With sea level rise (SLR) fast becoming one of the most pressing matters for governments worldwide, there has been mass amounts of research done on the impacts of SLR. However, these studies have largely focussed on the ways that SLR will impact both the natural and built environment, along with how the risk to low-lying coastal communities can be mitigated, while the inevitable impacts that this will have on mental well-being has been understudied. This research has attempted to determine the ways in which SLR can impact the mental well-being of those living in a low-lying coastal community, along with how these impacts could be mitigated while remaining adaptable to future environmental change. This was done through conducting an in-depth literature review to understand current SLR projections, the key components of mental well-being and how SLR can influence changes to mental well-being. This literature review then shaped a questionnaire which was distributed to residents of the New Brighton coastline. This questionnaire asked respondents how they interact with the local environment, how much they know about SLR and its associated hazards, whether SLR causes any level of stress or worry along with how respondents feel that these impacts could be mitigated. This research found that SLR impacts the mental well-being of those living in low-lying coastal communities through various methods: firstly, the respondents perceived risk to SLR and its associated hazards, which was found to be influenced by the suburbs that respondents live in, their knowledge of SLR, their main sources of information and the prior experience of the Canterbury Earthquake Sequence (CES). Secondly, the financial aspects of SLR were also found to be drivers of stress or worry, with depreciating property values and rising insurance premiums being frequently noted by respondents. It was found that the majority of respondents agreed that being involved in and informed of the protection process, having more readable and accurate information, and an increased engagement with community events and greenspaces would help to reduce the stress or worry caused by SLR, while remaining adaptable to future environmental change.
Jacinda Ardern said the service did not just focus on the technical issues but also the well-being of the claimants.
Social and natural capital are fundamental to people’s wellbeing, often within the context of local community. Developing communities and linking people together provide benefits in terms of mental well-being, physical activity and other associated health outcomes. The research presented here was carried out in Christchurch - Ōtautahi, New Zealand, a city currently re-building, after a series of devastating earthquakes in 2010 and 2011. Poor mental health has been shown to be a significant post-earthquake problem, and social connection has been postulated as part of a solution. By curating a disparate set of community services, activities and facilities, organised into a Geographic Information Systems (GIS) database, we created i) an accessibility analysis of 11 health and well-being services, ii) a mobility scenario analysis focusing on 4 general well-being services and iii) a location-allocation model focusing on 3 primary health care and welfare location optimisation. Our results demonstrate that overall, the majority of neighbourhoods in Christchurch benefit from a high level of accessibility to almost all the services; but with an urban-rural gradient (the further away from the centre, the less services are available, as is expected). The noticeable exception to this trend, is that the more deprived eastern suburbs have poorer accessibility, suggesting social inequity in accessibility. The findings presented here show the potential of optimisation modelling and database curation for urban and community facility planning purposes.
This research attempts to understand how the Christchurch rebuild is promoting urban liveability in the Central City, focussing on the influence of communities and neighbourhoods in this area. To do this, gathering the perceptions of Christchurch residents through surveys, a focus group and semi-structured interviews was carried out to see what aspects they believe contribute to creating more liveable places. These methods revealed that there are pockets of neighbourhoods and communities in the inner-city, but no overall sense of community. Results from the semi-structured interviews reinforced this; the current buyers of inner-city property are in the financial position to be able to do this, and they seem to be purchasing in this area due to convenience and investment rather than to join the existing communities in the area. Analysing the survey responses from Central City residents revealed contrasting results. Those currently living in the area felt there is a sense of community in the inner-city, but these are found in pockets of neighbourhoods around the Central City rather than in the overall area. The focus group revealed that community is further prioritised later in life, and that many of the community groups in the inner-city predominantly consist of those who have lived there since before the Christchurch Earthquake Series. However, participants of all three methods believed that the Central City is slowly becoming a lively and vibrant place. To improve urban liveability in the inner-city, it seems that prioritisation of the needs of current inner-city residents is required. Improving these neighbourhoods, whether it be through the implementation of services or providing more communal spaces, is needed to create stronger communities. The feelings of place, connectedness, and belonging that arise from being part of a community or well-connected neighbourhood can improve mental health and wellbeing, ultimately enhancing the overall health of the population as well as the perceived urban liveability of the area.
The QuakeCoRE Emerging Researchers Chapter (QERC) is a network of students and emerging researchers composed of three chapters: Auckland, Canterbury, and Wellington. Our aim is to promote networking, collaboration, and knowledge sharing among emerging researchers in the earthquake resilience community. QERC does this by organising technical, social, and outreach events. As with everyone else during the pandemic crisis, QERC had to change its approach in organising events. However, instead of treating it as an obstacle, QERC utilised the lockdown period as an opportunity to connect the three chapters and organised more events than they usually would during normal times. In the 11 weeks that universities were closed and New Zealand was under Alert Levels 2, 3 and 4, QERC organised 15 various events such as research presentations, well-being workshops, a women's catch-up, and a trivia night. However, as the weeks went by, the novelty of online meetings faded and fewer people came to the virtual events. Therefore as soon as the country moved to Alert Level 1, the Chapters started organising in-person events, which members were eager to attend. Nonetheless, the option to join events remotely still remains and the three chapters continue to collaborate for various events.
