Dr Christina Ergler

Dr Christina Ergler is a lecturer in social geography at the University of Otago.

Her research interests are at the intersection of geography, sociology, and public health. They centre on how physical, social, and symbolic environments shape and are shaped by the way people play, live, age, fall ill, and recover in particular places. For example, Christina has examined access barriers and entitlements to health care among the urban poor in Chennai, as well as inequalities in experiencing and utilising neighbourhoods from the perspective of (migrant) families in Auckland. Through this work she became interested in developing methodological approaches that acknowledge lay expertise or what she calls “moving beyond passive participation”.

She has published numerous theoretical and methodological pieces to alert stakeholders and communities to the socio-spatial, structural, and experiential dimensions of people’s health and wellbeing in transforming urban environments.

Christina is a member of the editorial team for the journal Geography Compass and serves as New Zealand representative for the Young Commission on Health and Environment as part of the International Geographical Union Commission on Health and Environment (IGU CHE).

For more details, see Dr Ergler’s profile.