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Images, UC QuakeStudies

A photograph of a sign protesting the red stickering of Avoca Valley houses. The sign reads, "459 days since being evicted from our Avoca Valley homes. Communities make a city. Decisions now! Let us go home. Facebook: Avoca Valley Earthquake Recovery Authority".

Images, UC QuakeStudies

A close-up photograph of parts of the Townsend Telescope recovered from the rubble of the Observatory tower. The telescope was housed in the tower at the Christchurch Arts Centre. It was severely damaged when the tower collapsed during the 22 February 2011 earthquake.

Images, UC QuakeStudies

A photograph of a sign protesting the red stickering of Avoca Valley houses. The sign reads, "459 days since being evicted from our Avoca Valley homes. Communities make a city. Decisions now! Let us go home. Facebook: Avoca Valley Earthquake Recovery Authority".

Images, UC QuakeStudies

A photograph of parts of the Townsend Telescope recovered from the rubble of the Observatory tower. The telescope was housed in the tower at the Christchurch Arts Centre. It was severely damaged when the tower collapsed during the 22 February 2011 earthquake.

Images, UC QuakeStudies

A digger demolishes Henry Africa's restaurant. The photographer comments, "A building housing a restaurant and a great little neighbourhood bar is finally coming down because of earthquake damage. The left half. Janes Bar and one of the upstairs flats were still standing today, but they'll be gone soon".

Research Papers, Lincoln University

Numerous studies have shown that urban soils can contain elevated concentrations of heavy metals (HMs). Christchurch, New Zealand, is a relatively young city (150 years old) with a population of 390,000. Most soils in Christchurch are sub-urban, with food production in residential gardens a popular activity. Earthquakes in 2010 and 2011 have resulted in the re-zoning of 630 ha of Christchurch, with suggestions that some of this land could be used for community gardens. We aimed to determine the HM concentrations in a selection of suburban gardens in Christchurch as well as in soils identified as being at risk of HM contamination due to hazardous former land uses or nearby activities. Heavy metal concentrations in suburban Christchurch garden soils were higher than normal background soil concentrations. Some 46% of the urban garden samples had Pb concentrations higher than the residential land use national standard of 210 mg kg⁻¹, with the most contaminated soil containing 2615 mg kg⁻¹ Pb. Concentrations of As and Zn exceeded the residential land use national standards (20 mg kg⁻¹ As and 400 mg kg⁻¹ Zn) in 20% of the soils. Older neighbourhoods had significantly higher soil HM concentrations than younger neighbourhoods. Neighbourhoods developed pre-1950s had a mean Pb concentration of 282 mg kg⁻¹ in their garden soils. Soil HM concentrations should be key criteria when determining the future land use of former residential areas that have been demolished because of the earthquakes in 2010 and 2011. Redeveloping these areas as parklands or forests would result in less human HM exposure than agriculture or community gardens where food is produced and bare soil is exposed.

Research papers, University of Canterbury Library

This study explicitly investigates uncertainties in physics-based ground motion simulation validation for earthquakes in the Canterbury region. The simulations utilise the Graves and Pitarka (2015) hybrid methodology, with separately quantified parametric uncertainties in the comprehensive physics and simplified physics components of the model. The study is limited to the simulation of 148 small magnitude (Mw 3.5 – 5) earthquakes, with a point source approximation for the source rupture representations, which also enables a focus on a small number of relevant uncertainties. The parametric uncertainties under consideration were selected through sensitivity analysis, and specifically include: magnitude, Brune stress parameter and high frequency rupture velocity. Twenty Monte Carlo realisations were used to sample parameter uncertainties for each of the 148 events. Residuals associated with the following intensity measures: spectral acceleration, peak ground velocity, arias intensity and significant duration, were ascertained. Using these residuals, validation was performed through assessment of systematic biases in site and source terms from mixed-effects regression. Based on the results to date, initial standard deviation recommendations for parameter uncertainties, based on the Canterbury simulations have been obtained. This work ultimately provides an initial step toward explicit incorporation of modelling uncertainty in simulated ground motion predictions for future events, which will improve the use of simulation models in seismic hazard analysis. We plan to subsequently assess uncertainties for larger magnitude events with more complex ruptures, and events across a larger geographic region, as well as uncertainties due to path attenuation, site effects, and more general model epistemic uncertainties.

Research Papers, Lincoln University

Successful urban regeneration projects generate benefits that are realised over a much longer timeframe than normal market developments and benefits well beyond those that can be uplifted by a market developer. Consequently there is substantial evidence in the literature that successful place-making and urban regeneration projects are usually public-private partnerships and involve a funder, usually local or central government, willing to contribute ‘patient’ capital. Following the 2010 and 2011 earthquakes that devastated the centre of Christchurch, there was an urgent need to rebuild and revitalise the heart of the city, and increasing the number of people living in or near the city centre was seen as a key ingredient of that. In October 2010, an international competition was launched to design and build an Urban Village, a project intended to stimulate renewed residential development in the city. The competition attracted 58 entrants from around world, and in October 2013 the winning team was chosen from four finalists. However the team failed to secure sufficient finance, and in November 2015 the Government announced that the development would not proceed. The Government was unwilling or unable to recognise that an insistence on a pure market approach would not deliver the innovative sustainable village asked for in the competition brief, and failed to factor in the opportunity cost to government, local government, local businesses and the wider Christchurch community of delaying by many years the residential development of the eastern side of the city. As a result, the early vision of the vitality that a thriving residential neighbourhood would bring to the city has not yet been realised.

Images, UC QuakeStudies

A photograph of the earthquake damage to the Loyal Benevolent Lodge on Canon Street. Bricks at the top of the façade have crumbled and fallen to the ground, bringing the awning with them. Large cracks can be seen in the remaining brick wall.

Images, UC QuakeStudies

A photograph looking north up Colombo Street across the intersection of Kilmore Street. The buildings on either side of the street have been severely damaged by the earthquakes. The rubble and other debris has since been cleared from the street and footpaths.

Images, UC QuakeStudies

Photograph captioned by BeckerFraserPhotos, "Manikin against sculpture in Cathedral Square. This began as light relief for the crews working within the cordon in the weeks after the February earthquake where the manikins were strategically positioned around the red zone at night".

Images, UC QuakeStudies

A photograph of High Street looking towards the intersection of Manchester and Lichfield Streets. Rubble from earthquake-damaged buildings litters the street to the right. In the distance excavators are clearing rubble from Manchester and High Streets while emergency management personnel look on.

Images, UC QuakeStudies

A photograph of members of the New Zealand Police using a rescue dog to inspect an earthquake-damaged house in Christchurch. The front and side of the house has collapsed, the bricks and other rubble spilling onto the garden, exposing the rooms inside.

Images, UC QuakeStudies

A photograph of the earthquake damage to the Cranmer Courts on the corner of Montreal and Kilmore Streets. A large section of the building has crumbled, masonry spilling onto the footpath below. Wire fencing has been placed around the building as a cordon.

Images, UC QuakeStudies

A photograph of the earthquake damage to The Painted Room on Colombo Street. The roof has collapsed into the building, damaging the front wall and breaking the glass windows. Wire fencing and police tape have been placed around the building as a cordon.