A photograph of emergency management personnel exiting the car park of the earthquake-damaged Press House on Gloucester Street. One of the team is pushing a wheelbarrow full of various supplies.
A PDF copy of the site map for Canterbury Tales. Canterbury Tales was the main event of FESTA 2013; a carnivalesque procession through the central city, led by Free Theatre Christchurch. Sculptural installations and performances were part of the procession, which started at the Bridge of Remembrance and ended in Cathedral Square.
A photograph of the earthquake damage to the back of the Canterbury Provincial Chambers, taken from Oxford Terrace across the Avon River.
A photograph of a paste-up on a wall on Peterborough Street. The paste-up depicts an excavator picking up demolition material, with a speech bubble reading, "Nom nom".
A photograph of a paste-up on a wall on Peterborough Street. The paste-up depicts an excavator picking up demolition material, with a speech bubble reading, "Nom nom".
A photograph of stencilled words on a footpath on Peterborough Street. The words read, "On Peterborough Street the houses are wonky. The ground has been pulled out from underneath them. The trick worked and the houses stayed up, but they are wonky. If you lived in them you might become wonky too".
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.
A photograph of the first page of a copy of a Level 1 Rapid Assessment Form. The form was used by the Civil Defence to document the earthquake damage to buildings in central Christchurch after the 22 February 2011 earthquake.
A photograph of a line of army trucks parked on the side of a road in the Christchurch central city. A member of the New Zealand Army is tying a bundle of wood onto the roof of one of the trucks.
A photograph of the second page of a copy of a Level 2 Rapid Assessment Form. The form was used by the Civil Defence to document the earthquake damage to buildings in central Christchurch after the 22 February 2011 earthquake.
A photograph of the third page of a copy of a Level 2 Rapid Assessment Form. The form was used by the Civil Defence to document the earthquake damage to buildings in central Christchurch after the 22 February 2011 earthquake.
A photograph of the first page of a copy of a Level 2 Rapid Assessment Form. The form was used by the Civil Defence to document the earthquake damage to buildings in central Christchurch after the 22 February 2011 earthquake.
Photograph captioned by BeckerFraserPhotos, "Looking from Gloucester Street across the demolition site of the Coachman and Canterbury Times (Christchurch Star?) buildings with Heritage Hotel on the left and Novotel in the centre".
Photograph captioned by BeckerFraserPhotos, "Looking from Gloucester Street across the demolition site of the Coachman and Canterbury Times (Christchurch Star?) buildings with Heritage Hotel on the left and Novotel in the centre".
Photograph captioned by BeckerFraserPhotos, "Looking from Gloucester Street across the demolition site of the Coachman and Canterbury Times (Christchurch Star?) buildings with Heritage Hotel on the left and Novotel in the centre".
The region in and around Christchurch, encompassing Christchurch city and the Selwyn and Waimakariri districts, contains more than 800 road, rail, and pedestrian bridges. Most of these bridges are reinforced concrete, symmetric, and have small to moderate spans (15–25 m). The 22 February 2011 moment magnitude (Mw) 6.2 Christchurch earthquake induced high levels of localized ground shaking (Bradley and Cubrinovski 2011, page 853 of this issue; Guidotti et al. 2011, page 767 of this issue; Smyrou et al. 2011, page 882 of this issue), with damage to bridges mainly confined to the central and eastern parts of Christchurch. Liquefaction was evident over much of this part of the city, with lateral spreading affecting bridges spanning both the Avon and Heathcote rivers.
A plaque on the side of the Edmonds Band Rotunda on Cambridge Terrace. The plaque reads, "This rotunda shelter and circular seat were presented by T.J.Edmonds to celebrate fifty years of residence in Christchurch 26th September 1929".
A PDF copy of a page on the EQ Recovery Learning site which linked to a YouTube video. This short video provides an insight into the design and location of the Canterbury Earthquake Memorial, due to be completed in February 2017. We meet its designer Grega Vezjak, who shares his vision for the Memorial
A photograph of street art on the wall of the Calendar Girls building on Hereford Street. The artwork is by Australian artist Seb Humphreys, who works under the name 'Order 55'.
A photograph of members of the Wellington Emergency Management Office Emergency Response Team talking to a member of the New South Wales USAR team in Latimer Square.
A photograph of the USAID headquarters in Latimer Square. A sign above the entrance to the camp reads, "Must wash hands". Whiteboards placed around the entrance read, "Please wash hands before taking food".
A photograph of a Singapore Rescue Team tent set up in Latimer Square after the 22 February 2011 earthquake. In the foreground there is a group of tents, cordoned off with tape and plastic mesh.
A photograph of members of the Wellington Emergency Management Office Emergency Response Team examining the Southern Finance Ltd building. Silt from liquefaction covers part of the footpath and road.
A photograph of the southern end of the Provincial Chambers Building taken through a car window. The roof and the wall of the building have collapsed on the right.
A photograph of tents pitched at the On-Site Operations Coordination Centre (OSOCC) in Latimer Square. The OSOCC was set up by the United Nations Emergency Relief Coordinator.
A photograph of a member of the Wellington Emergency Management Office Emergency Response Team standing in a car park in the Christchurch central city. In the background is the Hotel Grand Chancellor. The hotel has a noticeable slump on the left side.
A photograph of a member of the Wellington Emergency Management Office Emergency Response Team standing in a car park in the Christchurch central city. In the background is the Hotel Grand Chancellor. The hotel has a noticeable slump on the left side.
Members of various Search and Rescue teams after their shift in the central city. On the left is Shane from the New Zealand USAR team, centre, Suzy from the New Zealand Police, and right is Terry from Singapore's USAR team.
A photograph of street art on the side of an electricity substation on St Asaph Street. The artwork includes a Maori heimatau (fish hook) motif. Search and rescue codes have been spray-painted on the door of the building.
An aerial photograph of Bangor Street in central Christchurch. The photograph has been captioned by BeckerFraserPhotos, "Avon Loop. Some of this is zoned green and the land to the right of Bangor Street is zoned orange (plus the piece above Willow Street)".