Browsing by Author "‘Ofanoa M"

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    Locating transport sector responsibilities for the wellbeing of mobility-challenged people in Aotearoa New Zealand
    (Elsevier Ltd, 2021) Meher M; Spray J; Wiles J; Anderson A; Willing E; Witten K; ‘Ofanoa M; Ameratunga S
    Introduction wellbeing is a central tenet in the Aotearoa New Zealand government's Transport Outcomes Framework. Yet considerations of how place mediates diverse opportunities for wellbeing seldom identify how decision-making on transport and pedestrian infrastructure affects these opportunities. Considering the lived realities of older people and people with disabilities with a specific focus on Indigenous people, we argue it is particularly important to identify the role infrastructure plays in enhancing or undermining wellbeing for diverse communities. We also highlight state or sector responsibility for neglectful, wellbeing-diminishing infrastructure. Methods we ground this argument in community-based participatory research findings of qualitative interviews conducted at home and during neighbourhood walks with 62 older or mobility impaired people in socio-demographically diverse neighbourhoods in Auckland, Aotearoa New Zealand. The interviews explore community perceptions of mobility and wellbeing as experienced through the losses, stresses and joys of everyday life contexts and places. Results we find that people seek experiences of beauty, joy, belonging, fitness, and sociality when going out, but the pursuit of these are curtailed by significant infrastructural impediments with attendant emotional costs, burdens, and risks. Historical decisions shape contemporary possibilities for wellbeing in place, and historical infrastructural injustices impacting on transport and mobility particularly affect Indigenous people's opportunities for mobility-based wellbeing. Conclusion drawing on place-specific history and experiences of risk, we shift focus from individualized capacities to live well to conceptualizing wellbeing at a collective level, exploring place-based possibilities for a good life. These elaborations allowed us to identify signs of policy and practice abandonment and neglect, and articulate a vision for more inclusive, equitable transport infrastructure that enables the wellbeing of people differently challenged by urban environments.
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    Street redesign, active mobility and well-being for Pacific elders
    (Taylor and Francis Group, 2024-08-08) Garden E; Sa’u Lilo L; ‘Ofanoa M; Field A; Witten K; So’onalole TN; Tupou S
    This qualitative study uses Talanoa methodologies to explore the everyday experiences of Pacific elders travelling around Māngere Central, Aotearoa New Zealand. A suite of street infrastructure changes for walking and cycling took place in the area between 2015 and 2017. While the evidence linking attributes of urban street design to physical activity behaviour is strong, there is little research on the impact of the built environment on Pacific elders’ active mobility. The study seeks to address this knowledge gap by focusing on the impacts of streetscape changes on the active travel and social connectivity of this group of residents. Findings indicate that post-intervention, elders feel significantly safer while walking, with active travel increasing for some. All elders in the study feel that important amenities are now more accessible, with some of significant cultural and social importance. As such, opportunities for social connection appear to have increased. Furthermore, the enhanced look and feel of the local environment is important to the elders interviewed, enhancing feelings of community pride and well-being for some. Further desired changes to support active mobility are discussed, and a logic model highlighting factors theorised to be particularly important for achieving mode shift among Pacific elders is proposed.