The corner of High and Tuam Streets which used to be lined with shops. Now they have been demolished and the area around is almost empty.
A cycle-lane sign submerged in water. The photographer comments, "During the Christchurch earthquake this sign must have dropped off of the pedestrian bridge above and landed straight down into the Avon River".
A photograph of road works on a residential street in Christchurch. A digger is filling a skip while a worker in a high-visibility vest and hard hat is directing traffic along one lane.
The roof of this collapsed building on Atlas Lane has fallen almost intact on top of the rubble. The photographer comments, "Whenever I go past this place it reminds me of a sinking ship".
A building on Lichfield Street next to Poplar Lane. The top of the building crumbled onto the street during the 4 September earthquake, crushing a car. The inner walls are now visible on the top storey.
Photograph captioned by BeckerFraserPhotos, "Design and Arts College of NZ, Kaplan House, 116 Worcester Street".
This week on the blog we take you on a journey down the South Belt sewer, one of Christchurch’s many 19th century wastewater sewers. Located deep below the east-bound lane of Moorhouse Avenue and more than a kilometre in length, … Continue reading →
A blog about the Family-owned and run bar in Poplar Lanes, Christchurch - home of live entertainment with bands and DJs, every Thursday to Saturday. Archived instances cover the Canterbury Earthquake when the bar had to close down due to damage.
A photograph of an abandoned section at the end of Mitcham Place in Bexley, next to Sopley Lane. A pile of household rubbish and broken furniture has been left on the footpath in front of the property.
Damaged buildings along Manchester Street next to Struthers Lane. The front wall of one building has collapsed, exposing the inside. Scaffolding has been erected in front, as well as fencing and road cones cordoning the building off.
Since the Christchurch earthquakes propelled Paul Fleming from his Chancery Lane shop in central Christchurch, he has begun a business called 'Happy Tours' featuring an immaculate Austin Seven called Myrtle. Myrtle takes Spectrum's Deborah Nation into Christchurch's central city Red Zone. Christchurch poet Helen Jacobs also tours in Myrtle.
Photograph captioned by Fairfax, "Major earthquake hits Christchurch. Note left on a demolished car on Manchester Street by the entrance to Sol Square via Struthers Lane. 'Hi I was the driver of this cab. No one is hurt.'
A photograph looking north down Gayhurst Road, taken from the side of the bridge over the Avon River. Residential properties used to line the left-hand side of the road, and St Paul's church once stood on the corner. This was before the land was red-zoned as a result of the 2010 and 2011 Canterbury earthquakes. Separated cycle ways have recently been installed on both sides of the road. The photograph was modelled off an image taken by Mark Lincoln in September 2010.
A photograph looking north down Gayhurst Road, taken from the side of the bridge over the Avon River. Residential properties used to line the left-hand side of the road, and St Paul's church once stood on the corner. This was before the land was red-zoned as a result of the 2010 and 2011 Canterbury earthquakes. Separated cycle ways have recently been installed on both sides of the road. The photograph was modelled off an image taken by Mark Lincoln in September 2010.
A photograph looking north down Gayhurst Road, taken from the side of the bridge over the Avon River. Residential properties used to line the left-hand side of the road, and St Paul's church once stood on the corner. This was before the land was red-zoned as a result of the 2010 and 2011 Canterbury earthquakes. Separated cycle ways have recently been installed on both sides of the road. The photograph was modelled off an image taken by Mark Lincoln in September 2010.
Photograph captioned by BeckerFraserPhotos, "The view from the top of Alice in Videoland".
A sign outside Poplar Lane reading "Temporary Road Closure, Poplar Street will be closed between Lichfield Street and Tuam Street from 7am on 09:08:2010 to 6pm on 22:11:2010, Enquiries: 0800 SAFE 4U". "Danger Keep Out" tape can be seen behind the sign.
The major earthquakes of 2010 and 2011 brought to an abrupt end a process of adaptive reuse, revitalisation and gentrification that was underway in the early 20th century laneways and buildings located in the south eastern corner of the Christchurch Central Business District. Up until then, this location was seen as an exemplar of how mixed use could contribute to making the central city an attractive and viable alternative to the suburban living experience predominant in New Zealand. This thesis is the result of a comprehensive case study of this “Lichfield Lanes” area, which involved in depth interviews with business owners, observation of public meetings and examination of documents and the revitalisation research literature. Findings were that many of the factors seen to make this location successful pre-earthquakes mirror the results of similar research in other cities. These factors include: the importance of building upon historic architecture and the eclectic spaces this creates; a wide variety of uses generating street life; affordable rental levels; plus the dangers of uniformity of use brought about by focussing on business types that pay the most rent. Also critical is co-operation between businesses to create and effectively market and manage an identifiable precinct that has a coherent style and ambience that differentiates the location from competing suburban malls. In relation to the latter, a significant finding of this project was that the hospitality and retail businesses key to the success of Lichfield Lanes were not typical and could be described as quirky, bohemian, chaotic, relatively low rent, owner operated and appealing to the economically important “Creative Class” identified by Richard Florida (2002) and others. In turn, success for many of these businesses can be characterised as including psychological and social returns rather than simply conventional economic benefits. This has important implications for inner city revitalisation, as it contrasts with the traditional focus of local authorities and property developers on physical aspects and tenant profitability as measures of success. This leads on to an important conclusion from this research, which is that an almost completely inverted strategy from that applied to suburban mall development, may be most appropriate for successful inner city revitalisation. It also highlights a disconnection between the focus and processes of regulatory authorities and the outcomes and processes most acceptable to the people likely to frequent the central city. Developers are often caught in the middle of this conflicted situation. Another finding was early commitment by businesses to rebuild the case study area in the same style, but over time this waned as delay, demolition, insurance problems, political and planning uncertainty plus other issues made participation by the original owners and tenants impossible or uneconomic. In conclusion, the focus of inner city revitalisation is too often on buildings rather than the people that use them and what they now desire from the central city.
Photograph captioned by BeckerFraserPhotos, "A view of SOL Square from the top of the Alice in Videoland building on the corner of High Street and Tuam Street".
Moira Fraser stands on a mound of liquefaction. The liquefaction is high enough that she is able to hold onto to the spouting of the house next to the mound. A broken fence can be seen protruding through the liquefaction. The property is on Waireka Lane in Bexley.
A photograph of road works on a residential street in Christchurch. A patch of asphalt has been removed and a digger and a steam roller are parked to the side. A worker in a high-visibility vest and hard hat is directing traffic along one lane.
A photograph of trailers full of furniture and belongings from people's homes on Poplar Lane parked on High Street near the intersection with Tuam Street. The items were removed from the homes during the Residential Access Project which gave residents temporary access within the red-zone cordon in order to retrieve their possessions.
An aerial photograph of High Street. The photograph has been captioned by BeckerFraserPhotos, "A detail of High Street between the Lichfield and Manchester Street intersection and the Tuam and Poplar Street intersection".
Scaffolding that has been constructed on the Manchester Street face of the Octagon Live Restaurant (formerly Trinity Church), which is being repaired. Masonry has fallen from one of the building's gables, and the resultant gap has been weather proofed with plywood and a tarpaulin. The site has been enclosed in a safety fence that cuts off one lane of the road.
The September Canterbury earthquake. These pictures were taken of Colombo Street in Sydenham. A lot of masonry in this area has been damaged/fallen down. A second hand dealer store. This is next to Penny Lane which had to relocate down the street. Note: these photos were taken on a cellphone; mind the quality.
A video of a presentation by Dr Duncan Webb, Partner at Lane Neave, during the third plenary of the 2016 People in Disasters Conference. The presentation is titled, "Loss of Trust and other Earthquake Damage".The abstract for this presentation reads as follows: It was predictable that the earthquakes which hit the Canterbury region in 2010 and 2011 caused trauma. However, it was assumed that recovery would be significantly assisted by governmental agencies and private insurers. The expectation was that these organisations would relieve the financial pressures and associated anxiety caused by damage to property. Some initiatives did exactly that. However, there are many instances where difficulties with insurance and related issues have exacerbated the adverse effects of the earthquakes on people's wellness. In some cases, stresses around property issues have become and independent source of extreme anxiety and have had significant impacts on the quality of people's lives. Underlying this problem is a breakdown in trust between citizen and state, and insurer and insured. This has led to a pervading concern that entitlements are being denied. While such concerns are sometimes well founded, an approach which is premised on mistrust is frequently highly conflicted, costly, and often leads to worse outcomes. Professor Webb will discuss the nature and causes of these difficulties including: the complexity of insurance and repair issues, the organisational ethos of the relevant agencies, the hopes of homeowners and the practical gap which commonly arises between homeowner expectation and agency response. Observations will be offered on how the adverse effects of these issues can be overcome in dealing with claimants, and how such matters can be managed in a way which promotes the wellness of individuals.
Scaffolding that has been constructed on the Manchester Street face of the Octagon Live Restaurant (formerly Trinity Church), which is being repaired. Masonry has fallen from one of the building's gables, and the resultant gap has been weather proofed with plywood and a tarpaulin. The site has been enclosed in a safety fence that cuts off one lane of the road.
Scaffolding that has been constructed on the Manchester Street face of the Octagon Live Restaurant (formerly Trinity Church), which is being repaired. Masonry has fallen from one of the building's gables, and the resultant gap has been weather proofed with plywood and a tarpaulin. The site has been enclosed in a safety fence that cuts off one lane of the road.
The September Canterbury earthquake. These pictures were taken of Colombo Street in Sydenham. A lot of masonry in this area has been damaged/fallen down. Angus Donaldson copy service. This has moved down the road on Colombo Street. It is now sharing the premises with Penny Lane Records. Note: these photos were taken on a cellphone; mind the qu...
Taken during a scenic flight over Christchurch, New Zealand, 3 months after the deadly earthquake of 22 February, 2011. Much of the inner city CBD is still cordoned off and will be for some time. About 900 buildings are set for demolition. Taken aboard the Southern DC3 www.so...