Photos taken in Parklands Library on March 31 following the February 22 earthquake. File reference: CCL-2011-03-31-New Brighton-After-The-Earthquake-NB Parkland 015 From the collection of Christchurch City Libraries
Photos taken in Parklands Library on March 31 following the February 22 earthquake. File reference: CCL-2011-03-31-New Brighton-After-The-Earthquake-NB Parkland 011 From the collection of Christchurch City Libraries
Photos taken in Parklands Library on March 31 following the February 22 earthquake. File reference: CCL-2011-03-31-New Brighton-After-The-Earthquake-NB Parkland 020 From the collection of Christchurch City Libraries
Photos taken in Parklands Library on March 31 following the February 22 earthquake. File reference: CCL-2011-03-31-New Brighton-After-The-Earthquake-NB Parkland 012 From the collection of Christchurch City Libraries
Photos taken in Parklands Library on March 31 following the February 22 earthquake. File reference: CCL-2011-03-31-New Brighton-After-The-Earthquake-NB Parkland 014 From the collection of Christchurch City Libraries
Photos taken in Parklands Library on March 31 following the February 22 earthquake. File reference: CCL-2011-03-31-New Brighton-After-The-Earthquake-NB Parkland 016 From the collection of Christchurch City Libraries
Photos taken in Parklands Library on March 31 following the February 22 earthquake. File reference: CCL-2011-03-31-New Brighton-After-The-Earthquake-NB Parkland 013 From the collection of Christchurch City Libraries
Photos taken in Parklands Library on March 31 following the February 22 earthquake. File reference: CCL-2011-03-31-New Brighton-After-The-Earthquake-NB Parkland 017 From the collection of Christchurch City Libraries
Photos taken in Parklands Library on March 31 following the February 22 earthquake. File reference: CCL-2011-03-31-New Brighton-After-The-Earthquake-NB Parkland 018 From the collection of Christchurch City Libraries
Photos taken in Parklands Library on March 31 following the February 22 earthquake. File reference: CCL-2011-03-31-New Brighton-After-The-Earthquake-NB Parkland 019 From the collection of Christchurch City Libraries
An advertisement from April 2016 informing residents that local businesses are still open, despite detours and roadworks.
An aerial photograph captioned by BeckerFraserPhotos, "North New Brighton (Parklands) with Bower Avenue at the bottom".
A photograph of a panaroma of Christchurch with Spencer Park, Parklands Library, QEII Park, Bottle Lake Forest, Cowles Stadium, Animal Control, and the Waste Water Treatment Plant labelled. The panaroma is on the wall of the temporary Civil Defence headquarters set up at the Christchurch Art Gallery after the 4 September 2010 earthquake.
Photos taken in New Brighton on March 31 following the February 22 earthquake. File reference: CCL-2011-03-25-New Brighton-After-The-Earthquake-NB Parkland 007 From the collection of Christchurch City Libraries
Photos taken of the Mobile Library on March 31, 2011 following the February 22 earthquake. File reference: CCL-2011-03-31-Mobile-After-The-Earthquake-NB Parkland 024 From the collection of Christchurch City Libraries
Photos taken in New Brighton on March 31 following the February 22 earthquake. File reference: CCL-2011-03-25-New Brighton-After-The-Earthquake-NB Parkland 009 From the collection of Christchurch City Libraries
Photos taken in New Brighton on March 31 following the February 22 earthquake. File reference: CCL-2011-03-25-New Brighton-After-The-Earthquake-NB Parkland 001 From the collection of Christchurch City Libraries
Photos taken in New Brighton on March 31 following the February 22 earthquake. File reference: CCL-2011-03-25-New Brighton-After-The-Earthquake-NB Parkland 007 From the collection of Christchurch City Libraries
Photos taken of the Mobile Library on March 31, 2011 following the February 22 earthquake. File reference: CCL-2011-03-31-Mobile-After-The-Earthquake-NB Parkland 025 From the collection of Christchurch City Libraries
Photos taken in New Brighton on March 31 following the February 22 earthquake. File reference: CCL-2011-03-25-New Brighton-After-The-Earthquake-NB Parkland 003 From the collection of Christchurch City Libraries
Photos taken in New Brighton on March 31 following the February 22 earthquake. File reference: CCL-2011-03-25-New Brighton-After-The-Earthquake-NB Parkland 008 From the collection of Christchurch City Libraries
Photos taken in New Brighton on March 31 following the February 22 earthquake. File reference: CCL-2011-03-25-New Brighton-After-The-Earthquake-NB Parkland 004 From the collection of Christchurch City Libraries
Photos taken in New Brighton on March 31 following the February 22 earthquake. File reference: CCL-2011-03-25-New Brighton-After-The-Earthquake-NB Parkland 005 From the collection of Christchurch City Libraries
Photos taken in New Brighton on March 31 following the February 22 earthquake. File reference: CCL-2011-03-25-New Brighton-After-The-Earthquake-NB Parkland 007 From the collection of Christchurch City Libraries
Photos taken of the Mobile Library on March 31, 2011 following the February 22 earthquake. File reference: CCL-2011-03-31-Mobile-After-The-Earthquake-NB Parkland 022 From the collection of Christchurch City Libraries
Photos taken of the Mobile Library on March 31, 2011 following the February 22 earthquake. File reference: CCL-2011-03-31-Mobile-After-The-Earthquake-NB Parkland 023 From the collection of Christchurch City Libraries
Photos taken of the Mobile Library on March 31, 2011 following the February 22 earthquake. File reference: CCL-2011-03-31-Mobile-After-The-Earthquake-NB Parkland 021 From the collection of Christchurch City Libraries
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.