Pws-2010-09-05-dsc01812
Pws-2010-09-05-dsc01811
Pws-2010-09-05-dsc01813
Pws-2010-09-05-dsc01815
File reference: CCL-2012-03-17IMG_0340 From the collection of Christchurch City Libraries.
23 May 2012. File reference: CCL-2012-05-23-IMG_2846 From the collection of Christchurch City Libraries.
File reference: CCL-2012-03-17IMG_0330 From the collection of Christchurch City Libraries.
File reference: CCL-2012-03-17IMG_0344 From the collection of Christchurch City Libraries.
23 May 2012. File reference: CCL-2012-05-23-IMG_2847 From the collection of Christchurch City Libraries.
File reference: CCL-2012-03-17IMG_0336 From the collection of Christchurch City Libraries.
File reference: CCL-2012-03-17IMG_0329 From the collection of Christchurch City Libraries.
File reference: CCL-2012-03-17 IMG_0335 From the collection of Christchurch City Libraries.
File reference: CCL-2012-03-17IMG_0338 From the collection of Christchurch City Libraries.
File reference: CCL-2012-03-17IMG_0346 From the collection of Christchurch City Libraries.
File reference: CCL-2012-03-17IMG_0342 From the collection of Christchurch City Libraries.
File reference: CCL-2012-03-17IMG_0332 From the collection of Christchurch City Libraries.
File reference: CCL-2012-03-17IMG_0333 From the collection of Christchurch City Libraries.
File reference: CCL-2012-03-17-IMG_0334 From the collection of Christchurch City Libraries.
23 May 2012. File reference: CCL-2012-05-23-IMG_2848 From the collection of Christchurch City Libraries.
23 May 2012. File reference: CCL-2012-05-23-IMG_2859 From the collection of Christchurch City Libraries.
File reference: CCL-2012-03-17IMG_0343 From the collection of Christchurch City Libraries.
File reference: CCL-2012-03-17IMG_0341 From the collection of Christchurch City Libraries.
File reference: CCL-2012-03-17IMG_0345 From the collection of Christchurch City Libraries.
File reference: CCL-2012-03-17IMG_0328 From the collection of Christchurch City Libraries.
File reference: CCL-2012-03-17IMG_0339 From the collection of Christchurch City Libraries.
File reference: CCL-2012-03-17IMG_0327 From the collection of Christchurch City Libraries.
This study is a qualitative investigation into the decision-making behaviour of commercial property owners (investors and developers) who are rebuilding in a city centre after a major disaster. In 2010/2011, Christchurch, the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand, was a site of numerous earthquakes. The stronger earthquakes destroyed many buildings and public infrastructure in the commercial inner city. As a result, affected property owners lost all or most of their buildings, a significant proportion of which were old and in the last phase of their life span. They had to negotiate pay-outs with insurance companies and decide, once paid out, whether they should rebuild in Christchurch or sell up and invest elsewhere. The clear majority of those who decided to reinvest in and rebuild the city are ‘locals’, almost all of whom had no prior experience of property development. Thus, in a post-disaster environment, most of these property owners have transitioned from being just being passive investors to active property developers. Their experience was interpreted using primary data gathered from in-depth and semi-structured interviews with twenty-one “informed property people” who included commercial property owners; property agents or consultants; representatives of public-sector agencies and financial institutions. The study findings showed that the decision-making behaviour of property investors and developers rebuilding after a major disaster did not necessarily follow a strict financial or profit motive as prescribed in the mainstream or neo-classical economics property literature. Rather, their decision-making behaviour has been largely shaped by emotional connections and external factors associated with their immediate environment. The theoretical proposition emerging from this study is that after a major disaster, local urban property owners are faced with two choices “to stay” or “to go”. Those who decide to stay and rebuild are typically very committed individuals who have a feeling of ownership, belonging and attachment to the city in which they live and work. These are people who will often take the lead in commercial property development, proactively making decisions and seeking positive investment outcomes for themselves which in turn result in revitalised commercial urban precincts.
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Christchurch Cathedral, Cathedral Square
The Press Building, Cathedral Square