Fast Forward 2025 Semester 2 | Zoë Avery - The Urbanist

Fast Forward 2025: Systems Change - Finance, Planning, and Community in the Climate Era

August-September 2025 | Te Pare School of Architecture and Planning, University of Auckland

How do we fundamentally transform the systems that shape our built environment? Fast Forward 2025 brings together perspectives on disrupting finance, master planning, and community development to address New Zealand's most pressing challenges: housing affordability, climate adaptation, and sustainable urban growth.

As communities seek new approaches for the future, these speakers demonstrate how rethinking fundamental systems—from investment models to planning frameworks to community governance—can create pathways to genuinely sustainable and equitable futures.

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Zoe Avery, Director, The Urbanist & Associate Director of Design, University of Auckland

Beyond Retreat: Climate Adaptation as Community Empowerment in Aotearoa

Leading the innovative Whirinaki Papakāinga Managed Retreat project, Zoë demonstrates how climate challenges can become opportunities for cultural strengthening and economic empowerment through innovative governance and tikanga-guided design.

Zoë is an urbanist passionate about creating spaces that serve both people and planet. As Director of The Urbanist and Associate Director of Design (Urban Planning) at Te Pare, University of Auckland, she focuses on regenerative design, climate adaptation, and nature-based solutions. Her work stems from understanding that our entire economy depends on nature - from the food we eat to the air we breathe - while recognising the 70% decline in wildlife populations during her lifetime.

Currently leading the innovative Whirinaki Papakāinga Managed Retreat project, Zoë demonstrates how climate challenges can become opportunities for cultural strengthening and economic empowerment. This initiative is aiming to relocate 80+ homes from flood-prone land to create a resilient, self-sustaining community guided by tikanga Māori principles. Her work shows how innovative governance structures, cultural values, and sustainable design can transform climate adaptation from displacement into community strengthening.

Zoë's recent achievements include New Zealand's first Living Roof Guide, which won the New Zealand Institute of Landscape Architects Publication Award. She believes in the generosity of knowledge, transforming how urban planning is taught to equip the next generation for the challenges facing our cities.

Key insights from her talk:

· Managed retreat as community strengthening rather than displacement

· Governance innovations enabling tino rangatiratanga and self-determination

· Integrating tikanga Māori with environmental performance and economic sustainability

· How climate adaptation can create pathways to cultural strengthening and local economic development

Please note that tickets purchased from unauthorized third-party websites are not valid; please use only the approved website (eventbrite.co.nz) for ticket purchases/registrations.

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Getting to the venue:

The main Faculty of Engineering and Design buildings are conveniently located at the heart of the University's City Campus, and are easily accessible via many forms public transport. For further information on public transport schedules, visit the Auckland Transport website.

For those driving in, further information on parking options can be found here.