Rate My Professor James Berghan

Dr. James Berghan (Te Rarawa, Te Aupōuri) is a Lecturer in Urban Design in the School of Surveying, Division of Sciences, at the University of Otago, where he serves as the first Māori academic staff member. He completed a Bachelor of Surveying (Honours, First Class) in 2012 and a Doctor of Philosophy in Surveying in 2020 from the University of Otago. His PhD thesis, 'Ecology of Community: Exploring Principles of Socially-Based Tenure in Urban Papakāinga,' focused on relationships between communities, the environment, and case studies of urban papakāinga and co-housing in Auckland, Denmark, Sweden, and the Netherlands. After his undergraduate degree, Berghan worked as a Licensed Cadastral Surveyor in Hamilton, New Zealand, before returning to Otago in 2017 to pursue his doctorate. He began his lecturing position in 2020, integrating mātauranga Māori principles, including pluralism and kaupapa Māori research methodologies, into his teaching and scholarship to emphasize diverse ways of knowing and student mana motuhake. His honours thesis in 2012 was titled 'Striking a Balance: Balancing Cultural and Productive Uses of Māori Freehold Land.'

Berghan's research specializations include urban design and planning, land law, housing affordability, cohousing and papakāinga development, the built environment's influence on wellbeing, transport and health equity, Indigenous perspectives in housing research, and climate-resilient kāinga design based on whenua. Key publications include 'Applying a Relational Lens to the Work Travel Experiences of Diverse Women' (2025), 'The HOMING Method: A Participatory Interview Tool Integrating Indigenous Perspectives in Housing Research' (2025), 'Ka Mua, Ka Muri: Designing Whenua-Based Kāinga for a Climate-Resilient Future' (2025), 'Transport and Health Equity: Considering the Needs of Diverse Populations' (2024), 'Considering the Importance of Transport to the Wellbeing of Māori Social Housing Residents' (2024), 'Māori Experiences of Social Housing in Ōtautahi Christchurch' (2023), and 'Inclusive and Collective Urban Home Spaces: The Future of Housing in Aotearoa New Zealand' (2022). In 2022, he received the Curriculum Innovation Award from the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy for an exemplary third-year urban design course. Berghan holds the role of Kairangahau Matua (Senior Research Fellow) at Te Manawahoukura, University of Otago, leading research on papakāinga, collective housing models, alternative tenure pathways, Indigenous urbanism, and disinformation in urban planning as part of the inaugural Mana Tūāpapa Future Leader Fellowship.