On September the 4th 2010 and February 22nd 2011 the Canterbury region of New Zealand was shaken by two massive earthquakes. This paper is set broadly within the civil defence and emergency management literature and informed by recent work on community participation and social capital in the building of resilient cities. Work in this area indicates a need to recognise both the formal institutional response to the earthquakes as well as the substantive role communities play in their own recovery. The range of factors that facilitate or hinder community involvement also needs to be better understood. This paper interrogates the assumption that recovery agencies and officials are both willing and able to engage communities who are themselves willing and able to be engaged in accordance with recovery best practice. Case studies of three community groups – CanCERN, Greening the Rubble and Gap Filler – illustrate some of the difficulties associated with becoming a community during the disaster recovery phase. Based on my own observations and experiences, combined with data from approximately 50 in-depth interviews with Christchurch residents and representatives from community groups, the Christchurch City Council, the Earthquake Commission and so on, this paper outlines some practical strategies emerging communities may use in the early disaster recovery phase that then strengthens their ability to ‘participate’ in the recovery process.
The coordination of actors has been a major focus for much of the research in the disaster relief humanitarian logistics discipline. While much of this literature focuses on the initial response phase, little has been written on the longer term recover phase. As the response phase transitions into the longer term recover phase the number and types of actors change from predominantly disaster relief NGOs to more commercial entities we argue that humanitarian values should still be part of the rebuild phase. It has been noted that humanitarian actors both cooperate and compete at the same time (Balcik, Beamon, Krejci, Muramatsu and Ramirez, 2010), in a form of behavior that can be described as ‘co-opetition’ (Nalebuff and Brandenburger, 1996). We use a case study approach to examine an organizational model used to coordinate civil and commercial actors for the rebuild of the civil infrastructure for Christchurch, New Zealand following a series of devastating earthquakes in 2010/11. For the rebuild phase we argue that ‘co-opetition’ is a key behaviour that allows the blending of humanitarian and commercial values to help communities rebuild to a new normal. While at this early stage our contribution is limited, we eventually hope to fully elaborate on an organisational model that has been created specifically for the tight coordination of commercial actors and its relevance to the rebuild phase of a disaster. Examining the behaviour of co-opetition and the structures that incentivise this behaviour offers insights for the humanitarian logistic field.
A graphic giving the status of North New Brighton School.
A graphic giving the status of Central New Brighton School.
A graphic giving the status of Freeville Primary School.
A graphic giving the status of South New Brighton School.
Photograph captioned by BeckerFraserPhotos, "St Michaels School, 249 Durham Street".
A Christchurch school says it's been blindsided by a proposal to shut it down. Redcliffs School has been running out of a deaf education centre in Sumner since the earthquakes.
Heavy snow is forcing schools to close across the country. It's a double blow for Canterbury students who have already lost weeks of precious school time due to the earthquakes.
Photograph captioned by Fairfax, "Students at Southbridge School back at school after it was closed after the earthquake. From left Neesha Ineson (10) Jessica Carter (10) and Bethan Johanson (11)".
A photograph of Shirley Intermediate School pupils at a school assembly. The photograph was taken at the All Right? Winter Survival Kit launch. All Right? posted the photograph on their Facebook Timeline on 25 July 2014 at 4:01pm with the caption, "Find a school assembly (this one courtesy of Shirley Intermediate)".
A PDF copy of a poster promoting the Shirley Primary, Shirley Intermediate and Banks Avenue Schools Pumpkin Growing Competition 2015. The poster depicts 'All Righties' harvesting a giant pumpkin and carrots.
Photograph captioned by BeckerFraserPhotos, "Burnside High School".
Photograph captioned by BeckerFraserPhotos, "Cashmere High School".
A graphic giving the status of Linwood Intermediate School.
A graphic giving the status of Manning Intermediate School.
A graphic giving the status of Burnside Primary School.
A graphic giving the status of Branston Intermediate School.
Mark Wilson is the Principle of Cashmere High School.
A muddy patch on the grass at Halswell School.
A graphic giving the status of Shirley Intermediate School.
A photograph of the Cathedral Grammar School Main Block.
A page banner for a feature on school closures.
A graphic giving the status of Chisnallwood Intermediate School.
A logo for a feature titled, "Schools shake-up".
Photograph captioned by BeckerFraserPhotos, "West Spreydon School".
A page banner for a feature on school closures.
A graphic giving the status of Aranui High School.
An aerial photograph of Cashmere High School in Cashmere.
A video of an interview with Tony Simpson, Principal of Phillipstown School, about the High Court's ruling on the merger of Woolston School and Phillipstown School. The Ministry of Education planned to merge the schools after the 22 February 2011 earthquake. However, Justice John Fogarty declared that the Ministry's consultation process failed to meet the requirements of the Education Act in two respects and that the merger was unlawful. Simpson talks about the joy he felt on hearing the news, his disappointment that it came down to a High Court decision, and his plans for the school's future.