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Images, UC QuakeStudies

A photograph of volunteers fron the Wellington Emergency Management Office walking down an earthquake damaged street in Christchurch. In the background, one of the houses has a yellow sticker, indicating that access is restricted.

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, Lincoln University

The increase in urban population has required cities to rethink their strategies for minimising greenhouse gas impacts and adapting to climate change. While urban design and planning policy have been guided by principles such as walkability (to reduce the dependence on cars) and green infrastructure (to enhance the quality of open spaces to support conservation and human values), there have been conflicting views on what spatial strategies will best prepare cities for a challenging future. Researchers supporting compact cities based upon public Transit Oriented Development have claimed that walkability, higher density and mixed-uses make cities more sustainable (Owen, 2009) and that, while green spaces in cities are necessary, they are dull in comparison with shopfronts and street vendors (Speck, 2012, p 250). Other researchers claim that green infrastructure is fundamental to improving urban sustainability and attracting public space users with improved urban comfort, consequently encouraging walkability (Pitman and Ely, 2013). Landscape architects tend to assume that ‘the greener the better’; however, the efficiency of urban greenery in relation to urban comfort and urbanity depends on its density, distribution and the services provided. Green infrastructure can take many forms (from urban forests to street trees) and provide varied services (amended microclimate, aesthetics, ecology and so forth). In this paper, we evaluate the relevance of current policy in Christchurch regarding both best practice in green infrastructure and urban comfort (Tavares, 2015). We focus on the Christchurch Blueprint for rebuilding the central city, and critically examine the post-earthquake paths the city is following regarding its green and grey infrastructures and the resulting urban environment. We discuss the performance and appropriateness of the current Blueprint in post-earthquake Christchurch, particularly as it relates to the challenges that climate change is creating for cities worldwide.

Research papers, University of Canterbury Library

essential systems upon which the well-being and functioning of societies depend. They deliver a service or a good to the population using a network, a combination of spatially-distributed links and nodes. As they are interconnected, network elements’ functionality is also interdependent. In case of a failure of one component, many others could be momentarily brought out-of-service. Further problems arise for buried infrastructure when it comes to buried infrastructure in earthquake and liquefaction-prone areas for the following reasons: • Technically more demanding inspections than those required for surface horizontal infrastructure • Infrastructure subject to both permanent ground displacement and transient ground deformation • Increase in network maintenance costs (i.e. deterioration due to ageing material and seismic hazard) These challenges suggest careful studies on network resilience will yield significant benefits. For these reasons, the potable water network of Christchurch city (Figure 1) has been selected for its well-characterized topology and its extensive repair dataset.

Images, UC QuakeStudies

Students from the University of Canterbury heading back to work after enjoying a barbeque lunch in Burwood Park. The students have volunteered to clear liquefaction from Christchurch properties as part of the Student Volunteer Army.

Images, UC QuakeStudies

Students from the University of Canterbury heading back to work after enjoying a barbeque lunch in Burwood Park. The students have volunteered to clear liquefaction from Christchurch properties as part of the Student Volunteer Army.

Images, UC QuakeStudies

Students from the University of Canterbury heading back to work after enjoying a barbeque lunch in Burwood Park. The students have volunteered to clear liquefaction from Christchurch properties as part of the Student Volunteer Army.

Images, UC QuakeStudies

Students from the University of Canterbury heading back to work after enjoying a barbeque lunch in Burwood Park. The students have volunteered to clear liquefaction from Christchurch properties as part of the Student Volunteer Army.

Images, UC QuakeStudies

Students from the University of Canterbury heading back to work after enjoying a barbeque lunch in Burwood Park. The students have volunteered to clear liquefaction from Christchurch properties as part of the Student Volunteer Army.

Images, UC QuakeStudies

Students from the University of Canterbury heading back to work after enjoying a barbeque lunch in Burwood Park. The students have volunteered to clear liquefaction from Christchurch properties as part of the Student Volunteer Army.

Images, UC QuakeStudies

Students from the University of Canterbury heading back to work after enjoying a barbeque lunch in Burwood Park. The students have volunteered to clear liquefaction from Christchurch properties as part of the Student Volunteer Army.

Images, UC QuakeStudies

A photograph of a generator set up in Hagley Park to power campervans. The campervans were being used as temporary accommodation for emergency management personnel who travelled to Christchurch after the 22 February 2011 earthquakes.