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Research papers, Lincoln University

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.

Videos, UC QuakeStudies

A video of an interview with Mayor Bob Parker about the building consent crisis at the Christchurch City Council. The council received a letter from International Accreditation New Zealand (IANZ) on 30 May 2013. The letter says that the Council has until 28 June 2013 to improve its processes or it will be stripped of its accreditation as a building consent authority.

Videos, UC QuakeStudies

A video about the South Brighton Motor Camp which has been given a month by the Christchurch City Council to close down. The video includes an interview with campsite leaseholder Dominic Brownin, and residents Malcolm Farrell, Ngaire Fyffe, and Deidre McGowan. The residents talk about the lifestyles and community that will be lost if the camp is closed.

Research papers, Victoria University of Wellington

In 2010 Neil Challenger, Head of the School of Landscape Architecture at Lincoln University, stated that the malls surrounding Christchurch drove the life out of the inner city of Christchurch. His economic and sociological concerns were expressed even before the earthquake occurred, and this forms the current hesitation on the rebuilding of Christchurch’s inner city.  The position of this research proposal is to establish whether an urban architectural intervention can address these economic and sociological concerns and the potentially devastating effects the suburban mall has had on urban life within Christchurch.  The thesis specifically asks whether establishing a mall typology as a landmark building within the inner city can strategically engage the damaged historic buildings of post-earthquake Christchurch in ways that actively preserve these historic remnants.  The main intention of this research is to engage the damaged historic buildings of post-earthquake Christchurch in ways that actively preserve these remnants and are also economically viable. By preserving the remnants as active, working elements of the urban fabric, they act as historic reminders or memorials of the event and associated loss, while also actively participating in the regrowth of the city. The thesis argues that contemporary architecture can play a strategic role in these imperatives.  Overall this research argues that there exists a distinct requirement for large-scale retail in the inner city urban environment that recognises and responds to the damaged cultural and historic architecture of inner city Christchurch. The objective of the thesis is to propose means to rejuvenate not only the economic vitality of central Christchurch,but also its historic character.

Videos, UC QuakeStudies

A video of busker John Higby performing his Yo Yo Guy routine in Cathedral Square. The performance was part of a special World Buskers Festival show for workers in the Christchurch central city Red Zone.

Research papers, Victoria University of Wellington

Following devastating earthquakes in 2010 and 2011 in Christchurch, there is an opportunity to use sustainable urban design variables to redevelop the central city in order to address climate change concerns and reduce CO₂ emissions from land transport. Literature from a variety of disciplines establishes that four sustainable urban design variables; increased density, mixed-use development, street layout and city design, and the provision of sustainable public transport, can reduce car dependency and vehicle kilometres travelled within urban populations- widely regarded as indicators of the negative environmental effects of transport.  The key question for the research is; to what extent has this opportunity been seized by NZ’s Central Government who are overseeing the central city redevelopment? In order to explore this question the redevelopment plans for the central city of Christchurch are evaluated against an adapted urban design matrix to determine whether a reduction in CO₂ emissions from land transport is likely to be achieved through their implementation. Data obtained through interviews with experts is used to further explore the extent to which sustainable urban design variables can be employed to enhance sustainability and reduce CO₂ emissions.  The analysis of this data shows that the four urban design variables will feature in the Central Government’s redevelopment plans although the extent to which they are employed and their likely success in reducing CO₂ emissions will vary. Ultimately, the opportunity to redevelop the central city of Christchurch to reduce CO₂ emissions from land transport will be undermined due to timeframe, co-ordination, and leadership barriers.

Videos, UC QuakeStudies

A video of a protest against the merging of Phillipstown and Woolston Schools. Staff and students from Phillipstown School lead a march down Ferry Road to highlight the dangers children will face walking to school if Phillipstown is closed. The video also includes interviews with Phillipstown Principal Tony Simpson and Christchurch City Councillors Peter Beck and Makere Hubbard, about the protest and the merger.

Videos, UC QuakeStudies

A video of Lianne Dalziel announcing her decision to run for the mayoralty of Christchurch. Dalziel talks about the rebuild of Christchurch, and the daily lives of those living in post-earthquake Christchurch. She also talks about her decision to run independently, her experience as a minister, and the need for transparency and financial integrity in the Christchurch City Council. Lastly, she talks about the building consent crisis at the Council, and the need for the Council to connect with communities.

Audio, Radio New Zealand

Fiona Farrell has been awarded the $100,000 Creative New Zealand Michael King Writer's Fellowship to research and write twin books, one fiction and one non-fiction, inspired by her experiences of the Canterbury earthquakes and the rebuilding of the city.

Other, National Library of New Zealand

After the shock and dust settled from the earthquakes, two friends, Helen Solomons and Wendy Riley, felt so strongly over the loss of the city's historic heart, they decided to put their skills to use and create this living tribute to it on the web.

Images, eqnz.chch.2010

This is the Summit Road below Mt Cavendish and shows a few remaining high buildings in the central city beyond (in setting sun). Just above centre is the doomed AMI Stadium (1) aka Lancaster Park, home to Canterbury cricket and rugby till the erathquakes.

Audio, Radio New Zealand

Since the Christchurch earthquakes propelled Paul Fleming from his Chancery Lane shop in central Christchurch, he has begun a business called 'Happy Tours' featuring an immaculate Austin Seven called Myrtle. Myrtle takes Spectrum's Deborah Nation into Christchurch's central city Red Zone. Christchurch poet Helen Jacobs also tours in Myrtle.