Revealing regional regeneration projects in three small towns in Aotearoa—New Zealand

Abstract

We discuss case studies of three South Island small towns: Ashburton, Timaru and Oamaru and their wider local authority jurisdictions, focusing on how local stake holders are defining the issues facing these places and identifying, prioritising and investing in regeneration initiatives, sometimes with the support of central govern ment and other external agencies. Our key finding is that small-town regeneration is complex, demands a long-term local collaborative approach, and significant investment in skills, information sharing and programme development, some of which needs to be provided by external, central government, agencies.