In Search of Arcadia: The Persistence of the Rural Idyll in New Zealand Rural Subdivisions

Abstract

Arcadian ideals have long been important in western culture. They underpinned projects for colonial settlement and continue to be manifest today in urban perceptions of rural lifestyle throughout the English speaking world. Results from a study of 58 existing or intending smallholders around Christchurch, New Zealand, highlight the way Arcadian ideals and values motivate people to move to the country, and to remain there. They reveal both similarities and contrasts between contemporary New Zealand ideals of the rural way of life and those reported from North America and Europe, and have a number of practical planning implications.