Beyond inclusion: reckoning with settler colonial cities

This commentary explores how settler colonial cities have been built upon the erasure and ongoing dispossession of Indigenous peoples. Drawing on Chomsky's observation that Indigenous communities lead global environmental protection efforts despite being dismissed as ‘backward,’ I argue that colonial urban planning has systematically ignored Indigenous spatial knowledge and relationships with land. Existing city structures—from orthogonal street grids to property markets—perpetuate colonial violence by treating Indigenous peoples as visitors rather than original inhabitants. Moving beyond mere inclusion, I propose fundamental transformations including returning land to Indigenous control, decolonising planning processes, incorporating Māori ecological knowledge, and recognising Indigenous self-determination over urban territories. The paper contends that genuine reconciliation requires reimagining cities as sites of Indigenous resurgence where Indigenous peoples can thrive according to their own laws and relationships with whenua (land) and wai (water), rather than spaces demanding assimilation. This reckoning necessitates uncomfortable power redistribution from settlers and structural economic changes to address historical and ongoing injustices.