Looking at Te Hana like a real Planner

As a student planner we visited our new study area Te Hana a small town that is located north of Auckland on State Highway 1.

We as a class were traditionally welcome on their land through a Maori Powhiri. This is very unique to New Zealand and it is an experience that everyone should experience. After the Powhiri they people of the land explained what there aim of the Te Hana project was. They also told us the history of Te Hana, what the area was like before and what they want int to be.

The Aim of the project is to make Te Hana a more vibrant area that the local people can be proud of and to encourage people to stop into Te Hana and learn about the culture. They are trying to achieve something along the lines of Rotorua. They also want to increase the employment numbers and reduce crime rates to name a few. The people that are in charge of this project are the Te Hana Charitable Trust that is made up of the people that live within the community.

The Te Hana Charitable Trust work for their community, hold meetings and work with the councils to get what they want for their project. There project is a 17th Century Village this is a tourist attraction. It will teach tourist about Maori culture. The way this is being funded is through mainly fundraising.

The group i am in is the funding group. Our aim is to fundraise $2000 NZD for the community and also write up a booklet about how other communities can get fundraising.
I personally think this project is more realistic than anything else we have done because we get to experience what planners do which is listening to the community about what they want rather than telling them what they should have.