University of Canterbury geologist Mark Quigley has earned a reputation for being a great science communicator on the subject of earthquakes. But when he's not in the media spotlight, he's out and about around Canterbury building a picture of the region's tectonic history, and trying to understand what might happen in the future.
Hide backs Garrett despite passport fraud, Christchurch firms hopeful RBNZ will keep rates on hold, Radio New Zealand's political editor discusses Act turmoil, Earthquake muddies picture on future OCR rises, State of emergency expected to be lifted in Canterbury, Kaikoura slip due to be cleared today and Statue of Battle of Britain hero Sir Keith Park unveiled in London.
Christchurch Hospital has just celebrated its 150th anniversary. The major medical facility is in the heart of the city, beside Hagley Park, and played a key role in the February earthquake, treating the many who were seriously injured. Christchurch correspondent Katy Gosset discovers the hospital faces its own quake-related challenges as it plans for the future.
An image used as a cover photo on the All Right? Facebook page. The image reads, "Three years on... It's all right to be excited about our future." All Right? posted the image on their Facebook page on 18 February 2014 at 3:06pm.
A video clip of a large-scale, temporary installation titled Antigravity. The installation is on Lichfield Street. The installation was created by students from The University of Auckland in collaboration with Cakes By Anna. It was part of CityUps - a 'city of the future for one night only', and the main event of FESTA 2014.
A video clip showing close-up footage of a large-scale, temporary installation titled ING. The installation is at the intersection of High Street, Lichfield Street and Manchester Street. The installation was created by students from Unitec, for CityUps - a 'city of the future for one night only', and the main event of FESTA 2014.
A broken concrete floor slab in a residential property. The photographer comments, "Now that our house is to be rebuilt some time in the distant future, I decided to relay the loose and broken tiles. I took some photos to show what lies beneath".
A photograph of cakes made by Cakes by Anna, on a table outside ArtBox. The cakes are for Something Super, which was part of FESTA 2013. The event included food, music, art, animation and talks about ArtBox, BeatBox and the future of Christchurch.
A photograph of Architect Pippin Wright-Stow from F3 Design giving a talk at Something Super during FESTA 2013. The event was held at ArtBox and included food, music, art, animation and talks about ArtBox, BeatBox and the future of Christchurch.
A photograph of Pippin Wright-Stow and Martin Trusttum from F3 Design giving a talk at Something Super during FESTA 2013. The event was held at ArtBox and included food, music, art, animation and talks about ArtBox, BeatBox and the future of Christchurch.
A video of Principal Tony Simpson announcing to staff and parents at Phillipstown School that the Ministry of Education has decided to merge the school with Woolston School. The video also includes an interview with Tony Simpson about the merger, and his hopes for education in Christchurch in the future.
A photograph of two large signs that are part of Signs of Things to Come. This was a wayfinding project by Generation Zero and Diadem, for FESTA 2014. The signage gives directions to key central city and FESTA locations, and compares the current and future potential of transport in Christchurch.
A photograph of Architect Pippin Wright-Stow from F3 Design giving a talk at Something Super during FESTA 2013. The event was held at ArtBox and included food, music, art, animation and talks about ArtBox, BeatBox and the future of Christchurch.
A video clip of several large-scale, temporary installations being erected on the corner of High and Lichfield Streets, and the corner of Lichfield and Manchester Streets. The installations are being created by students from Unitec, The University of Auckland and CPIT, for CityUps - a 'city of the future for one night only', and the main event of FESTA 2014.
A photograph of Pippin Wright-Stow and Martin Trusttum from F3 Design giving a talk at Something Super during FESTA 2013. The event was held at ArtBox and included food, music, art, animation and talks about ArtBox, BeatBox and the future of Christchurch.
A photograph of Pippin Wright-Stow and Martin Trusttum from F3 Design giving a talk at Something Super during FESTA 2013. The event was held at ArtBox and included food, music, art, animation and talks about ArtBox, BeatBox and the future of Christchurch.
A photograph of Pippin Wright-Stow and Martin Trusttum from F3 Design giving a talk at Something Super during FESTA 2013. The event was held at ArtBox and included food, music, art, animation and talks about ArtBox, BeatBox and the future of Christchurch.
A photograph of Architect Pippin Wright-Stow from F3 Design giving a talk at Something Super during FESTA 2013. The event was held at ArtBox and included food, music, art, animation and talks about ArtBox, BeatBox and the future of Christchurch.
As the future of the world’s oil reserves becomes progressively more uncertain, it is becoming increasingly important that steps are taken to ensure that there are viable, attractive alternatives to travel by private motor vehicle. As with many of New Zealand’s major urban centres, Christchurch is still exceptionally reliant on private motor vehicles; although a significant proportion of the population indicate that they would like to cycle more, cycling is still an underutilised mode of transport. Following a series of fatal earthquakes that struck the city in 2010 and 2011, there has been the need to significantly redevelop much of the city’s horizontal infrastructure – subsequently providing the perfect platform for significant changes to be made to the road network. Many of the key planning frameworks governing the rebuild process have identified the need to improve Christchurch’s cycling facilities in order to boost cycling numbers and cyclist safety. The importance of considering future growth and travel patterns when planning for transport infrastructure has been highlighted extensively throughout literature. Accordingly, this study sought to identify areas where future cycle infrastructure development would be advantageous based on a number of population and employment projections, and likely future travel patterns throughout the city. Through the use of extensive GIS analysis, future population growth, employment and travel patterns for Christchurch city were examined in order to attain an understanding of where the current proposed major cycleways network could be improved, or extended. A range of data and network analysis were used to derive likely travel patterns throughout Christchurch in 2041. Trips were derived twice, once with a focus on simply finding the shortest route between each origin and destination, and then again with a focus on cyclist safety and areas where cyclists were unlikely to travel. It was found that although the proposed major cycleways network represents a significant step towards improving the cycling environment in Christchurch, there are areas of the city that will not be well serviced by the current proposed network in 2041. These include a number of key residential growth areas such as Halswell, Belfast and Prestons, along with a number of noteworthy key travel zones, particularly in areas close to the central city and key employment areas. Using network analysis, areas where improvements or extensions to the proposed network would be most beneficial were identified, and a number of potential extensions in a variety of areas throughout the city were added to the network of cycle ways. Although it has been found that filling small gaps in the network can have considerable positive outcomes, results from the prioritisation analysis suggested that initially in Christchurch demand is likely to be for more substantial extensions to the proposed major cycleways network.
The increase in urban population has required cities to rethink their strategies for minimising greenhouse gas impacts and adapting to climate change. While urban design and planning policy have been guided by principles such as walkability (to reduce the dependence on cars) and green infrastructure (to enhance the quality of open spaces to support conservation and human values), there have been conflicting views on what spatial strategies will best prepare cities for a challenging future. Researchers supporting compact cities based upon public Transit Oriented Development have claimed that walkability, higher density and mixed-uses make cities more sustainable (Owen, 2009) and that, while green spaces in cities are necessary, they are dull in comparison with shopfronts and street vendors (Speck, 2012, p 250). Other researchers claim that green infrastructure is fundamental to improving urban sustainability and attracting public space users with improved urban comfort, consequently encouraging walkability (Pitman and Ely, 2013). Landscape architects tend to assume that ‘the greener the better’; however, the efficiency of urban greenery in relation to urban comfort and urbanity depends on its density, distribution and the services provided. Green infrastructure can take many forms (from urban forests to street trees) and provide varied services (amended microclimate, aesthetics, ecology and so forth). In this paper, we evaluate the relevance of current policy in Christchurch regarding both best practice in green infrastructure and urban comfort (Tavares, 2015). We focus on the Christchurch Blueprint for rebuilding the central city, and critically examine the post-earthquake paths the city is following regarding its green and grey infrastructures and the resulting urban environment. We discuss the performance and appropriateness of the current Blueprint in post-earthquake Christchurch, particularly as it relates to the challenges that climate change is creating for cities worldwide.
A photograph of signs on the corner of Colombo and Hereford Streets that are part of Signs of Things to Come. This was a wayfinding project by Generation Zero and Diadem, for FESTA 2014. The signage gives directions to key central city and FESTA locations, and compares the current and future potential of transport in Christchurch.
A photograph of a large sign at Agropolis that is part of Signs of Things to Come. This was a wayfinding project by Generation Zero and Diadem, for FESTA 2014. The signage gives directions to key central city and FESTA locations, and compares the current and future potential of transport in Christchurch.
A photograph of a large sign at Agropolis that is part of Signs of Things to Come. This was a wayfinding project by Generation Zero and Diadem, for FESTA 2014. The signage gives directions to key central city and FESTA locations, and compares the current and future potential of transport in Christchurch.
A photograph of people walking past two large signs that are part of Signs of Things to Come. This was a wayfinding project by Generation Zero and Diadem, for FESTA 2014. The signage gives directions to key central city and FESTA locations, and compares the current and future potential of transport in Christchurch.
A photograph of signs on the corner of Manchester and Hereford Streets that are part of Signs of Things to Come. This was a wayfinding project by Generation Zero and Diadem, for FESTA 2014. The signage gives directions to key central city and FESTA locations, and compares the current and future potential of transport in Christchurch.
A photograph of signs on the corner of Colombo and Hereford Streets that are part of Signs of Things to Come. This was a wayfinding project by Generation Zero and Diadem, for FESTA 2014. The signage gives directions to key central city and FESTA locations, and compares the current and future potential of transport in Christchurch.
A photograph of signs on the corner of Manchester and Hereford Streets that are part of Signs of Things to Come. This was a wayfinding project by Generation Zero and Diadem, for FESTA 2014. The signage gives directions to key central city and FESTA locations, and compares the current and future potential of transport in Christchurch.
A photograph of signs on the corner of Colombo and Hereford Streets that are part of Signs of Things to Come. This was a wayfinding project by Generation Zero and Diadem, for FESTA 2014. The signage gives directions to key central city and FESTA locations, and compares the current and future potential of transport in Christchurch.
A photograph of signs on the corner of Colombo and Hereford Streets that are part of Signs of Things to Come. This was a wayfinding project by Generation Zero and Diadem, for FESTA 2014. The signage gives directions to key central city and FESTA locations, and compares the current and future potential of transport in Christchurch.
A photograph of signs on the corner of Gloucester and Colombo Streets that are part of Signs of Things to Come. This was a wayfinding project by Generation Zero and Diadem, for FESTA 2014. The signage gives directions to key central city and FESTA locations, and compares the current and future potential of transport in Christchurch.