Dr Eva Neely is a senior lecturer at Te Herenga Waka – Victoria University of Wellington. Her research explores the intersections of parenthood, place, embodiment, and health. She is particularly interested in how parents experience cities, and how walking with children can highlight both the challenges and opportunities of sub/urban life.
Eva will be a keynote speaker at the Living Streets Aotearoa 2025 Walking Summit, where she will introduce Parent-Centred Urbanism — an emerging research platform that examines how parents’ walking journeys and everyday use of urban spaces can inspire more welcoming, accessible, and caring cities for all. If you’re interested in learning more, be sure to register for the Walking Summit to hear Eva’s keynote.
Ahead of the Summit, LSA spoke with Eva about Parent-Centred Urbanism and some of the early insights from her research. The conversation, lightly edited for clarity, follows below.
Q: Can you tell us about the Parent-Centred Urbanism Aotearoa project and how you came to do this research?
Mirjam Schindler (the co-leader of this project) and I first met through a cross-university programme. She was working on healthy and liveable cities, while I was focused on motherhood, parenthood, and the links between place, health, and wellbeing. At the same time, I was running another project on first-time motherhood. From those conversations, it became clear that place really matters — for example, whether there are spaces to rest or stop on a walk makes a real difference for new parents.
We are also both parents ourselves, with the lived experience of navigating cities with babies and young children. That shared background led me to ask Mirjam: What if we put in a grant to explore the intersection of space, health, and belonging in sub/urban environments for new parents?
We realised there was a gap in the research. There’s a growing body of work on children’s geographies, which is incredibly important, but parents’ perspectives are often overlooked. Yet their health and wellbeing are critical — you can’t nurture a child if your own “bucket” is constantly empty. When parents are well and supported, families flourish, and that has ripple effects across communities.
So, the Parent-Centred Urbanism Aotearoa project grew out of three things: our lived experiences as parents, our overlapping research interests, and the recognition of this gap. From there, we saw an opportunity to learn from parents’ voices and advocate for healthier, more welcoming cities that better support them.
Q: You mentioned some reasons already, but why is walking important for new parents?
Walking nourishes both the body and the mind. It’s a simple parenting tool that offers a break, a chance to get outside, and an opportunity to explore together. For parents, it’s also a form of gentle exercise. After a caesarean, for example, the body can feel really rough, but walking is often something people feel they can manage.
What makes walking so valuable is its accessibility. You don’t need special equipment — you can literally step out the door and begin. It’s also flexible: a five-minute walk can be enough to reset, while longer walks offer more sustained benefits. That adaptability is really important for busy parents who have very little time for structured exercise.
And then there are the mental and emotional health benefits. Walking provides what I like to call an “affective release.” All the built-up emotions — frustration, anger, resentment, boredom — can really eat away at you. Even a short loop around the block can help shift that weight and bring a sense of relief.
Q: What research have you done so far for the project?
We started with a small survey on belonging, new parenthood, and community, and we have published a paper about those results. It really struck us how central walking is for new parents, yet how little it has been studied in depth. That insight shaped our next phase which was walking interviews.
In these, we walked alongside new parents while talking with them, then asked them to take photos on their walks over a four-week period. Afterwards, we sat down with them to discuss those photos and what they represented. We recently published a paper on that research. Earlier this year, we ran a national survey on health and walking to explore the themes from interviews in more depth.
Q: And what were some of the results from the walking interviews?
One big theme was the way relationships between people, places, and things are woven together through walking. As researchers, we might notice a beautiful scene, but parents often pointed to places that held meaning for them in different ways. For example, one participant described a big tree where her toddler and dog loved to play with the branches — a spot that embodied joy in the relationship between the tree, her child, her pet, and herself.
Another key finding was the importance of shared, inclusive spaces. Too often, urban spaces are designed for a single purpose and end up being exclusionary. Parents valued places that supported both children and adults, where nature, play, and social connection could coexist.
Watch this video to see some snippets from the walking interviews.
Q: How can this research inform the work of city planners or urban designers?
Urban planning often treats walking as a way to get efficiently from A to B. But parental walking challenges that logic — it’s often non-linear, circular, repetitive, and sometimes without a clear destination. Recognising this different rhythm is crucial for designing cities that truly support parents.
We also learned that small, everyday places matter just as much as big-ticket infrastructure like parks or libraries. Parents found joy in modest spots — a shady tree, a quiet corner, a stretch of path. That suggests cities don’t always need multimillion-dollar investments. Sometimes smaller, low-cost interventions can make a real difference for families.
Q: What’s next for the Parent-Centred Urbanism Aotearoa project?
Our next step is to work alongside local parent groups and iwi to share our findings, ask what’s missing, and think about how to bring the insights to life. We’re also preparing a larger, Te Tiriti-based grant with Māori scholars, focusing on learning from the land to support health and wellbeing.
Looking ahead, we want to include more diverse parents and partner with community and iwi groups to deepen and broaden our work. Ultimately, our goal is to build a framework for caring cities and caring infrastructures that support parents, children, and communities alike.
A reminder, if you’re interested in learning more about Parent-centred Urbanism, register for the Walking Summit to hear Eva’s keynote.