A video of an address by Joanna Norris, Editor of The Press, at the 2014 Seismics and the City forum. This talk was part of the Breakfast Presentations section, the theme of which was Building Momentum.
A PDF copy of pages 314-315 of the book Christchurch: The Transitional City Pt IV. The pages document the transitional project 'The New Zealand Institute of Architects Exhibition Pavilion'. Photo: Soo Ryu, Jasmax and NZIA
Increasingly, economic, political and human crises, along with natural disasters, constitute a recurrent reality around the world. The effect of large-scale disaster and economic disruption are being felt far and wide and impacting libraries in diverse ways. Libraries are casualties of natural disasters, from earthquakes to hurricanes, as well as civil unrest and wars. Sudden cuts in library budgets have resulted in severe staff reductions, privatization and even closures. The presenters share their experiences about how they have prepared for or coped with profound change.
The city of Christchurch, New Zealand, was until very recently a “Junior England”—a small city that still bore the strong imprint of nineteenth-century British colonization, alongside a growing interest in the underlying biophysical setting and the indigenous pre-European landscape. All of this has changed as the city has been subjected to a devastating series of earthquakes, beginning in September 2010, and still continuing, with over 12,000 aftershocks recorded. One of these aftershocks, on February 22, 2011, was very close to the city center and very shallow with disastrous consequences, including a death toll of 185. Many buildings collapsed, and many more need to be demolished for safety purposes, meaning that over 80 percent of the central city will have gone. Tied up with this is the city’s precious heritage—its buildings and parks, rivers, and trees. The threats to heritage throw debates over economics and emotion into sharp relief. A number of nostalgic positions emerge from the dust and rubble, and in one form is a reverse-amnesia—an insistence of the past in the present. Individuals can respond to nostalgia in very different ways, at one extreme become mired in it and unable to move on, and at the other, dismissive of nostalgia as a luxury in the face of more pressing crises. The range of positions on nostalgia represent the complexity of heritage debates, attachment, and identity—and the ways in which disasters amplify the ongoing discourse on approaches to conservation and the value of historic landscapes.
Site of the Canterbury Development Corporation (CDC), part of Christchurch City Council. When viewed May 2011 the focus of the site was to assist businesses affected by the 2011 Christchurch earthquake.
Earthquake Recovery Minister Gerry Brownlee has backed off on his threats to the Christchurch City Council and one of the New Zealand Greenpeace activists is freed from a Russian detention centre.
The 6.7 magnitude earthquake which struck Christchurch three years ago didn't just destroy large amounts of the city's infrastructure, it also had a profound effect on the natural environment.
The Labour Christchurch East MP Lianne Dalziel says the city council has made a terrible decision about how it organises help for earthquake victims and it needs to be changed urgently.
Among those businesses most affected by the end of the welfare scheme are cafes, restaurants and bars. 100 such businesses have closed in the central city alone because of the earthquake.
Christchurch will lose its Rugby World Cup games with a report finding the city's stadium is unfit to host matches in the wake of last month's earthquake, British media is reporting.
Days after Christchurch was devastated by a 6.3 magnitude earthquake, Simon Morton traverses the city, using the Avon River as his route, and finds everyone has a story to tell.
Auckland structural engineer John Scarry is concerned that the series of investigations into earthquake related collapses of Christchurch buildings won't result in the changes needed to make the city safer.
A Christchurch city council manager has told the Royal Commission there was an element of chaos after the first earthquake in September 2010 as staff sought to get systems in place.
The Christchurch city council is reconsidering its plan to dump five thousand tonnes of asbestos contaminated rubble in Bottle Lake Forest Park landfill which has been reopened to take earthquake debris.
The Christchurch City Council's control of the earthquake recovery plan has been taken out of its hands, to the delight of business leaders, but to the chagrin of some local councilors.
The first passenger train from Piction to Christchurch since the devastating Kaikōura earthquake has arrived in the Garden City - Kathy Templeman was on board and says it was an emotional experience.
Photograph captioned by Fairfax, "2010 Canterbury Earthquake. Prime Minister John Key speaks with workers at Orion and thanked them for working tirelessly after the earthquake and restoring power to the city".
The end gable of the Library Chambers has crumbled, and the area has been cordoned off with fencing and cones. In the background is the new Christchurch City Council's Civic Offices.
For the first Catholics in Christchurch, the purchasing of land within the city boundaries was met with great difficulty. Their first hurdle was to secure land from the Anglican dominated hierarchy…
During the year 1857, developments moved closer towards making colonial Christchurch a working city. The Bridle Path opening in March, provided emigrants direct access to and from Lyttelton, on a s…
1884 Outside the City Hotel, a stream of Hackney and Hansom cabs wait for fares at ‘Cabstand Corner’ (later known as the ‘Triangle’.) The year is 1884 and it appears t…
“Of all the beautiful places in New Zealand – Christchurch is one of the prettiest. As the metropolis of the Canterbury province, the city has been built in the old Elizabethan style, …
The moving of the Post Office from Market Square to its new site in Cathedral Square, was a significant development in Cathedral Square’s importance in Christchurch business and city life. Th…
Businesses in the Christchurch suburb of New Brighton say something needs to be done urgently to pull the area out of an economic slump. The seaside town has struggled since the Canterbury Earthquakes, with thousands of people - and customers - leaving the area due to land damage under their homes. And they're pointing the fingers at city leaders like the Christchurch City Council and its rebuild agency, Development Christchurch. Logan Church spoke to New Brighton business owner Nigel Gilmore.
Our Christchurch correspondent, Katy Gosset takes us on a musical journey with the help of one of the city's longest serving pianists. For 23 years Peter Lewis played the piano in the Crowne Plaza Hotel before being made redundant by the February 2011 earthquake. Peter has since struggled to find a way to share his music with others. Today Katy seeks out some city pianos and takes him on a mystery tour to rediscover the pleasure of playing.
A video of an address by Brian Parker, Project Manager of Canterbury Communities' Earthquake Recovery Network (CanCERN) and Managing Director of Sharp Teaching, at the 2015 Seismics and the City forum. This talk is about learning from complex claims and local knowledge.
A PDF copy of pages 338-339 of the book Christchurch: The Transitional City Pt IV. The pages document the transitional project 'Inside Out Project With Central New Brighton School'. Photos: Denise Mill
A video of an address by Scott Noyes, Energy Management Specialist for Schneider Electric NZ, at the 2014 Seismics and the City forum. This talk was part of the Building Connectivity section, and focused on collaborative and innovative initiatives relevant to the rebuild of Greater Christchurch.
A video of an address by Dr. Mark Quigley, Associate Professor of Active Tectonics and Geomorphology at the University of Canterbury. This talk was given at the 2015 Seismics and the City forum and addresses changes to the lie of the land - both physical and metaphorical.
A video of an address by John Ombler, Acting CEO of CERA, at the 2015 Seismics and the City forum. In this talk, Mr. Ombler shares his take on the progress if the rebuild, positive signs of advancement and what's in the pipeline; and how the main obstacles can be resolved.