Chenfeng Wang

Culturally Grounded Perceptions of Rural Landscapes: A Cross-Cultural Analysis of ZhuZhen Town and the Wairarapa Region

Globalisation and rapid urbanisation are transforming rural environments worldwide, altering both their physical characteristics and how people perceive and value them. Chenfeng’s PhD research examines how socio-ethnic backgrounds influence people’s perceptions of rural landscapes through a comparative study between ZhuZhen Town in China and the Wairarapa region in Aotearoa New Zealand.

Adopting a mixed-methods approach that combines surveys and interviews, the research investigates how cultural values, economic contexts, and lived experiences shape people’s understandings of rural places. It seeks to identify the social and cultural dimensions that contribute to diverse perceptions of landscape and to explore how these insights can inform more inclusive and sustainable approaches to rural landscape planning and management.

This study provides a cross-cultural framework for understanding the complex interactions between people, culture, and rural environments in a rapidly changing world.

Supervisors

Dr Bruno Marques & Fabricio Chicca