Research undertaken and literature reviewed show that major natural disasters present considerable risk to Governors Bay. Earthquakes, and resulting secondary hazards from natural disasters, could lead to the isolation of the Governors Bay community for an extended period. In particular, the rupture of the Alpine Fault and the resulting mega-quake could leave Governors Bay isolated for well over three weeks. Weaknesses in existing infrastructure in Governors Bay further places residents at risk. Therefore, it is essential that residents are prepared for a period of extended isolation, with little to no access to clean water, power, internet and cellular coverage. Ultimately, community preparedness will be the key to maintaining social cohesion and saving lives during an emergency event. The community hub in Governors Bay establishes a pre-determined locale for community co-ordination, collection, and distribution of supplies as well as a functional place to go when all else fails.
In Aotearoa, New Zealand people are living longer, alongside a slowing birthrate, the older population is growing faster than the younger population. As people live longer, there is an increased need for social services and support that cater for older persons, including care takers, mental health services, and community groups. Social work plays an important role in an ageing society because it addresses the multifaceted needs for older people. While there has been recent research conducted on the experiences of older persons, none have been undertaken in the unique context of the Eastern suburbs of Ōtautahi, Christchurch, an area adversely impacted by the 2011 earthquakes. This research specifically looks at the experiences of older residents in the East, considering various intersecting characteristics such as age, gender, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, available supports, community engagement and relationships to explore the multifaceted experiences and needs of this cohort. This research is a qualitative study influenced by intersectionality and place theories. Both underpinning theories are important in understanding social dynamics, identities, and lived experiences within this community research project. I interviewed nine participants from the Eastern suburbs of Ōtautahi, Christchurch using semi-structured interviews. Interviews were analysed using thematic analysis and detailed journaling. The data from these interviews generated the main themes discussed in this thesis: community connections, places with meaning, and accessing social support services.
This research seeks to understand if memorials like the CWM operate as effective prompts for collective memory as distance from the event it commemorates grows. The Citizens’ War Memorial (CWM) was built to honour the men and women who died serving New Zealand in World War One. While the original purpose of the memorial was clear, the way the public have interacted with the memorial throughout time has seen its function vary. This dissertation addresses how the public has viewed and interacted with the CWM from the planning phase up to the present year of 2025. By systematically tracking the key events through time, it argues that key events such as WWII, the Anti-Vietnam War protest period, the Anzac Revival and Canterbury 2011 earthquake have seen the public use and view the memorial differently to its intended purpose. In the current day, the memorial is once again used as a place to remember and honour the dead from WWI showing that purpose of a memorial can ebb and flow as generations change.
Many contemporary urban communities are challenged by increased flood risks and rising temperatures, declining water quality and biodiversity, and reduced mental, physical, cultural and social wellbeing. The development of urban blue-green infrastructure (BGI), defined as networks of natural and semi-natural blue-green spaces which enable healthy ecosystem processes, has been identified as one approach to mitigate these challenges and enable more liveable cities. Multiple benefits associated with urban BGI have been identified, including reduced flood risk and temperatures, improved water quality and biodiversity, enhanced mental and physical wellbeing, strengthened social cohesion and sense of place, and the facilitation of cultural connections and practices. However, socio-cultural benefits have tended to be neglected in BGI research and design, resulting in a lack of awareness of how they may be maximised in BGI design. As such, this research sought to understand how BGI can best be designed to enable liveable cities. Four questions were considered: (i) what benefits are associated with urban BGI, (ii) how does the design process influence the benefits achieved by BGI, (iii) what challenges are encountered during BGI design, and (iv) how might the incorporation of communities and Indigenous knowledge into BGI research and design enhance current understandings and applications of urban BGI? To address these questions, a mixed methods case study approach was employed in Ōtautahi Christchurch and Kaiapoi. The four selected case studies were Te Oranga Waikura, Wigram Basin, Te Kuru and the Kaiapoi Honda Forest. The cases are all council owned urban wetlands which were primarily designed or retrofitted to reduce urban flood risks following the Canterbury Earthquake Sequence. To investigate BGI design processes in each case, as well as how communities interact with, value and benefit from these spaces. BGI projects were found to be designed by interdisciplinary design teams driven by stormwater engineers, landscape architects and ecologists which prioritised bio-physical outcomes. Further, community and Indigenous engagement approaches closely resembled consultation, with the exception of Te Kuru which employed a co-design approach between councils and Indigenous and community groups. This co-design approach was found to enhance current understandings and applications of urban BGI, while uncovering multiple socio-cultural values to be incorporated into design, such as access to cultural healing resources, increased community connections to water, and facilitating cultural monitoring methodologies and citizen science initiatives. Communities frequently identified the opportunity to connect with natural environments and enhanced mental and physical wellbeing as key benefits of BGI. Conversely, strengthened social cohesion, sense of place and cultural connections were infrequently identified as benefits, if at all. This finding indicates a disconnect between the bio-physical benefits which drive BGI design and the outcomes which communities value. As such, there is a need for future BGI design to more fully consider and design for socio- cultural outcomes to better enable liveable cities. To better design BGI to enhance urban liveability, this research makes three key contributions. First, there is a need to advance current approaches to transdisciplinary design to better account for the full scope of perspectives and values associated with BGI. Second, there is a need to transition towards relational co-design with Indigenous and community groups and knowledge. Third, it is important to continue to monitor, reflect on and share both positive and negative BGI design experiences to continually improve outcomes. The incorporation of social and cultural researchers, knowledges and perspectives into open and collaborative transdisciplinary design teams is identified as a key method to achieve these opportunities.
In their everyday practice, social workers support those experiencing distress, poverty, oppression, and marginalisation in recovering from past and present crises and trauma. This expertise and knowledge is highly relevant in the aftermath of disasters, which disproportionately impact those on the margins of society. This research examines the experiences of social workers who responded to two major disaster events in Ōtautahi Christchurch, Aotearoa New Zealand: the Canterbury earthquakes of 2010 and 2011, and the Christchurch mosque attacks of 2019. This qualitative study was interpreted through a theoretical framework comprised of posttraumatic growth (PTG), ecological systems theory, the notion of ‘place’, and social capital. Data for this research was collected in two phases; individual interviews with 23 registered social workers who practised through both disaster sequences, and two focus groups which reviewed the findings of the interviews and contributed further reflections on their experiences. The data was analysed through a reflexive thematic analysis (RTA). Analysis of the data revealed three major themes from the individual interviews, and one overall theme from the focus groups. The first theme from the interviews explored participants’ feelings around the challenges associated with disaster practice and how these had enhanced their practice skills, expanded their knowledge, and aided in the development of new skills. The second theme investigated participants’ new understandings of trauma. This theme included a greater appreciation for the negative toll of trauma and how it can manifest, and the unexpected positive changes which can occur as a result of reflecting on traumatic experiences. The third theme from the individual interviews examined how participants felt their sense of resilience was connected to their experiences of support. Through the focus groups, participants contributed further data and knowledge. Participants in the focus groups identified and discussed principles that they felt were necessary for disaster practice, including being trauma attuned, culturally aware, and adaptable individually and organisationally to the changing needs of disaster. These findings have important implications for social work disaster practice and everyday work, both in Aotearoa New Zealand and internationally. The participants’ experiences and perspectives were analysed to develop a model for disaster practice.
Effective management of waste and debris generated by a disaster event is vital to ensure rapid and efficient response and recovery that supports disaster risk reduction (DRR). Disaster waste refers to any stream of debris that is created from a natural disaster that impacts the environment, infrastructure, and property. This waste can be problematic due to extensive volumes, environmental contamination and pollution, public health risks, and the disruption of response and recovery efforts. Due to the complexities in dealing with these diverse and voluminous materials, having disaster waste management (DWM) planning in place pre-event is crucial. In particular, coordinated, interagency plans that have been informed by estimates of waste volumes and types are vital to ensure management facilities, personnel, and recovery resources do not become overwhelmed. Globally, a priority when formulating DWM plans is the robust estimation of disaster waste stream types and volumes. This is a relatively under-researched area, despite the growing risk of natural disasters and increasingly inadequate waste management facilities. In Aotearoa New Zealand, a nation-wide DWM planning tool has been proposed for local government use, and waste amounts from events such as the Christchurch Earthquakes have been estimated. However, there has been little work undertaken to estimate waste types and volumes with a region-specific, multi-hazard focus, which is required to facilitate detailed regional DWM planning. This research provides estimates of potential disaster waste volumes and types in the Waitaha-Canterbury region of the South Island (Te Waipounamu) for three key hazard scenarios: a M8.0 Alpine Fault earthquake with a south-to-north rupture pattern, a far-sourced tsunami using a maximum credible event model for a Peru-sourced event, and major flooding using geospatial datasets taken from available local government modelling. Conducted in partnership with Environment Canterbury and Canterbury CDEM, this estimation work informed stakeholder engagement through multi-agency workshops at the district level. This research was comprised of two key parts. The first was enhancing and extending a disaster waste estimation model used in Wellington and applying it to the Canterbury region to quantify waste volumes and types. The second part was using this model and its estimates to inform engagement with stakeholders in multi-agency, district-level workshops in Kaikōura, Hurunui, and Waimakariri. In these workshops, the waste estimates were used to catalyse discussion around potential issues associated with the management of disaster waste. Regionally, model estimates showed that the earthquake scenario would generate the highest total volume of disaster waste (1.94 million m³), compared to the tsunami scenario (1.89 million m³) and the flood scenario (173,900 m³). Flood waste estimates are likely underrepresented due to limited flood modelling coverage, but still provide a valuable comparison. Whilst waste estimates differ significantly between districts, waste volumes were shown to be not solely dependent on building/population density. The district-level workshops showed that DWM challenges revolved around logistical constraints, public concerns, governance complexities, and environmental issues. Future work should further enhance this estimation model and apply it to other regions of Aotearoa New Zealand, to help develop a set of cohesive DWM plans for each region. The waste estimation model could also be adapted and applied internationally. The findings from this research provide a foundation for advancing DWM planning and stakeholder engagement in the Waitaha-Canterbury region. By offering region-specific waste estimates across multiple hazard scenarios, this work supports district councils and emergency managers in developing informed, proactive strategies for disaster preparedness and response. The insights gained from district-level workshops highlight key challenges that must be addressed in future planning. These outcomes contribute to a broader research agenda for DWM in Aotearoa New Zealand, and offer a framework adaptable to international contexts.
