Photograph captioned by BeckerFraserPhotos, "C1 Coffee's office in the second floor of the Alice in Videoland Building. Milk bottle crates have been used as legs for a desk.
The Canterbury region of New Zealand experienced a sequence of strong earthquakes during 2010-2011. Responses included government acquisition of many thousands of residential properties in the city of Christchurch in areas with severe earthquake effects. A large and contiguous tract of this ‘red zoned’ land lies in close proximity to the Ōtākaro / Avon River and is known as the Avon-Ōtākaro Red Zone (AORZ). The focus of this study was to provide an overview of the floodplain characteristics of the AORZ and review of international experience in ecological restoration of similar river margin and floodplain ecosystems to extract restoration principles and associated learnings. Compared to pre-earthquake ground levels, the dominant trend in the AORZ is subsidence, together with lateral movement especially in the vicinity of waterway. An important consequence of land subsidence in the lower Ōtākaro / Avon River is greater exposure to flooding and the effects of sea level rise. Scenario modelling for sea level rise indicates that much of the AORZ is exposed to inundation within a 100 year planning horizon based on a 1 m sea level rise. As with decisions on built infrastructure, investments in nature-based ‘green infrastructure’ also require a sound business case including attention to risks posed by climate change. Future-proofing of the expected benefits of ecological restoration must therefore be secured by design. Understanding and managing the hydrology and floodplain dynamics are vital to the future of the AORZ. However, these characteristics are shared by other floodplain and river restoration projects worldwide. Identifying successful approaches provides a useful a source of useful information for floodplain planning in the AORZ. This report presents results from a comparative case study of three international examples to identify relevant principles for large-scale floodplain management at coastal lowland sites.
After the Christchurch earthquakes, the government declared about 8000 houses as Red Zoned, prohibiting further developments in these properties, and offering the owners to buy them out. The government provided two options for owners: the first was full payment for both land and dwelling at the 2007 property evaluation, the second was payment for land, and the rest to be paid by the owner’s insurance. Most people chose the second option. Using data from LINZ combined with data from StatNZ, this project empirically investigates what led people to choose this second option, and what were the implications of these choices for the owners’ wealth and income.
A photograph submitted by Tim Kerr to the QuakeStories website. The description reads, "Service men – and women – controlled access to inner city Red Zone. They seemed to enjoy the somewhat boring task and were more effective than the police".
Photograph captioned by BeckerFraserPhotos, "The view from the top of Alice in Videoland".
For the first time in November 2011, Christchurch residents finally had the opportunity to see the earthquake-damaged city centre on the Red Zone bus tours organised by CERA. Partial view of the Citizens' War Memorial beside the cathedral.
An entry from Jennifer Middendorf's blog for 10 May 2011 entitled, "Wobbling again".
A story submitted by LC to the QuakeStories website.
A story submitted by Rose to the QuakeStories website.
A story submitted by Chrissy Ashton to the QuakeStories website.
Photograph captioned by BeckerFraserPhotos, "207-211 Cashel Street. All buildings demolished including the CTV building (behind the digger). Latimer Square in the background".
Photograph captioned by BeckerFraserPhotos, "Hotel Grand Chancellor, 165 Cashel Street, has moved sideways into the parking building at 161 Cashel Street".
Photograph captioned by BeckerFraserPhotos, "A view of High Street from the top of Alice in Videoland".
Looking down High Street from Colombo Street. A public walkway down Colombo Street to a small viewing area in the Square was opened up for a few weekends to allow the public to see inside the Red Zone.
Looking down High Street from Colombo Street. A public walkway down Colombo Street to a small viewing area in the Square was opened up for a few weekends to allow the public to see inside the Red Zone.
Looking down High Street from Colombo Street. A public walkway down Colombo Street to a small viewing area in the Square was opened up for a few weekends to allow the public to see inside the Red Zone.
For the first time in November 2011, Christchurch residents finally had the opportunity to see the earthquake-damaged city centre on the Red Zone bus tours organised by CERA. Damage to the Odeon Theatre can be seen out the window.
For the first time in November 2011, Christchurch residents finally had the opportunity to see the earthquake-damaged city centre on the Red Zone bus tours organised by CERA. Damage to the Odeon Theatre can be seen out the window.
For the first time in November 2011, Christchurch residents finally had the opportunity to see the earthquake-damaged city centre on the Red Zone bus tours organised by CERA. Damage to buildings on Cashel Street can be seen out the window.
For the first time in November 2011, Christchurch residents finally had the opportunity to see the earthquake-damaged city centre on the Red Zone bus tours organised by CERA. The Regent Theatre dome which has been removed from the building.
For the first time in November 2011, Christchurch residents finally had the opportunity to see the earthquake-damaged city centre on the Red Zone bus tours organised by CERA. Looking into Cathedral Square, the Regent Theatre dome can be partially seen.
A public walkway down Colombo Street to a viewing area in the Cathedral Square was opened up for a few weekends to allow the public to see inside the Red Zone. The Chalice sculpture and the Cathedral in Cathedral Square.
Photograph captioned by BeckerFraserPhotos, "Hotel Grand Chancellor, 165 Cashel Street, has moved sideways into the parking building at 161 Cashel Street".
Sandbags placed along the river bank to prevent flooding onto the road. The earthquake caused the ground in this area to subside , making it susceptible to flooding.
A photograph captioned by BeckerFraserPhotos, "A mound of liquefaction next to an angled street light on Liggins Street in the Horseshoe Lake area".
A photograph of a road cone decorated with Christmas tinsel. The photograph is captioned by BeckerFraserPhotos, "Kingsford Street, Horseshoe Lake, Burwood".
A view down the High Street Mall from Cashel Street, looking towards the Port Hills. Rubble from a collapsed building is visible on the right.
Damage to the Cathedral, and its lawn growing wild. A public walkway through to a small viewing area in the Square was opened up for a few weekends to allow the public to see inside the Red Zone.
An entry from Deb Robertson's blog for 29 June 2013 entitled, "What is cognitive dissonance??".
An entry from Deb Robertson's blog for 5 August 2011 entitled, "A birthday quilt for nana....".