In response to the global climate crisis, Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University of Wellington embarked on an ambitious Living Pā building project to construct a 3,000-square-metre three-storey learning, teaching, research and engagement space as part of Te Herenga Waka Marae on its Kelburn Campus. While preparing to move into the new building, a research team investigated how the International Living Future Institute’s Living Building Challenge™ sustainability principles that underpin the Living Pā project could complement the tikanga Māori that regulate the marae community.

In 2017, the Imagining Decolonised Cities (IDC) competition sought submissions for the public’s visions of a decolonised Porirua. The IDC competition was an opportunity for Ngāti Toa Rangatira to solicit utopic ideas for their city post-settlement. This article presents an analysis of the 40 entries, exploring how participants understand decolonisation enacted in an urban setting. We identified two overarching themes from the submissions that can be linked to wider theories of decolonisation, particularly Corntassel’s (2008) theory of sustainable self-determination.