A detail photograph of street art. The artwork is on the wall surrounding Waltham Pool and faces towards Waltham Park.
A photograph of street art in Brighton Mall, between Beresford Street and Hawke Street. The artist is Drowsy.
A photograph of street art. The artwork is on the wall surrounding Waltham Pool and faces towards Waltham Park.
A photograph of street art in Brighton Mall, between Beresford Street and Hawke Street. The artist is Drowsy.
A detail photograph of street art. The artwork is on the wall surrounding Waltham Pool and faces towards Waltham Park.
A photograph of street art. The artwork is on the wall surrounding Waltham Pool and faces towards Waltham Park.
A photograph of street art. The artwork is on the wall surrounding Waltham Pool and faces towards Waltham Park.
A photograph of street art. The artwork is on the wall surrounding Waltham Pool and faces towards Waltham Park.
A photograph of street art. The artwork is on the wall surrounding Waltham Pool and faces towards Waltham Park.
A photograph of street art. The artwork is on the wall surrounding Waltham Pool and faces towards Waltham Park.
A photograph of street art on a wall in New Brighton. The artwork is signed 'Porta'.
A photograph of the Hororata Hotel, which was damaged in the 4 September earthquake. A sign outside the hotel reads, "This is not the Hororata Pub. Private residence. No parking. No thoroughfare".
Early photographs are the best. They encompass everything from the utterly absurd to the momentous to the mundane. They provide us with a window into the past that is rare and wonderful (especially from an archaeological perspective), putting faces to … Continue reading →
This week on the blog, we look at what we found beneath a local landmark in the community of Lyttelton: the newly refurbished Albion Square. The Albion Square, on the corner of London and Canterbury streets, is home of the … Continue reading →
In this paper we outline the process and outcomes of a multi-agency, multi-sector research collaboration, led by the Canterbury Earthquake Research Authority (CERA). The CERA Wellbeing Survey (CWS) is a serial, cross-sectional survey that is to be repeated six-monthly (in April and September) until the end of the CERA Act, in April 2016. The survey gathers self-reported wellbeing data to supplement the monitoring of the social recovery undertaken through CERA's Canterbury Wellbeing Index. Thereby informing a range of relevant agency decision-making, the CWS was also intended to provide the community and other sectors with a broad indication of how the population is tracking in the recovery. The primary objective was to ensure that decision-making was appropriately informed, with the concurrent aim of compiling a robust dataset that is of value to future researchers, and to the wider, global hazard and disaster research endeavor. The paper begins with an outline of both the Canterbury earthquake sequence, and the research context informing this collaborative project, before reporting on the methodology and significant results to date. It concludes with a discussion of both the survey results, and the collaborative process through which it was developed.
Using greater Christchurch as a case study, this research seeks to understand the key drivers of residential choice of families with children who live in recently developed, low-density greenfield subdivisions. In particular, the research examines the role that transport-related implications play in families’ choice of residence and location. It also explores the lived experience of the quotidian travel of these households, and the intrinsic value of their time in the car. While the research is situated in one particular location, it is designed to gain an understanding of urban processes and residents’ experiences of these as applicable to broader settings. Concerns about the pernicious environmental, fiscal, and wellbeing effects of sprawling urban form have been growing over the past few decades, inciting many cities including Christchurch to start shifting planning policies to try and achieve greater intensification and a denser development pattern. The 2010/2011 Christchurch earthquake sequence and its destruction of thousands of homes however created huge pressure for housing development, the bulk of which is now occurring on greenfield sites on the peripheries of Christchurch City and its neighbouring towns. Drawing on the insights provided by a wide body of both qualitative and quantitative literature on residential choice, transport and urban form, and mobilities literature as a basis, this research is interested in the attraction of these growing neighbourhoods to families, and puts the focus firmly on the attitudes, values, motivations, decisions, and lived experience of those who live in the growing suburbs of Christchurch.
Churches are an important part of New Zealand's historical and architectural heritage. Various earthquakes around the world have highlighted the significant seismic vulnerability of religious buildings, with the extensive damage that occurred to stone and clay-brick unreinforced masonry churches after the 2010-2011 Canterbury earthquakes emphasising the necessity to better understand this structural type. Consequently, a country-wide inventory of unreinforced masonry churches is here identified. After a bibliographic and archival investigation, and a 10 000 km field trip, it is estimated that currently 297 unreinforced masonry churches are present throughout New Zealand, excluding 12 churches demolished in Christchurch because of heavy damage sustained during the Canterbury earthquake sequence. The compiled database includes general information about the buildings, their architectural features and structural characteristics, and any architectural and structural transformations that have occurred in the past. Statistics about the occurrence of each feature are provided and preliminary interpretations of their role on seismic vulnerability are discussed. The list of identified churches is reported in annexes, supporting their identification and providing their address.
The standard way in which disaster damages are measured involves examining separately the number of fatalities, of injuries, of people otherwise affected, and the financial damage that natural disasters cause. Here, we implement a novel way to aggregate these separate measures of disaster impact and apply it to two recent catastrophic events: the Christchurch (New Zealand) earthquakes and the Greater Bangkok (Thailand) floods of 2011. This new measure, which is similar to the World Health Organization’s calculation of Disability Adjusted Life Years (DALYs) lost from the burden of diseases and injuries, is described in detail in Noy (2014). It allows us to conclude that New Zealand lost 180 thousand lifeyears as a result of the 2011 events, and Thailand lost 2,644 thousand years. In per capita terms, the loss is similar, with both countries losing about 15 days per person due to the 2011 catastrophic events in these two countries. We also compare these events to other potentially similar events.
A photograph of tag writing on some supports for the Durham Street overbridge. On one side of the support , is artwork that depicts a yellow character.
A photograph of street art. The artwork is on the wall surrounding Waltham Pool, facing towards the children's playground at Waltham Park.
A photograph of street art on the public toilets on Shaw Avenue. The artwork is signed by 'Minx'.
A photograph of street art on the public toilets on Shaw Avenue. The artwork is signed by 'Minx'.
A photograph of street art on Welles Street. Birds, animals and flowers are depicted on a green, plant-filled background. The artist is Flox.
A photograph of street art on the side of the toilet block at Waltham Park and Pool. The artwork is part of Project Legit.
A photograph of street art at the YMCA Adventure Centre on Waltham Road. The artist is Dcypher.
A photograph of street art at the YMCA Adventure Centre on Waltham Road. The artist is Dcypher.
A photograph of street art at the YMCA Adventure Centre on Waltham Road. The artist is Dcypher.
A photograph of street art on Welles Street. The artwork depicts flowers and rabbits in shades of green. The artist is Flox.
A photograph of street art on the side of a building at Waltham Park and Pool. The artwork is part of Project Legit.
A photograph of street art on the side of a building at Waltham Park and Pool. The artwork is part of Project Legit.