purpose, balance and meaning to them’. The concept of wellbeing is also considered to encompass the physical, mental and emotional, social and spiritual dimensions of health according to Te Kete Ipurangi, the bilingual education portal set up by the Ministry of Education.

Despite the term ‘wellbeing’ appearing in various statutes, no legislative definition of wellbeing in New Zealand could be found.

Internationally, sustainability expert Elina Grigoriou has described wellbeing in the built environment as ‘the performance of spaces that support the occupants’ emotional, mental and physical health’. Elsewhere, wellbeing has been considered to be influenced by the design and operation of built environments that respond to the multifaceted physical, physiological and psychological needs of their occupants.

Opportunities exist to define what wellbeing means in New Zealand, particularly from a Māori perspective, and what it means in relation to the built environment. A common definition may be the first step to enabling the development of specific tools to improve and measure wellbeing outcomes for New Zealanders.

Could consider performance and include Māori concepts

Any definition of wellbeing in relation to the built environment in New Zealand should consider both the functional and liveability performance of buildings and their surrounding environment on current and future occupants.

Māori concepts of wellbeing should also be explored and incorporated. This may include perspectives as represented by:

  • Te Whare Tapa Whā – Massey University Professor of Māori Studies Dr Mason Durie’s model regarding social, physical, spiritual, mental and emotional wellbeing (see Figure 1)
  • He Ara Waiora research framework, which reflects a mātauranga Māori-sourced approach to the concept of wellbeing, with a focus on intergenerational wellbeing
  • wellbeing outcomes for whānau articulated in the Whānau Ora approach from Te Puni Kōkiri, the Ministry of Māori Development.
Figure 1: Maori concept of wellbeing or haurora. (Developed by Dr Mason Durie, Professor of Maori Studies, Massey University.)

Current government approaches

Despite the lack of clear definition, building for wellbeing is currently incorporated in New Zealand’s national wellbeing policy framework through Treasury’s Living Standards Framework (LSF) and Indicators Aotearoa (StatsNZ):

  • The LSF references the built environment through its description of physical capital, which includes several relevant elements such as houses, buildings and hospitals. The 12 domains of current wellbeing within the LSF further identify housing as a key contributor to how New Zealanders experience wellbeing.
  • Indicators Aotearoa provides wellbeing indicators across 24 topic areas, of which roughly 12 could be considered to be relevant to building for wellbeing. These include indicators regarding cities and settlements, climate, health, waste, work, financial and physical capital, natural capital, population and production.

Local government in New Zealand also has a strong mandate for progressing both wellbeing and building outcomes. Section 3(d) of the Local Government Act provides for local authorities to play a broad role in promoting the social, economic, environmental and cultural wellbeing of their communities.

The Local Government Act also provides a mandate for territorial authorities to perform the functions of building consent authorities, including issuing building consents and inspecting building work (among other responsibilities). It is currently unclear, however, whether the general wellbeing and building compliance functions of local government intersect or otherwise interact.

Having dual responsibility for both wellbeing and building compliance may present a unique opportunity for territorial authorities to inform central government policy settings aimed at achieving a building system that contributes, in a meaningful way, to the wellbeing of building users.

Need for oversight, monitoring and reporting

New Zealand’s building system is multi-faceted, and elements within it provide direction, if not specific guidance, regarding building with the wellbeing of the end user in mind.

The purpose of the Building Act and the capitals and domains within the Living Standards Framework provide a sound foundation to achieve a built environment that contributes to the wellbeing of building users in New Zealand.

What appears to be lacking, however, is oversight of building for wellbeing and the ability to monitor and report on initiatives and outcomes regarding the wellbeing of building inhabitants.

It would be incredibly useful for policy makers to identify linkages between, for example, the purpose of the Building Act (for buildings to contribute to the wellbeing of those using them), the Building Code and the building consent process.

Without tools or actions to implement the wellbeing intentions of the Building Act and other legislation, desired outcomes will be unlikely, if not impossible, to achieve.

The right time is now

The time to pursue a deeper understanding of building for wellbeing has never been better, particularly in a New Zealand context and with a Māori lens. Greater knowledge of the impact of the built environment on the wellbeing of inhabitants and the wellbeing of the construction industry has been gained through New Zealand’s lockdown in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

This knowledge will be instrumental in informing effective government, industry and community responses to improve the living standards possible within our current built environment to achieve better wellbeing outcomes for all New Zealanders.

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More articles about these topics

Articles are correct at the time of publication but may have since become outdated.

Figure 1: Maori concept of wellbeing or haurora. (Developed by Dr Mason Durie, Professor of Maori Studies, Massey University.)

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