tag:theconversation.com,2011:/au/topics/christchurch-rebuild-13858/articlesChristchurch rebuild – The Conversation2022-02-25T01:49:24Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1770522022-02-25T01:49:24Z2022-02-25T01:49:24ZShortages, price increases, delays and company collapses: why NZ needs a more resilient construction industry<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/447966/original/file-20220223-23-poqncm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=9%2C0%2C5997%2C4007&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The pandemic has had a considerable impact on all businesses, but New Zealand’s construction sector appears particularly hard hit and is struggling to cope. Firms have failed, prices have gone up, and labour and materials are in short supply. </p>
<p>In the past few weeks alone, one construction company has <a href="https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/industries/127791407/it-just-grew-too-quickly-failed-construction-firm-gibbs-group-owes-unsecured-creditors-17m">gone under</a> and building projects have ground to a halt due to <a href="https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/industries/300515566/building-projects-grind-to-a-halt-as-dominant-fletcher-freezes-gib-orders">shortages of Gib board</a>. </p>
<p>These kinds of problems should not surprise anyone. Material and labour shortages, companies failing, red tape and poor quality outcomes for companies and consumers are not new for the sector. </p>
<p>The big question is why such shocks and stresses create problems for the New Zealand construction industry so regularly. More immediately, how can the sector deliver reliably on the significant building and infrastructure projects in the <a href="https://www.mbie.govt.nz/building-and-energy/building/supporting-a-skilled-and-productive-workforce/national-construction-pipeline-report/">current pipeline</a>?</p>
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<h2>A potted history of crises</h2>
<p>A few key examples tell the tale. In 2002 there was the leaky building crisis, with <a href="https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/leak-crisis-to-hurt-homeowners/DUWN5P2CR7UQEUWAOUFWBLOCBE/">predictions</a> of a serious downturn and the “potential for a major systemic breakdown across the industry”. </p>
<p>In 2012, the building sector again faced a “<a href="https://www.stuff.co.nz/dominion-post/business/residential-property/6909891/Building-sector-faces-another-bleak-year">bleak year</a>”, in part due to delays in the Canterbury rebuild and low volumes of work elsewhere. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-pandemic-exposes-nzs-supply-chain-vulnerability-be-ready-for-more-inflation-in-the-year-ahead-176232">The pandemic exposes NZ’s supply chain vulnerability – be ready for more inflation in the year ahead</a>
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<p>Forecasts in early 2013 of <a href="https://www.stuff.co.nz/the-press/editors-picks/8295758/Canterbury-drives-46b-building-boom">boom times ahead</a> as the Christchurch rebuild finally appeared to take off were followed by <a href="https://d39d3mj7qio96p.cloudfront.net/media/documents/ER7_Assessment_of_the_likely_changes_to_construction_businesses_in_Christchurch.pdf">cost increases, skills shortages and increasing defects</a>. </p>
<p>By 2015, there were reports of more than 60 construction-related Christchurch <a href="https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/83522292/canterburys-bloody-problem-hundreds-of-buildingrelated-firms-failing">companies in liquidation</a> that year, owing creditors an estimated NZ$40 million. </p>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/447967/original/file-20220223-23-17tuxaq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/447967/original/file-20220223-23-17tuxaq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/447967/original/file-20220223-23-17tuxaq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/447967/original/file-20220223-23-17tuxaq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/447967/original/file-20220223-23-17tuxaq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/447967/original/file-20220223-23-17tuxaq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/447967/original/file-20220223-23-17tuxaq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Post-earthquake rebuilding in Christchurch ran into rising costs, skills shortages and liquidations.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">GettyImages</span></span>
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<h2>Planning for resilience</h2>
<p>Even in unremarkable times, the industry tends to be slow to innovate and has poor productivity. Firms win tenders with prices so low they often cannot make any profit. The industry does not spend enough on research and development, and it reacts rather than plans. </p>
<p>What is needed is the development of a resilient construction sector that’s able to cope with adverse events, recover well and continue to operate effectively. </p>
<p>We began researching organisational and <a href="https://scholar.google.co.nz/citations?user=mCgP694AAAAJ&hl=en">construction sector resilience</a> in the early 2000s. Since then, we have worked on a number of government projects in New Zealand and overseas, helping to develop infrastructure network, organisation and sector resilience. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/rebuilding-post-eruption-tonga-4-key-lessons-from-fiji-after-the-devastation-of-cyclone-winston-175611">Rebuilding post-eruption Tonga: 4 key lessons from Fiji after the devastation of Cyclone Winston</a>
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<p>Our <a href="https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/IJDRBE-05-2016-0020/full/html">past research</a> tells us organisations are likely to be more resilient when they have leadership and a culture that actively plans and allows for constant change. </p>
<p>A resilient organisational culture is one where staff are engaged in resolving problems and are given time and training to develop innovative thinking. Resilient companies learn from the past and use those lessons to focus on what matters. </p>
<p>They also maintain effective relationships with other relevant organisations. They understand their position in the construction supply chain, including who they depend on and who depends on them. A resilient supply chain makes the industry less fragmented and more connected. </p>
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<h2>Moving to a new model</h2>
<p>Our research leads us to believe that developing closer-to-home resourcing – not relying on so many imported skills and materials – would create greater resilience and a more sustainable industry. </p>
<p>And there are current initiatives making a difference. Educational programs focusing on <a href="https://concove.ac.nz/">training and career development</a> are an excellent step towards creating workforce resilience. Similarly, a <a href="https://www.constructionaccord.nz/">construction sector accord</a> is creating partnerships between government and industry to achieve (among other things) a co-ordinated voice on industry reforms.</p>
<p>The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) and the New Zealand Infrastructure Commission are both involved in improving the sector’s <a href="https://www.mbie.govt.nz/building-and-energy/building/">climate change planning</a>, skills and productivity, and <a href="https://www.tewaihanga.govt.nz/strategy/new-zealand-infrastructure-strategy/objectives-and-recommendations/">risk management</a>.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/unless-we-improve-the-law-history-shows-rushing-shovel-ready-projects-comes-with-real-risk-141530">Unless we improve the law, history shows rushing shovel-ready projects comes with real risk</a>
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<p>Our research aims to build on such developments by helping organisations in the construction sector understand their own resilience and to plan accordingly. </p>
<p>In particular, a five-year grant from MBIE’s <a href="https://www.mbie.govt.nz/science-and-technology/science-and-innovation/funding-information-and-opportunities/investment-funds/endeavour-fund/success-stories/past-rounds/2020-endeavour-fund-successful-proposals/">Endeavour Fund</a> will allow us to develop the <a href="https://www.buildmagazine.org.nz/articles/show/solving-capacity-and-capability-problems">CanConstructNZ</a> project to help manage industry capacity and better understand how to manage shocks and stresses. </p>
<p>The hope is that all such initiatives will contribute to a more resilient construction sector that can deliver the multiple projects within the national pipeline forecasts.</p>
<p>With a more co-ordinated approach to planning and the ability to withstand shocks and setbacks, it’s hoped the industry can avoid the problems that have dogged it – and the country – for too long.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/177052/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Suzanne Wilkinson receives funding from Ministry for Business, Innovation and Employment under the Endeavour Research Programme, CanConstructNZ.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Monty Sutrisna receives funding from MBIE Endeavour. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Regan Potangaroa receives funding from the Ministry for Business, Innovation and Employment under the Endeavour Research Program, CanConstructNZ.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Rod Cameron receives funding from Ministry for Business, Innovation and Employment under the Endeavour Research Programme, CanConstructNZ</span></em></p>The construction sector has long suffered from lack of co-ordination, poor planning and vulnerability to shocks. If the country’s building and infrastructure needs are to be met, that has to change.Suzanne Wilkinson, Professor of Construction Management, Massey UniversityMonty Sutrisna, Head of School of Built Environment, Massey UniversityRegan Potangaroa, Professor of Resilient and Sustainable Buildings (Maori Engagement), Massey UniversityRod Cameron, Programme Leader, CanConstructNZ, Massey UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1756122022-02-01T01:05:08Z2022-02-01T01:05:08ZOmicron will only add to looming workforce shortages already faced by key New Zealand industries<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/443054/original/file-20220127-28-jjcn5m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=8%2C0%2C5455%2C3637&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">GettyImages</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The Omicron wave about to wash across New Zealand will exacerbate an already tightening labour market. High employment and ongoing border restrictions mean regional labour forces are nearing peak capacity – and the country is running out of time to find solutions.</p>
<p>With border restrictions in place for much of the past two years, the domestic labour market has been the main source of human capital – and will likely continue to be for some time. </p>
<p>Combined with an ageing workforce, this is causing labour market tightening in most industries. Some form of intervention will be required to find skilled workers to fill the gaps emerging in specialised jobs – especially as the economy grows and older workers retire. </p>
<p>By looking at the Canterbury region as an example of how successive disasters influence the labour force, we can see how <a href="https://www.beehive.govt.nz/release/immigration-changes-support-rebuild">immigration policies</a> can affect short- to medium-term labour requirements. Since the earthquakes of 2010 and 2011, Canterbury has been able to rely on skilled workers from outside the region to support economic activity. </p>
<p>According to a <a href="https://www.lincoln.ac.nz/news-and-events/rebounding-canterbury-economy-in-need-of-workers/">recent study</a> of the region’s ability to navigate the pandemic, this pre-pandemic labour influx, coupled with slower economic activity in 2019-20, meant there was still a sufficient labour supply – even after the rebuild when employment opportunities decreased. </p>
<p>But this buffer is quickly reducing. It is estimated the region’s labour market is likely to peak as soon as 2023 due to more workers retiring and border restrictions limiting new labour supply. </p>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/443055/original/file-20220127-18-cq3sy7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/443055/original/file-20220127-18-cq3sy7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=397&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/443055/original/file-20220127-18-cq3sy7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=397&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/443055/original/file-20220127-18-cq3sy7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=397&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/443055/original/file-20220127-18-cq3sy7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=499&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/443055/original/file-20220127-18-cq3sy7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=499&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/443055/original/file-20220127-18-cq3sy7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=499&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">The Christchurch rebuild offers a snapshot of how immigration policies affect economic growth.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
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<h2>The ageing workforce</h2>
<p>What is taking place in Canterbury is reflected on a national level as well. <a href="https://www.stats.govt.nz/news/labour-force-will-grow-and-age">Labour force projections</a> to 2033 reveal an increasing proportion of people above the age of 65 in the workforce. </p>
<p>This reflects lifestyle changes and could offset some of the current labour tightening – especially at a time when there has been a <a href="https://www.stats.govt.nz/news/departures-lift-border-crossing-numbers">net outward migration</a> of people from New Zealand, even with border restrictions in place. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/pandemic-disruption-to-phd-research-is-bad-for-society-and-the-economy-but-there-are-solutions-173982">Pandemic disruption to PhD research is bad for society and the economy – but there are solutions</a>
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<p>But <a href="https://www.mbie.govt.nz/business-and-employment/employment-and-skills/labour-market-reports-data-and-analysis/jobs-online/">job vacancies</a> are higher than pre-COVID levels, and <a href="https://www.stats.govt.nz/information-releases/national-labour-force-projections-2020base-2073">population projections</a> show the international labour market remains key to future population growth in New Zealand. </p>
<p>These projections show natural population change – numbers of births minus numbers of deaths – is expected to tip into negative growth in the long run. Hence, net inward migration is expected to be the main driver of population and labour force growth. </p>
<p>The ageing workforce also needs addressing, especially at an industry level. As the labour market peaks and unemployment remains low, pressure on industry-specific labour supply is emerging, as the graphs below show. </p>
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<iframe src="https://flo.uri.sh/visualisation/8568272/embed" title="Interactive or visual content" class="flourish-embed-iframe" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" style="width:100%;height:600px;" sandbox="allow-same-origin allow-forms allow-scripts allow-downloads allow-popups allow-popups-to-escape-sandbox allow-top-navigation-by-user-activation" width="100%" height="400"></iframe>
<div style="width:100%!;margin-top:4px!important;text-align:right!important;"><a class="flourish-credit" href="https://public.flourish.studio/visualisation/8568272/?utm_source=embed&utm_campaign=visualisation/8568272" target="_top"><img alt="Made with Flourish" src="https://public.flourish.studio/resources/made_with_flourish.svg"> </a></div>
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<h2>Some industries will be harder hit</h2>
<p>The growing proportion of workers over 60 is visible in some industries, but not all. Manufacturing, hospitality and construction have a noticeably lower share of people in the 60-plus age group. </p>
<p>On the other hand, four industries stand out as having a high and growing share of over-60s: </p>
<ul>
<li><p>health care and social assistance</p></li>
<li><p>education and training</p></li>
<li><p>rental and hire services and real estate services</p></li>
<li><p>transport and storage (with possible supply chain disruption stretching beyond an Omicron wave).</p></li>
</ul>
<p>In the short term, this trend is not surprising and aligns with the ageing population and baby boom generation moving through. But it is still worrisome in the context of a peaking labour force.</p>
<p>The likely impact of the Omicron variant, ongoing border closures and an ageing labour force are generating substantial shocks that are likely to cause further transformation in the economy. </p>
<p>While the ageing of the labour force is to be expected, restrictions on the movement of labour during the pandemic have created a labour market peak earlier than anticipated. </p>
<p>Aside from replacing retiring workers, immigration (including expats returning to New Zealand) further benefits the economy through the new skills and improved systems and production techniques that skilled migrants bring, which all enhance productivity.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/covid-will-dominate-but-new-zealand-will-also-have-to-face-the-triple-planetary-crisis-this-year-175044">COVID will dominate, but New Zealand will also have to face the 'triple planetary crisis' this year</a>
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<h2>Urgent action needed</h2>
<p>How will the gaps be addressed? We could see industries replace labour with other means of capital or technology. But this will take time and is expensive. It’s possible some businesses might relocate, while others might even have to close. </p>
<p>Without significant changes in productivity, regions and countries that have historically relied on immigration to support their economies are likely to continue to rely on labour supplies from beyond their borders. </p>
<p>But New Zealand’s window to act is closing. While less stringent border restrictions would provide short-term relief, identifying likely shortages and implementing practical solutions should be the longer-term goal. </p>
<p>This should include encouraging vocational training in key industries, and providing the incentives and support to retain and train skilled workers in key industries – thus reducing potential outward migration when borders do reopen.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/175612/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>David Dyason does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>An ageing labour force and ongoing border closures will put severe pressure on
New Zealand’s economic reliance on immigration.David Dyason, Senior Lecturer in Property Studies, Lincoln University, New ZealandLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1551242021-02-21T19:07:28Z2021-02-21T19:07:28ZTen years on, the earthquake still casts its shadow over Christchurch’s past, present and future<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/385188/original/file-20210219-20-1pg46hx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=18%2C0%2C4202%2C2810&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Canterbury Earthquake National Memorial, Christchurch.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">GettyImages</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>When the deadly second earthquake struck Christchurch ten years ago today, among the many things toppled by natural forces were statues of the city’s founding father John Robert Godley, colonial politician William Rolleston and imperial hero Robert Falcon Scott. </p>
<p>Far worse things happened, of course, but this break with the past came to feel powerfully symbolic.</p>
<p>My 2016 book <a href="https://www.bwb.co.nz/books/christchurch-ruptures/">Christchurch Ruptures</a> was in large part about the risks of our thinking being trapped in the past and attempting to put things back as they were. Might letting these statues go allow the city to leave behind the colonial attitudes and practices they represented? </p>
<p>Instead, I suggested, we might focus on the contemporary inhabitants of the city and build on its historically moderate political streak. </p>
<p>This was just one of five such “ruptures” I identified that might guide the city’s need to regroup and move on. A decade later, I wonder to what extent those predictions have come to pass. Are they still relevant on the tenth anniversary of the earthquakes? And what unforeseen themes have emerged in the meantime? </p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/385191/original/file-20210219-15-iekh85.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="broken statue on the ground" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/385191/original/file-20210219-15-iekh85.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/385191/original/file-20210219-15-iekh85.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/385191/original/file-20210219-15-iekh85.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/385191/original/file-20210219-15-iekh85.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/385191/original/file-20210219-15-iekh85.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/385191/original/file-20210219-15-iekh85.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/385191/original/file-20210219-15-iekh85.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Rupture with the past: the toppled statue of John Robert Godley after the 2011 earthquake.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">GettyImages</span></span>
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<h2>Decolonising the city</h2>
<p>Christchurch’s quake-damaged statues turned out to be unintentionally prescient. In 2020, there were international and national debates about the removal of colonial monuments past their use-by dates. Statues such as those of <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2020/jun/08/who-was-edward-colston-and-why-was-his-bristol-statue-toppled-slave-trader-black-lives-matter-protests">William Colston</a> in the UK and <a href="https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/te-manu-korihi/418833/controversial-statue-of-captain-john-hamilton-has-been-removed">John Hamilton</a> in Waikato fell amid calls to “topple the racists”. </p>
<p>The post-quake rebuild had already forced Christchurch to examine how it acknowledged its colonial past. While statues of Queen Victoria and James Cook would remain, it would be “within the context of the relationship that exists between iwi and Crown”, according to a <a href="https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/300033885/christchurch-statues-staying-put-despite-low-regard-from-local-iwi">joint statement</a> in 2020 by Mayor Lianne Dalziel and Ngāi Tūāhuriri Upoko (head) Dr Te Maire Tau.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/putting-culture-at-the-core-of-the-christchurch-rebuild-34918">Putting culture at the core of the Christchurch rebuild</a>
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<p>The city had entered a new era of seeking balance, biculturalism and partnership. For example, rather than extensively re-landscaping Victoria Square, with its Victoria and Cook statues, it was gently re-formed. New mana whenua markers, including two upright waka by Fayne Robinson, joined Riki Manuel’s 1994 Poupou. Robinson’s <a href="https://www.stuff.co.nz/the-press/christchurch-life/art-and-stage/visual-art/117732048/mana-motuhake-to-be-unveiled-in-christchurchs-victoria-square">Mana Motuhake</a> was described in the official literature as: </p>
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<p>… a new element that offers balance to the bicultural narrative of our city and […] a celebration and reflection of our shared cultural heritage. The work will complement the existing statue of Queen Victoria and emphasise the enduring relationship between Ngāi Tahu and the Crown.</p>
</blockquote>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/385199/original/file-20210219-20-1m8yp17.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Sculptures in a city square" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/385199/original/file-20210219-20-1m8yp17.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/385199/original/file-20210219-20-1m8yp17.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=360&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/385199/original/file-20210219-20-1m8yp17.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=360&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/385199/original/file-20210219-20-1m8yp17.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=360&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/385199/original/file-20210219-20-1m8yp17.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=452&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/385199/original/file-20210219-20-1m8yp17.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=452&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/385199/original/file-20210219-20-1m8yp17.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=452&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Past and post-quake Christchurch coexist on the site of the demolished Crown Plaza Hotel.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">www.shutterstock.com</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Importantly, <a href="https://ngaitahu.iwi.nz/">Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu</a> has worked in partnership with the Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Authority (<a href="https://dpmc.govt.nz/our-business-units/greater-christchurch-group/roles-and-responsibilities/disestablishment-cera">CERA</a>), Ōtākaro Limited and the city and regional councils in planning the recovery of Christchurch. </p>
<p>The <a href="https://matapopore.co.nz/">Matapopore Charitable Trust</a> is one example of the leadership that evolved in the rebuild. Formed as a steering group to represent the interests of Ngāi Tūāhuriri as the <a href="https://www.otakaroltd.co.nz/assets/Uploads/christchurch-central-recovery-plan-march-2014-a4.pdf">Christchurch Central Recovery Plan</a> rolled out, the trust operates on a founding principle: Kia atawhai ki te iwi — care for the people. </p>
<p>Matapopore has developed narratives for the city’s emerging precincts that visibly evoke a shared sense of present and future. You can see this in Te Omeka Justice and Emergency Services Precinct, which includes Lonnie Hutchinson’s impressive Kahu Matarau, a protective aluminium kākāpo feather cloak. </p>
<p>You can see it, too, in Victoria Square, where three of 13 Ngā Whāriki Manaaki (woven mats of welcome) by Reihana Parata, Morehu Flutey-Henare and Wayne Youle <a href="https://matapopore.co.nz/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/1124_CRCL_MP_Nga-Whariki-Manaaki.pdf">symbolically weave</a> “Ngāi Tūāhuriri/ Ngāi Tahu values and stories into the fabric of Christchurch’s urban environment”.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/385202/original/file-20210219-21-18nsu5u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/385202/original/file-20210219-21-18nsu5u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/385202/original/file-20210219-21-18nsu5u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/385202/original/file-20210219-21-18nsu5u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/385202/original/file-20210219-21-18nsu5u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/385202/original/file-20210219-21-18nsu5u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/385202/original/file-20210219-21-18nsu5u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Fractured heritage: Christchurch’s Catholic cathedral before its eventual demolition in 2020.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Margaret Low/GNS Science</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>An alternative Christchurch</h2>
<p>Christchurch can be stereotyped as a formal, conventional city. But there is another, alternative past whose ways of living have much to offer the present. From the late 19th century the city had been a hotbed of early feminism, as well as home to movements promoting health and fitness, scenic reserves and communal living.</p>
<p>That spirit appeared to flourish in the energetic and original <a href="https://gapfiller.org.nz/">GAP filler</a> projects led by Coralie Winn and Ryan Reynolds. These involved numerous inventive civic installations, including book exchanges and a dance mat, aimed at forming strong communities. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.cinch.org.nz/categories/a-z/u/765/entries/6109">Greening the Rubble</a>, public art installations and a public festival of architecture, design and food (<a href="https://festa.org.nz/">FESTA</a>), directed by Jessica Halliday, all continued the city’s creative, quirky traditions. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/10-years-since-the-darfield-earthquake-rocked-new-zealand-what-have-we-learned-145539">10 years since the Darfield earthquake rocked New Zealand: what have we learned?</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>The success of those projects stood in stark contrast to the disappointment many Christchurch citizens felt at the lack of attention given to the council’s “<a href="https://ccc.govt.nz/the-council/how-the-council-works/reporting-and-monitoring/share-an-idea">share an idea</a>” consultation, and the dominance of top-down planning. </p>
<p>Frustration at unfinished “anchor” projects, such as the stadium and sports facility, only fuelled calls for alternative transport, swimming pools and collectivism in general. The Margaret Mahy Playground and Tūranga library were welcomed, but construction of a large convention centre, when COVID-19 has stopped tourism in its tracks, seemed out of touch with the zeitgeist. </p>
<p>In the meantime, a new “youthquake” further evoked the city’s radical spirit. Students marching for climate change action seemed to echo those before them who had protested over nuclear energy, South African rugby tours and various foreign wars. Will this Christchurch win through?</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1300140214619262976"}"></div></p>
<h2>Diversity in adversity</h2>
<p>In my book I advocated respect for all people, regardless of race, ethnicity or how long they’d lived in the city. In hindsight, the events of March 15 2019 lend that optimism a chilling undertone. </p>
<p>But in the wake of the terror attack there has been an outpouring of support for breaking down barriers between the city’s diverse communities. Perhaps a new sense of community, born of coping with the quakes, had fostered a more united approach to adversity.</p>
<p>On the other hand, rebuilding the central Anglican cathedral, symbolically reasserting an Anglo-Celtic dominance of the past, feels at odds with the new climate. Restoration is slow and controversial. The former bishop Victoria Matthews considered the financial cost too high and wrote that buildings, “however dear to our heart and beautiful, are secondary to our concern for people”. </p>
<p>Its tourism potential suspended for the time being, the cathedral’s symbolic place as the city’s heart and hope has faded. Restoring an imagined Englishness in a modern multicultural city, one that makes all its citizens feel at home, feels less urgent. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/christchurch-five-years-on-have-politicians-helped-or-hindered-the-earthquake-recovery-53727">Christchurch five years on: have politicians helped or hindered the earthquake recovery?</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Broken heart of the city</h2>
<p>Ten years on there is still a lingering attachment to Christchurch as the “garden city”, a sentiment I argued had also ruptured. The future of the vast eastern residential red zone remains evocatively problematic. Plans for an Ōtākaro Avon River corridor are slowly emerging. Instead of rewilding it, however, vast tracts of domestic grass currently keep it tame.</p>
<p>I suggested the city centre would continue to decline, as it had done (like many other cities globally) before the earthquakes. It was time to think on a smaller scale, I argued, and not to restore what was there before. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/385189/original/file-20210219-23-cbqo52.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Empty white chairs in an abandoned city square" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/385189/original/file-20210219-23-cbqo52.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/385189/original/file-20210219-23-cbqo52.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/385189/original/file-20210219-23-cbqo52.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/385189/original/file-20210219-23-cbqo52.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/385189/original/file-20210219-23-cbqo52.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/385189/original/file-20210219-23-cbqo52.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/385189/original/file-20210219-23-cbqo52.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A memorial on the first anniversary of the 2011 earthquake – 185 empty chairs symbolising those who died in the disaster.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">www.shutterstock.com</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>And a decade later there are some exciting signs of a new urban sensibility, such as the Te Papa Ōtākaro/Avon River Precinct, with a promenade that takes its lead from the river and draws in diverse civic features, old and new. </p>
<p>But the pandemic has disrupted large, unfinished projects along with visions of a vibrant centre. Rather than live downtown, people are moving to new homes outside the city boundary — let alone the suburbs — leaving urban regeneration a work in progress. Another anchor project, the Breathe Housing Community, has just <a href="https://www.stuff.co.nz/the-press/news/124273640/central-christchurch-site-up-for-sale-as-sustainable-village-anchor-project-finally-abandoned">collapsed</a>.</p>
<p>I saw the rise of these new suburbs and exurbs as worrying evidence of a de-centered city. Growth in the Selwyn and Waimakariri districts to the south and north of the city has continued unabated. In 2020 Selwyn had the largest net internal migration in the country. Millions have been spent on expansive northern and southern transport corridors that effectively bypass the city.</p>
<p>In the end, though, it is the people who are most important — and that is perhaps the biggest theme I see ten years on. The 2011 tragedy in which 185 people died and hundreds more were injured has cast a long and exhausting shadow. </p>
<p>The health, socio-economic and cultural well-being of so many has yet to recover. We can add to this story of struggle and pain the 51 deaths and many more injuries from the mosque shootings, and the fact that 12 of New Zealand’s 26 COVID-19 deaths have been in Canterbury. </p>
<p>At this moment, as was true a decade ago, the health and safety of the people are all that matters.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/155124/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Katie Pickles does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>February 22 2011 changed Christchurch forever. On the tenth anniversary of the deadly earthquake, how far has the city come and what challenges remain?Katie Pickles, Professor of History, University of CanterburyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1415302020-06-29T20:06:26Z2020-06-29T20:06:26ZUnless we improve the law, history shows rushing shovel-ready projects comes with real risk<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/344458/original/file-20200629-155322-1v33tho.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=17%2C0%2C5973%2C3997&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">www.shutterstock.com</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>If the road to hell is paved with good intentions, so too is the road to economic recovery if we don’t get it right.</p>
<p>The <a href="https://www.parliament.nz/en/pb/bills-and-laws/bills-proposed-laws/document/BILL_99143/covid-19-recovery-fast-track-consenting-bill">COVID-19 Recovery (Fast Track Consenting) Bill</a>, currently rushing through the parliamentary process, certainly has noble aims. In simple terms, the new law is designed to green light a number of projects that would normally take much longer to be approved under the <a href="http://www.legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1991/0069/latest/DLM230265.html">Resource Management Act</a>. </p>
<p>In the process, its architects argue, it will boost employment and kickstart economic recovery.</p>
<p>The trick will be balancing those aims with the law’s other lofty <a href="http://www.legislation.govt.nz/bill/government/2020/0277/latest/whole.html#LMS345544">ambition</a> “to promote the sustainable management of natural and physical resources”. History shows this is not always the way it goes. </p>
<h2>The past should guide us</h2>
<p>Governments often pass laws with vast powers during emergencies to drive economic recovery. The law of unintended consequences can take a lot longer to repeal.</p>
<p>During the great depression in the 1930s, <a href="http://www.nzlii.org/nz/legis/hist_act/ua193021gv1930n10254/">new laws</a> to deal with mass unemployment were often degrading in practice. Unemployed people were sent far and wide from their homes to perform sometimes useless tasks. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/rich-and-poor-dont-recover-equally-from-epidemics-rebuilding-fairly-will-be-a-global-challenge-138935">Rich and poor don't recover equally from epidemics. Rebuilding fairly will be a global challenge</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
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<p>In the late 1970s, the National government of Robert Muldoon tried to reduce the country’s dependence on imports with so-called “Think Big” projects. <a href="http://www.nzlii.org/nz/legis/hist_act/nda19791979n147246/">Special laws</a> were passed to circumvent normal planning mechanisms and we are still dealing with their economic and environmental consequences.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/344460/original/file-20200629-155330-2ld4qq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/344460/original/file-20200629-155330-2ld4qq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/344460/original/file-20200629-155330-2ld4qq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/344460/original/file-20200629-155330-2ld4qq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/344460/original/file-20200629-155330-2ld4qq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/344460/original/file-20200629-155330-2ld4qq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/344460/original/file-20200629-155330-2ld4qq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The Clyde Dam, fast-tracked as part of the Think Big policy in the 1970s but with long-lasting problems.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">www.shutterstock.com</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>More recently, the <a href="http://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/2011/0012/latest/DLM3653522.html">Christchurch</a> and <a href="http://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/2016/0102/latest/whole.html">Kaikoura</a> earthquakes have pushed dozens of laws to one side. This resulted in citizens and communities struggling to be heard, be treated fairly and have their rights protected under the emergency recovery process.</p>
<p>We are now inviting the same risks with the proposed fast-track consenting law.
It will be the most radical shake-up of environmental regulation in a generation. </p>
<p>Moreover, although the law has a two-year lifespan, there is a risk it could become permanent if a sympathetic government is elected. There is the additional risk it will give the green light to projects that in normal times would never proceed.</p>
<h2>Pace versus public protections</h2>
<p>The core of the proposed legislation is speed. This will be achieved by
by-passing usual consenting process steps, including
public consultation, hearing processes, and appeals to the Environment Court. Judicial review is <a href="http://www.legislation.govt.nz/bill/government/2020/0277/latest/whole.html#LMS354477">still possible</a>, but it’s not clear how far this will go. </p>
<p>Once passed, critical decisions on large-scale projects will be made by “<a href="http://www.legislation.govt.nz/bill/government/2020/0277/latest/whole.html#LMS345651">expert consenting panels</a>”. This is a radical proposition. Public participation sits at the heart of our democracy. To shrink from this rather than strengthen it at this time in our history is very risky. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/past-pandemics-show-how-coronavirus-budgets-can-drive-faster-economic-recovery-137775">Past pandemics show how coronavirus budgets can drive faster economic recovery</a>
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<p>If environmentally sustainable development is to have any real meaning, people and participation are key to making better decisions that take into account all relevant community interests. </p>
<p>But for the next two years our biggest environmental decisions will be made by panels consisting of a current or retired Environment Court judge (or person with similar experience), someone from the local authority and one other nominated by the relevant iwi authority in the project area. </p>
<p>Given what is at stake, however, there should also be an independent voice for the environment, separate from the others, the government and its agencies. </p>
<p>The Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment would be ideal. While this may require some legislative rejigging, without an independent voice tasked only with speaking to environmental protection there is a risk of imbalance in the system.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/344461/original/file-20200629-155349-rnqz82.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/344461/original/file-20200629-155349-rnqz82.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=397&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/344461/original/file-20200629-155349-rnqz82.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=397&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/344461/original/file-20200629-155349-rnqz82.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=397&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/344461/original/file-20200629-155349-rnqz82.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=499&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/344461/original/file-20200629-155349-rnqz82.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=499&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/344461/original/file-20200629-155349-rnqz82.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=499&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Public representation was a victim of emergency rebuild laws after the 2011 Christchurch earthquake.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">www.shutterstock.com</span></span>
</figcaption>
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<h2>Five ways to improve the law</h2>
<p>According to the new legislation, these expert panels must “apply” the <a href="http://www.legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1991/0069/latest/DLM231904.html">high level</a> purpose and principles of the Resource Management Act and “act consistently” with the principles of the Treaty of Waitangi (and associated settlements). They must also “have regard” to relevant plans and to regional and <a href="https://www.mfe.govt.nz/rma/rma-legislative-tools/national-policy-statements">national policy statements</a>.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/recession-hits-maori-and-pasifika-harder-they-must-be-part-of-planning-new-zealands-covid-19-recovery-137763">Recession hits Māori and Pasifika harder. They must be part of planning New Zealand's COVID-19 recovery</a>
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</em>
</p>
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<p>Cultural impact assessments will be mandatory and the law also <a href="http://www.legislation.govt.nz/bill/government/2020/0277/latest/LMS345668.html">requires</a> the “actual and potential” environmental effects of a project should be assessed. </p>
<p>All of this is good, but it would be improved with five over-riding principles.</p>
<p>First, the decision makers should act in a precautionary manner. If there is significant uncertainty about a project’s environmental impact it should not proceed. </p>
<p>Second, while replacing damaged or destroyed ecosystems is an excellent principle, there should be clear “red lines” around certain irreplaceable places, landscapes, endangered species and ecosystems.</p>
<p>Third, the law should go beyond simply calling for the examination of environmental effects to requiring actual environmental impact assessments. This would mean wider questions – such as whether there are alternatives to a given project – can be addressed. </p>
<p>Fourth, the right to compensation should be entrenched for citizens or communities directly affected by any proposed development.</p>
<p>Finally, if public participation is to be suspended, the ability to witness and have access to all panel deliberations should be underlined. When we are largely excluded from such important decisions, full transparency is the least we should expect in return.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/141530/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Alexander Gillespie has received funding from the NZ Law Foundation, but not in relation to the matters discussed in this piece. Also of note, I am concerned with some developments proposed around NZ, but are not a member of any NGO. </span></em></p>A law to fast-track development consents is being fast-tracked itself. Before it’s too late, politicians should insist on greater protection against long-term environmental damage.Alexander Gillespie, Professor of Law, University of WaikatoLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1138542019-03-25T18:34:45Z2019-03-25T18:34:45ZMassacre is now part of Christchurch’s identity, so how does a city rise above that?<p>Christchurch has a challenging new aspect to its identity. The city is now inextricably associated with the March 15 mass shootings at two mosques. So how does a city come to terms with and recover from having its name become synonymous with and coloured by such an atrocity? </p>
<p>This event has impacts on how both outsiders and residents perceive the city. The city has to manage the social and economic effects of any stigma that might arise.</p>
<p>The stigma of this sort of association is clearly not unique to Christchurch nor to one-off tragedies. Other places that came to be identified with atrocities include Port Arthur, Tasmania, after the mass shooting in 1996, and Lockerbie, Scotland, after the 1988 plane bombing. Stigma can also arise from a history of industrial decline, pollution or political upheaval. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/from-trauma-to-tourism-and-back-again-port-arthurs-history-of-dark-tourism-56993">From trauma to tourism and back again: Port Arthur's history of 'dark tourism'</a>
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<p>Geographers refer to a concept of “territorial stigma” but usually in relation to poorer sections within a city rather than whole cities. That said, this concept – and notions of individual stigma and its management – may have relevance for how Christchurch or any other community can recover over time. We can see examples of such recovery in Port Arthur and the state of Tasmania, in Kobe, Japan, after a devastating earthquake, and in Eindhoven in the Netherlands after economic collapse.</p>
<p>Christchurch also faced the impact of stigma as a devastated city following earthquakes at the start of the decade, as did Kobe after the 1995 earthquake. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/christchurch-five-years-on-have-politicians-helped-or-hindered-the-earthquake-recovery-53727">Christchurch five years on: have politicians helped or hindered the earthquake recovery?</a>
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<p>In Kobe, city planners gave themselves the crucial role of being agents of change and mediators between the government and the community. They championed <a href="https://makingchristchurch.com/community-led-opportunity-for-renewal-kobe-earthquake-recovery-1995-2000-e43025c9f406">community-led place-making</a> (<em>machizukuri</em> in Japanese). <em>Machizukuri</em> examples of Kobe renewal are still praised as beacons of effective disaster recovery and urban planning. What underlies the challenge and the response? </p>
<h2>Stigma and its management</h2>
<p>Individual stigma was <a href="https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Stigma/Erving-Goffman/9780671622442">characterised by the sociologist Erving Goffman</a>, who noted that the Greeks used the term to refer to “bodily signs designed to expose something unusual and bad about the moral status of the signifier”. He clarified that stigma now refers to the disgrace itself, the reason for social rejection, rather than just to the mark. </p>
<p>Goffman identifies three categories of people in relation to stigmas. There are those who bear the stigma. There are the “normals” who do not. And there are the “wise”, who are normal but who are aware of and accept those who bear the stigmatised condition (being literally, “wise to it”).</p>
<p>Loïc Wacquant <a href="https://books.google.com.au/books?hl=en&lr=&id=APjN-RQuW-sC&oi=fnd&pg=PR7&dq=Wacquant+2008&ots=xdJ-6O7qsD&sig=CwMRM45vVpA8gP5vbaDKDMoNaUY#v=onepage&q=Wacquant%202008&f=false">extended the concept of stigma to locations</a>. Territorial stigma occurs in neighbourhoods of post-industrial cities <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1068/a4606ge">as a result of marginalisation through poverty, unemployment, insecurity and criminality</a>. </p>
<p>Wacquant and others argue that policies and practices – such as government grant schemes or depictions in the media – maintain this boundary between “spoiled” areas and the rest of the city. Those with power undertake this marginalisation as a means for the rest of the city to achieve economic growth. Such stigmatisation and marginalisation can lead to unattractiveness to migrants and businesses, lower property values, and policy neglect.</p>
<p>Managing such stigma, at least for individuals, <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/00909882.2010.490841?scroll=top&needAccess=true">Rebecca Meisenbach found</a>, ranges from accepting or avoiding it, to arguing against it, or proudly displaying the stigmatising characteristic. For cities, we can see such strategies being undertaken. But which ones are the most effective?</p>
<h2>Remaking identity</h2>
<p>The <a href="https://citiesprogramme.org/resource/winning-from-second/">Winning from Second</a> report, based on research by the UN Global Compact – Cities Programme and RMIT University for the Committee for Geelong, identified cities or regions that have successfully shifted perceptions and associated stigma. The study’s examples were second cities with smaller populations, often existing in the shadow of larger global cities. </p>
<p>The report found success where a city undertook a unified approach to economic and cultural development. That would include uniting the stigmatised sectors of the community with “wise” allies, such as in the investment sector. One approach was support of new and innovative businesses, such as development of a health tech corridor in Cleveland, Ohio. </p>
<p>These second cities also aimed to provide an identity and attractions distinct from those offered by nearby capital cities. In essence, they celebrated their difference.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/putting-culture-at-the-core-of-the-christchurch-rebuild-34918">Putting culture at the core of the Christchurch rebuild</a>
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<p>Eindhoven managed a successful transformation. It was a “one-company town”, home to the electronics giant, Philips. Philips relocated its manufacturing in the 1980s, causing job losses and the collapse of businesses. </p>
<p>Local government and business leaders collaborated to convince Philips to retain its research and development arm in the city. That launched the area as an innovation hub, referred to as Brainport Eindhoven. </p>
<p>With only 4% of the Netherlands population, the city now generates 44% of the country’s patents and 19% of its private investment. Eindhoven has shaken off negative perceptions to become known as one of the world’s most innovative cities.</p>
<p>A similar reversal in Tasmania was recently described by David Bartlett, the premier from 2008-2011, who <a href="http://www.hrf.com.au/news-events/events/economic-breakfasts---hunter">spoke about the “MONA effect</a>”. He explained the impact of the “random lightning bolt of weirdness” that is the Museum of Old and New Art in Hobart. MONA’s opening in 2011 boosted tourism numbers and spawned a range of other enterprises, breathing new life into the state economy.</p>
<p>Bartlett said this MONA effect shifted perceptions of Tasmania. “We have had an extraordinary cultural change in Tasmania,” he said. “There is a cultural confidence and a contagious view of our own assets.”</p>
<p>The Kobe, Eindhoven and Hobart examples suggest that the prosperity and well-being of Christchurch depend on the city’s leaders and the community, now united in grief, finding a path to shared solutions. Overcoming the effects of terrorism, natural disasters or economic adversity also demand pride in the history and distinctive character of the city, albeit while looking forward. In such efforts, collaboration appears to be a pivotal element, especially partnerships between the stigmatised and the “wise” among us.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/113854/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The Hunter Research Foundation Centre at the University of Newcastle, where Will Rifkin serves as director, receives funding for engaged research from local governments, state and federal government agencies, and businesses. </span></em></p>Christchurch is now inextricably associated with the mass shootings at two mosques in which 50 people died. So what can a city do when its name become synonymous with such an event?Will Rifkin, Chair in Applied Regional Economics and Director, Hunter Research Foundation Centre, University of NewcastleLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/537272016-02-19T22:18:31Z2016-02-19T22:18:31ZChristchurch five years on: have politicians helped or hindered the earthquake recovery?<p>The Canterbury earthquakes of 2010-11 required a momentous recovery undertaking by the City of Christchurch in New Zealand. <a href="http://www.canterburyquakelive.co.nz/">Thousands of tremors</a> have been recorded since the <a href="http://www.teara.govt.nz/en/historic-earthquakes/page-13">February 22 earthquake</a> that killed 185 people, injured thousands, destroyed more than 50% of the CBD and damaged tens of thousands of homes. </p>
<p>Five years on, what insight can we glean from the fallout?</p>
<p>The city faced enormous challenges. Many remain unresolved. The political approach of the national government to response and recovery has raised important issues for understanding the politics of disasters. </p>
<p>These issues are relevant elsewhere too as climate-related disasters <a href="https://theconversation.com/explainer-are-natural-disasters-on-the-rise-39232">become more frequent</a>. This applies particularly in Australia, which has experienced <a href="https://theconversation.com/fires-are-increasing-in-warming-world-but-a-new-model-could-help-us-predict-them-54466">widespread bushfires</a> from <a href="https://theconversation.com/expectations-and-harsh-reality-why-bushfire-warnings-fail-53050">Western Australia</a> to <a href="https://theconversation.com/fighting-fire-in-the-wilderness-learning-from-tasmania-53948">Tasmania</a>.</p>
<p>Christchurch is finally starting to enter a phase of sustained construction. The keenly awaited <a href="https://www.tvnz.co.nz/one-news/new-zealand/largest-southern-hemisphere-playground-opens-in-christchurch">Margaret Mahy children’s playground</a> has opened. Work has begun on government-led precincts and anchor projects in the central city.</p>
<h2>Signs of progress and public discontent</h2>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/110546/original/image-20160208-18289-1shp18q.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/110546/original/image-20160208-18289-1shp18q.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/110546/original/image-20160208-18289-1shp18q.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/110546/original/image-20160208-18289-1shp18q.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/110546/original/image-20160208-18289-1shp18q.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/110546/original/image-20160208-18289-1shp18q.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/110546/original/image-20160208-18289-1shp18q.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/110546/original/image-20160208-18289-1shp18q.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">The Christchurch Cathedral remains in a state of disrepair.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Raven Cretney</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
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<p>Despite the signs of progress, the government’s approach has caused simmering discontent in the local community.</p>
<p>My current research reveals this dissatisfaction is particularly with the actions of central government. Many people expressed displeasure at the treatment of residents in official processes. They say they felt dismissed and excluded – even deliberately left out of consultation and engagement.</p>
<p><a href="http:/allright.org.nz/media/uploads/AllRightResearchSummary_2_2.pdf">Other studies</a> have found that more than 75% of respondents disagreed with the government’s recovery priorities. And 59% believed the recovery to be a convenient excuse to push the government’s own agendas. </p>
<p>To understand these perspectives and why people are dissatisfied, it is necessary to explore what the government did. Almost immediately after the first big, but non-fatal, earthquake in September 2010, the government introduced legislation that gave a newly appointed earthquake recovery minister the power to amend almost any statute to support the recovery.</p>
<p>This move was met with concern. In particular, <a href="http://pundit.co.nz/content/an-open-letter-to-new-zealands-people-and-their-parliament">legal academics</a> highlighted the unprecedented nature of the legislation and the truncated democratic process.</p>
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<span class="caption">Street art protests the powers of the minister for earthquake recovery.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Raven Cretney</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
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<p>Under further legislation introduced after the February 2011 earthquake, the Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Authority (<a href="http://cera.govt.nz/">CERA</a>) gained wide-ranging control of the recovery. In some cases, it took over projects managed by local authorities. The most prominent example is the creation of a unit within the CERA to manage the city centre rebuild, removing the task from the locally elected city council.</p>
<p>Other agencies also felt the effects of this approach. In early 2010, the government had removed the democratically elected officials of the regional council Environment Canterbury. The government later extended this arrangement until 2016, <a href="http://www.stuff.co.nz/the-press/news/7631962/ECan-commissioners-staying-until-2016">citing the earthquakes</a> as one justification.</p>
<h2>Community feels excluded by centralised powers</h2>
<p>The removal of elected officials, along with the CERA legislation, are indicative of an approach to post-disaster politics that favours central government intervention and control. </p>
<p>While this upset many in the community, <a href="http://www.resorgs.org.nz/images/stories/pdfs/james%20rotimi%20final%20thesis.pdf">research</a> conducted just before the earthquakes found existing legislation may not have been sufficient to manage some aspects of recovery from such a large disaster. </p>
<p>However, it must be asked why the earthquake recovery legislation did not adopt extensive parts of the New Zealand civil defence plan and strategy. These are <a href="http://sciencepolicy.colorado.edu/students/envs_5100/mitchell.pdf">highly regarded</a> for their community-driven approach. </p>
<p>The primary provision for community engagement in the act is a 20-person committee appointed by the minister. The stories I have collected suggest that establishing such a powerful government department created a hierarchy which has emphasised a top-down, command-and-control approach. </p>
<p>That approach has excluded many individuals and community organisations. This, in turn, has contributed to feelings of disenfranchisement and disillusion. Unfortunately, this was exactly the situation <a href="http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/christchurch-earthquake/4919892/Cera-labelled-militaristic">some academics</a> feared the creation of the CERA would create.</p>
<h2>Grassroots-driven recovery gives hope</h2>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/110544/original/image-20160208-18264-1vy2n0m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/110544/original/image-20160208-18264-1vy2n0m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/110544/original/image-20160208-18264-1vy2n0m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/110544/original/image-20160208-18264-1vy2n0m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/110544/original/image-20160208-18264-1vy2n0m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/110544/original/image-20160208-18264-1vy2n0m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=533&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/110544/original/image-20160208-18264-1vy2n0m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=533&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/110544/original/image-20160208-18264-1vy2n0m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=533&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">The Commons, a Gap Filler project providing public space and activities in the central city.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Raven Cretney</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
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<p>Existing alongside these higher-level politics during the disaster recovery period is a thriving network of community and grassroots groups. Initiatives such as Greening the Rubble, Gap Filler and Agropolis have demonstrated the possibilities for citizen-led recovery.</p>
<p>Many residents, when interviewed, mentioned the importance of these organisations and their projects. Their successes had brought joy to their lives and restored hope for the future of the city.</p>
<p>The question then is: why can’t Christchurch lead its own recovery? A strong feeling exists in the city that the community can undertake this task. The community organisations that sprang up from the rubble have provided hope, social services and public spaces for those living through their own personal recovery alongside that of the city. </p>
<p>In my research, many people said they would have preferred to see a locally led recovery supported and resourced by central government, but with a more “hands-off” approach. Recent submissions from the public on the plan to replace CERA with another agency also demonstrate the community’s desire for <a href="http://cera.govt.nz/recovery-strategy/leadership-and-integration/transition-recovery-plan">more powers at the local level</a>. </p>
<p>The lessons from Christchurch show the importance of social and political dynamics in shaping the experience of cities and their citizens in long-term disaster recovery. To carry out more democratic and community-focused recovery, authorities need to actively appreciate and collaborate with residents, organisations and communities.</p>
<p>Looking towards a future that seems destined to bring more bushfires, floods and cyclones, it is vital to understand how exceptional post-disaster political tools influence recovery. Of particular concern are those that challenge the democratic right to local participation and representation.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/53727/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Raven Marie Cretney receives funding through the Australian Government APA scholarship scheme.</span></em></p>By removing elected officials and installing a powerful command-and-control agency, the government’s approach to recovery has left many of the city’s people feeling disenfranchised and excluded.Raven Cretney, PhD Candidate, Disaster Studies and Urban Geography, RMIT UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/548042016-02-16T22:28:22Z2016-02-16T22:28:22ZThe earthquakes keep on coming for Christchurch<p>At risk of being accused of being some sort of sinister harbinger of earthquakes, I must confess I happened to be en route to Christchurch, in New Zealand, when the latest <a href="http://www.smh.com.au/world/59-magnitude-earthquake-hits-near-christchurch-new-zealand-20160214-gmtlia.html">magnitude 5.7 earthquake</a> occurred on Sunday beneath the Pacific ocean.</p>
<p>I’d just finished a week hunting active faults in deep native bush in the South Island with my friend and colleague <a href="http://learnz.org.nz/geohazards152/meet-rob-langridge">Rob Langridge</a>. We were driving along Highway 73 through the centre of the island, searching the airwaves for the NZ-Australia cricket score. </p>
<p>Alas, when I heard of a strong damaging earthquake in Christchurch on the radio, the old feelings of anxiety and sadness came surging back. I had a <a href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0040195116000962">major scientific role</a> as an Associate Professor at the University of Canterbury in the 2010-2011 earthquakes and lived in Christchurch for eight years. We were badly affected by the earthquakes and lost our house in eastern Christchurch.</p>
<p>I was surprised at how persistently these feelings must reside simmering in my psyche, even from my <a href="http://www.stuff.co.nz/the-press/67799508/Face-of-Christchurch-earthquakes-Dr-Mark-Quigley-leaving-town">new position</a> at Melbourne University across the ditch. It is obviously important to consider what this recent earthquake means for Christchurch’s seismic future.</p>
<h2>The magnitude</h2>
<p>First, the details. The magnitude 5.7 earthquake was centred approximately eight kilometres offshore on a moderately dipping <a href="http://geomaps.wr.usgs.gov/parks/deform/gfaults.html">reverse fault</a>. Earthquakes of this size typically result from fault ruptures about five to seven kilometres long, with up to about a meter of seismic slip. </p>
<p>The type of faulting and resultant shaking pattern was similar in some ways to the magnitude 5.8 and 5.9 earthquakes to hit Christchurch on December 23, 2011. Some of the aftershocks from the most recent event are also <a href="http://earthquake.usgs.gov/learn/glossary/?term=strike-slip">strike-slip</a> where rocks on opposing sides of the fault slide laterally past one another, like the magnitude 7.1 <a href="http://www.britannica.com/event/Christchurch-earthquakes-of-2010-2011">Darfield earthquake</a> that occurred about 40 km west of Christchurch in 2010. </p>
<p>An instrumental measure of earthquake shaking intensity, termed “<a href="http://earthquake.usgs.gov/learn/glossary/?term=acceleration">peak ground acceleration</a>” – now known well by many residents around Christchurch – reached up to 30-40% of gravity. </p>
<p>In vulnerable sediments, the threshold for triggering <a href="http://earthquake.usgs.gov/learn/glossary/?term=liquefaction">liquefaction</a> is about <a href="http://www.drquigs.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/419.full_.pdf">10-20% of gravity</a>. As a consequence, liquefaction occurred in the places we expected it to, with the severity we would have expected for an earthquake of this size in this location. </p>
<p>Liquefaction didn’t occur in many places in central and southern Christchurch, where it had during the February earthquake, because the shaking wasn’t strong enough. </p>
<p>In case you were wondering, no liquefaction occurred in the land formerly occupied by my house, now owned by the Crown. I would have predicted no sand volcanoes would erupt given the measured ground accelerations and distance from the earthquake, but I couldn’t resist checking.</p>
<p>The shaking in this most recent earthquake was strong enough to cause loose rock to tumble from cliff faces around the coast. </p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">The aftermath of the cliff collapse following the earthquake.</span></figcaption>
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<p>Many of these areas had already been well designated by the the Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Authority (<a href="http://cera.govt.nz/">CERA</a>) and <a href="http://www.ccc.govt.nz/">Christchurch City Council</a> as high hazard <a href="http://cera.govt.nz/land-information/land-zones">Red Zones</a>, which are areas of widespread land and infrastructure damage where repair or remediation are considered to be prohibitively difficult. </p>
<p>This certainly provided some validation for the power of science and technology to assist with land use zoning decisions. The tumbling of rock off of coastal cliffs continues to remind us (particularly the kayakers, boaters and surfers) that keeping a 30 to 50 metre separation from steep bedrock cliffs when out in the ocean reduces the risk of being hit by falling rocks. </p>
<p>This applies even to cliffs where prior earthquakes didn’t cause rockfall, because the rock mass has been <a href="http://www.drquigs.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/G36149.1.full_.pdf">seismically weakened</a> in most cases throughout the region, and continues to pose an ongoing hazard. Of course we can’t (and shouldn’t) Red Zone these marine environs, but we can keep them in our minds.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/111576/original/image-20160215-22570-1krmdyb.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/111576/original/image-20160215-22570-1krmdyb.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/111576/original/image-20160215-22570-1krmdyb.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=332&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/111576/original/image-20160215-22570-1krmdyb.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=332&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/111576/original/image-20160215-22570-1krmdyb.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=332&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/111576/original/image-20160215-22570-1krmdyb.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=418&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/111576/original/image-20160215-22570-1krmdyb.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=418&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/111576/original/image-20160215-22570-1krmdyb.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=418&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A map of Sunday’s Christchurch earthquake.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">USGS</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Is there a pattern?</h2>
<p>The published annual statistical likelihood of Sunday’s earthquake prior to it occurring was 49%. And because this event has occurred, there is now a 63% chance another quake between magnitude 5 and 5.9 will occur in the region in the next year. </p>
<p>Even prior to Sunday’s earthquake, the annual rate of magnitude 4 earthquakes through this part of Canterbury in 2015 – a seemingly quiet year for earthquakes – was still more than ten times greater than the pre-Darfield annual rate. </p>
<p>We expect several magnitude 4 aftershocks over the coming weeks from Sunday’s earthquake, which will be most strongly felt along the eastern Canterbury coast. For each of these magnitude 4s, we would expect ten magnitude 3 earthquakes and a hundred magnitude 2s.</p>
<p>A research paper by <a href="https://www.niwa.co.nz/people/philip-barnes">Philip Barnes</a> and his colleagues published just last week showed new maps of active faults they identified in Pegasus Bay, just north of Christchurch, including some in the approximate area of Sunday’s earthquake. </p>
<p>The recurrence interval of earthquakes on these faults may be 10,000 years or longer. However, the effect of stress redistributions in the crust resulting from prior earthquakes in this area, particularly the magnitude 5.8 and 5.9 earthquakes in December 2011 and magnitude 6 earthquake in June 2011, means that these structures are continuously being pushed and prodded closer to rupture. </p>
<p>While a few years may seem long on a human timescale, the occurrence of these strong Canterbury earthquakes years apart is equivalent to a blink of the eye over geological timescales. The coarse resolution in which we can study these faults using geology and geophysics prohibits us from knowing whether they have ruptured in short succession in the past (within years or decades), or whether their past ruptures were separated by centuries. </p>
<p>The point is: the Canterbury earthquake sequence has periods of relative quiescence and resurgence, is still ongoing, and is affecting crustal stress in an area where we know there are active faults, some of which Barnes and colleagues show in their recent paper are large enough to generate magnitude 7 or greater earthquakes.</p>
<h2>Preparing for the future</h2>
<p>So what next? And what can we do about it? While the Canterbury earthquake has generally migrated eastward through time since 2010, there are clearly still portions of smaller faults throughout the region that are capable of generating large earthquakes. </p>
<p>These include faults southwest of Christchurch and offshore faults to the northeast like the source of the most recent event. No scientist would dismiss the possibility that a larger magnitude earthquake could occur offshore, even though the statistical probabilities of a magnitude 7 of more occurring in the region remain below 1% over the next year. </p>
<p>I maintain that the 1992 <a href="http://scedc.caltech.edu/significant/landers1992.html">Landers earthquakes</a> (magnitude 7.3, 6.2 and 6.3 earthquakes) followed by the 1999 <a href="http://scedc.caltech.edu/significant/hectormine1999.html">Hector Mine earthquake</a> (magnitude 7.1) in eastern California provides us with a useful analogue for Canterbury.</p>
<p>The fault orientations and likely ocean floor displacements predicted from future Pegasus Bay earthquakes suggest low potential for a large, locally sourced tsunami. Nonetheless, a brush up on tsunami evacuation routes and awareness of local areas of high ground like parts of Bottle Lake, on the coast of Christchurch, and the sand dunes along New Brighton a little further to the south provide avenues for continued discussion with scientists and authorities for coastal dwellers. </p>
<p>Clearly, we cannot rule out any geological scenario with complete confidence. So we must continue the conversations and New Zealand must maintain its collective reputation as one of the world’s most scientifically literate general publics in the field of earthquakes. Kia kaha Christchurch.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/54804/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Mark Quigley receives funding from the New Zealand Earthquake Commission</span></em></p>Christchurch is still reeling from the 2011 earthquake, but there may be more on their way.Mark Quigley, Senior Lecturer in Active Tectonics and Geomorphology, The University of MelbourneLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/349182014-12-11T19:33:06Z2014-12-11T19:33:06ZPutting culture at the core of the Christchurch rebuild<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/66277/original/image-20141204-3651-1v1tw8a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">A ballerina is painted on the back of the Theatre Royal in Christchurch by Tauranga artist Owen Dippie and his team.
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Jocelyn Kinghorn</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Three recent events in the New Zealand city of Christchurch, almost four years on from the magnitude 6.3 earthquake in February 2011, suggest that arts and culture are playing a central role in the recovery of the city’s social fabric. </p>
<p>In the popular memory, Christchurch suffered just two earthquakes. The first on September 4 2010 and the lethal monster of February 22 2011 that killed 185 residents and visitors. </p>
<p>But 2011 was a year of many major <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2011_Christchurch_earthquake#Main_aftershocks_since_22_February_2011">aftershocks</a> for Christchurch. One triggered liquefaction under the <a href="http://christchurchartgallery.org.nz/">Christchurch Arts Gallery</a>, requiring a major re-levelling of the building, and another, on December 23, ended the hopes of a relative modest repairs to the <a href="http://isaactheatreroyal.co.nz/">Isaac Theatre Royal</a> in the former CBD.</p>
<h2>A bull and a piano</h2>
<p>One of the early signs of cultural renewal was a bull and a piano. Or more correctly, a massive bronze sculpture of a bull on a piano. It is one of two similar works first exhibited in the New Zealand Pavilion at the 2011 Venice Biennale: <a href="http://christchurchartgallery.org.nz/exhibitions/on-first-looking-into-chapmans-homer-michael-parek/">On First Looking into Chapman’s Homer</a> by <a href="http://www.thearts.co.nz/artist_page.php&aid=70">Michael Parekowhai</a>. </p>
<p>Chapman’s Homer stood in the garden of <em>Palazzo Loredan dell'Ambasciatore</em> in Venice, while its companion piece, <a href="http://www.nzherald.co.nz/entertainment/news/article.cfm?c_id=1501119&objectid=10721090">A Peak in Darien</a>, stood at the french doors at the Grand Canal end of the ground floor ballroom. Between them a pianist played on an intricately-carved Steinway concert grand, painted red for the Venice Republic, while in the garden shrubbery a bronze security guard stood watch.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/66289/original/image-20141204-7283-4d67ti.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/66289/original/image-20141204-7283-4d67ti.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/66289/original/image-20141204-7283-4d67ti.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/66289/original/image-20141204-7283-4d67ti.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/66289/original/image-20141204-7283-4d67ti.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/66289/original/image-20141204-7283-4d67ti.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/66289/original/image-20141204-7283-4d67ti.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/66289/original/image-20141204-7283-4d67ti.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Michael Parekowhai’s Venice Biennale installation ‘On first looking into Chapman’s Homer’ moves to Christchurch.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">kebabette</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/">CC BY-NC-SA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In the winter of 2012, the director of the Christchurch Art Gallery <a href="http://christchurchartgallery.org.nz/about/">Jenny Harper</a>, brought the two sculptures to Christchurch and exhibited them just outside the CBD <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Central_City_Red_Zone">Red Zone</a> barrier. Their bronze-dark formal lines contrasted with the rubble strewn landscape, dotted with derelict buildings, in a chilling and affecting manner.</p>
<p>Within days, the sculptures had been adopted by the citizens of Christchurch as symbols of resistance. By October 2013, NZ$200,000 in public donations had secured Chapman’s Homer for the city. For many it symbolised order and disorder, man and nature, Christchurch and its seismic adversary, and citizens <a href="http://www.stuff.co.nz/the-press/christchurch-life/art-and-stage/9215593/Bronze-bull-back-for-good">dug deep</a> for this cultural acquisition. </p>
<p>Chapman’s Homer is presently <a href="http://christchurchartgallery.org.nz/blog/bunker-notes/2014/11/03/michael-parekowhai-chapmans-homer-now-at-placemake/">quite at home</a> in New Zealand’s equivalent of Bunnings – PlaceMakers – in suburban Riccarton, its bronze-dark formal lines contrast with the retail clutter of hardware and building materials.</p>
<h2>A new audience is found</h2>
<p>While donations were accumulating for Chapman’s Homer, the 2013 <a href="http://www.artsfestival.co.nz/">Christchurch Arts Festival</a> was in progress, a biennial affair. </p>
<p>Deprived of its former city venues, and with only <a href="http://www.courttheatre.org.nz/">The Court Theatre</a> (the city’s professional theatre company) in its new digs, organisers looked outwards to the suburbs. Suburban high school halls were pressed into service and even that great bastion of rugby, the Christchurch Football Club, opened to the arts hosting <a href="https://www.facebook.com/partywiththeauntiesnz">Party with the Aunties</a>, a play by director Erina Daniels.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/66297/original/image-20141204-7277-qetlku.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/66297/original/image-20141204-7277-qetlku.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/66297/original/image-20141204-7277-qetlku.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=426&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/66297/original/image-20141204-7277-qetlku.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=426&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/66297/original/image-20141204-7277-qetlku.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=426&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/66297/original/image-20141204-7277-qetlku.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=536&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/66297/original/image-20141204-7277-qetlku.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=536&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/66297/original/image-20141204-7277-qetlku.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=536&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Party with the Aunties.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Facebook</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>While a <a href="http://www.creativenz.govt.nz/en/news/arts-in-christchurch-being-valued-more-than-ever">study</a> for the Christchurch Arts Audience Development Steering Group in 2013, found that cultural activity since the earthquakes had fallen to 85% (compared with a national average of 95%), something remarkable was happening at the festival. Some 32% of the audiences were first time attendees: one in three had never attended the Christchurch Arts Festival before.</p>
<p>Some contributing factors were easy to identify: performances were focused on weekends, many performances were in residential areas and the ticket prices were low. But this reality remains. Of the over 86,000 festival attendees for ticketed and free events, 27,000 had never previously attended. </p>
<p>Cultural activities were creating new communities in the damaged city. And, perhaps reflecting a shift of audience demographics, the festival’s Facebook following increased by 70%.</p>
<h2>The return of the Grand Old Lady</h2>
<p>Churches and theatres own special places in the cultural and physical landscape of a city, so the re-opening of Christchurch’s <a href="http://isaactheatreroyal.co.nz/our-history/2011-earthquake/other-earthquake-stories/itr-earthquake-update-june-2014/">Isaac Theatre Royal</a> last month on November 17, which I attended, was a landmark event.</p>
<p>Some attending had not been to the city centre since September 2010 and, for most, there was a sense of personal ownership and pride in the renewed theatre. That sense of ownership was palpable on the night. </p>
<p>The theatre is owned by the Theatre Royal Foundation, a local not-for-profit that bought the theatre from J.C. Williamson in 1979, its owner of 50 years, in a rundown condition. The Trust gradually returned the theatre to a central place in Christchurch’s community, though theatre manager Neil Cox told me that in recent years, the fabric of the theatre had become tired and no longer offered its once grand theatrical experience to patrons.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/66298/original/image-20141204-7262-199x2t1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/66298/original/image-20141204-7262-199x2t1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/66298/original/image-20141204-7262-199x2t1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/66298/original/image-20141204-7262-199x2t1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/66298/original/image-20141204-7262-199x2t1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/66298/original/image-20141204-7262-199x2t1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=504&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/66298/original/image-20141204-7262-199x2t1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=504&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/66298/original/image-20141204-7262-199x2t1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=504&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The Isaac Theatre Royal, September 28 2014, Christchurch.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Jenny Scott</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The after shocks of 2011 destroyed the auditorium and foyer, but the Gloucester Street facade and the backstage and fly tower were repairable. From the rubble of the building a new modern theatre, behind the old fabric, has emerged.</p>
<p>While government and institutional sources provided much of the NZ$40 million for the rebuild, of no lesser importance have been the efforts of individuals such as Sir Ian McKellen (whose 15 sold-out performances of <a href="http://www.mckellen.com/stage/ian-mckellen-on-stage/">Shakespeare, Tolkien and You</a> in 2012 raised over NZ$350,000), The Rocky Horror Show creator Richard O’Brien, Sir Peter Jackson, Dame Malvina Major, Hayley Westenra and Christchurch performers Amelia Guild, Emma Newborn and Mel Parsons.</p>
<p>Their work has engaged a whole national community in the recovery of the Isaac Theatre Royal, engendering that sense of shared ownership of a cultural asset. </p>
<p>That engagement binds the local community for the long recovery of the urban material assets that nature has so completely destroyed in central Christchurch.</p>
<p><br>
<em>See also: <a href="https://theconversation.com/three-years-on-getting-creative-in-post-quake-christchurch-23319">Three years on: getting creative in post-quake Christchurch</a></em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/34918/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Vincent O'Donnell is a correspondent for the radio program Upbeat on Radio New Zealand. He reported the opening of the Issac Theatre Royal for Upbeat in New Zealand and Arts Alive in Australia and reported from the Christchurch Arts Festival in 2013.</span></em></p>Three recent events in the New Zealand city of Christchurch, almost four years on from the magnitude 6.3 earthquake in February 2011, suggest that arts and culture are playing a central role in the recovery…Vincent O'Donnell, Honorary Research Associate of the School of Media and Communication , RMIT UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/233192014-02-19T19:30:09Z2014-02-19T19:30:09ZThree years on: getting creative in post-quake Christchurch<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/41903/original/t2r6swhn-1392776007.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Transitional architecture such as The Arcades Project is just one of many adaptive creative projects in Christchurch.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Barnaby Bennett</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>February 22 is the third anniversary of the powerful earthquake that <a href="http://www.police.govt.nz/major-events/previous-major-events/christchurch-earthquake/list-deceased">killed 185 people</a> and radically altered the New Zealand city of Christchurch. The city centre is flattened and empty, with thousands still waiting for houses and roads to be repaired. The adrenaline and anger that characterised the first two years is gone, only to be replaced by a strange sort of <a href="http://www.stuff.co.nz/the-press/opinion/9558967/Another-year-another-confused-blur">collective bewilderment</a>. </p>
<p>There is enormous complexity in significantly altering the infrastructure of a city after a disaster while at the same time trying to keep its various cultural, physical and environmental networks alive. But there is a strong artistic community adapting to this new post-quake world …</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/41859/original/qpscnm4v-1392760665.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/41859/original/qpscnm4v-1392760665.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/41859/original/qpscnm4v-1392760665.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/41859/original/qpscnm4v-1392760665.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/41859/original/qpscnm4v-1392760665.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/41859/original/qpscnm4v-1392760665.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/41859/original/qpscnm4v-1392760665.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/41859/original/qpscnm4v-1392760665.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Central Christchurch 2014.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Barnaby Bennett</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Central city demolition zone</h2>
<p>The total cost of the rebuild is around <a href="http://www.insurancenews.com.au/analysis/the-ups-and-downs-of-premiums">$NZ40 billion</a>, funded by insurance, new investment, and national and local governments. In 2011 the government created a large new authority ministry called the <a href="http://cera.govt.nz/">Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Authority</a> (CERA) to lead the recovery process, including the master planning of the central city. </p>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/41858/original/gk2rxp2k-1392758900.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/41858/original/gk2rxp2k-1392758900.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/41858/original/gk2rxp2k-1392758900.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/41858/original/gk2rxp2k-1392758900.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/41858/original/gk2rxp2k-1392758900.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/41858/original/gk2rxp2k-1392758900.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/41858/original/gk2rxp2k-1392758900.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Image part of social media campaign All Right.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">www.allright.org.nz</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>It is sad and strange to walk through the city now, and to see how <a href="https://ccdu.govt.nz/the-plan">a plan</a> that was initially designed to provide certainty, speed up processes, and avoid red tape, has become so confused and delayed. </p>
<p>Flowers are placed on the tops of the city’s many traffic cones as a prominent gesture to commemorate the anniversary. It is a symbolic act that also neatly reflects the state of the city at the moment. </p>
<p>Former Cabinet Minister Philip Burdon <a href="http://www.stuff.co.nz/the-press/opinion/perspective/9732947/Doughnut-represents-Ceras-failings">recently wrote</a> in The Press about the failings of CERA: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>Its primary mandate was to streamline bureaucracy and accelerate decision-making. Three years later it has become the antithesis of exactly that. Its most conspicuous failure has been its well-intended ambition to kick-start and accelerate the revival of the CBD.</p>
</blockquote>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/41860/original/pg793wf6-1392761036.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/41860/original/pg793wf6-1392761036.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/41860/original/pg793wf6-1392761036.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/41860/original/pg793wf6-1392761036.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/41860/original/pg793wf6-1392761036.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/41860/original/pg793wf6-1392761036.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/41860/original/pg793wf6-1392761036.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/41860/original/pg793wf6-1392761036.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">High Street, central Christchurch, 2014.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Barnaby Bennett</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The central city has had around 1,200 – or 80% – of its buildings demolished, including more than 200 heritage buildings. The large-scale interventions being led by the government are still two to five years away from completion. </p>
<p>Much of what made up the CBD before the earthquake has survived by relocating outside of the centre: sports facilities, businesses, education institutions and manufacturing areas are all doing relatively well. </p>
<p>Even with the destruction of the central city the <a href="http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=11179912">economy is bustling</a>, and despite the demolition of more than 10,000 houses, Christchurch’s population has only shrunk by <a href="http://www.nbr.co.nz/article/changing-face-christchurch-rebuild-continues-bd-152068">around 2%</a>.</p>
<h2>Adaptive cultural ecology</h2>
<p>Christchurch’s cultural amenities, which were almost entirely based in the central city, have not fared well. Theatres, galleries, music venues, residencies, studios, rehearsal spaces, and bars for live music are now rare and have had to either move or close. </p>
<p>The smaller organisations used to occupy lower-grade spaces that have been demolished. Institutional spaces such as the <a href="http://christchurchartgallery.org.nz/">Christchurch Art Gallery</a> are undergoing extensive repairs that will take years to complete. Some existing organisations such as <a href="http://www.courttheatre.org.nz/">The Court Theatre</a>, New Zealand’s first professional theatre company founded in 1971, have bucked this trend and flourished in new temporary spaces on the outskirts of the centre. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/41862/original/ngpx48yr-1392761936.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/41862/original/ngpx48yr-1392761936.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/41862/original/ngpx48yr-1392761936.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/41862/original/ngpx48yr-1392761936.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/41862/original/ngpx48yr-1392761936.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/41862/original/ngpx48yr-1392761936.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/41862/original/ngpx48yr-1392761936.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/41862/original/ngpx48yr-1392761936.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The Christchurch Town Hall, Pallet Pavilion, Arcades and other projects.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Barnaby Bennett</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Given the radical shifts in the cultural ecology of the city, it is surprising (or perhaps not) that what remains of the arts community has become a highly visible part of the rebuild narrative.</p>
<p>Hundreds of temporary and transitional projects continue to pop up in the city. International interest in forms of adaptive urbanism and temporary architecture have led to media outlets such as <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2014/01/10/travel/2014-places-to-go.html">The New York Times</a> and <a href="http://www.lonelyplanet.com/new-zealand/christchurch-and-canterbury/christchurch">Lonely Planet</a> hailing the vibrant and innovative nature of this projects as a symbol of recovery. </p>
<p>And, in some ways, they are. Many diverse projects have been developed by visual artists, musicians, architectural historians, designers, performers, project managers and the public in its many forms and shades. </p>
<p>Prominent among these is urban regeneration initiative <a href="http://www.gapfiller.org.nz/">Gap Filler</a>, which has now led more than 100 projects including their flagship <a href="http://palletpavilion.com/">pallet pavilion</a>, and their popular washing-machine powered <a href="http://www.gapfiller.org.nz/dance-o-mat/">dance-o-mat</a>. </p>
<p><a href="http://livs.org.nz/">Life in Vacant Spaces</a>, a council funded brokerage loosely based on the <a href="http://renewnewcastle.org/">Renew Newcastle</a> model, matches ideas with empty sites. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/41864/original/j2d4x4qd-1392762175.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/41864/original/j2d4x4qd-1392762175.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/41864/original/j2d4x4qd-1392762175.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/41864/original/j2d4x4qd-1392762175.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/41864/original/j2d4x4qd-1392762175.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/41864/original/j2d4x4qd-1392762175.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/41864/original/j2d4x4qd-1392762175.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/41864/original/j2d4x4qd-1392762175.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Agropolis urban farming project.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Barnaby Bennett</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p><a href="http://chchsocial.tumblr.com/">The Social</a> is an arts collective creating small and frugal interventions into the strange cityscape. One favourite among these is the careful landscaping of weeds on empty sites by a group called <a href="https://www.facebook.com/plantgang">Plant Gang</a>.</p>
<p>Each October since the 2012, the <a href="http://festa.org.nz/">Festival of Transitional Architecture</a> has brought tens of thousands into the broken city and has helped shepherd major works such as the large-scale work of transitional architecture <a href="http://festa.org.nz/arcades/">The Arcades Project</a> and urban farming project <a href="http://www.gardencity.org.nz/agropolis/">Agropolis</a>. </p>
<p>Despite losing their funding and theatre space, performers <a href="http://www.freetheatre.org.nz/">Free Theatre</a> continue to have strong presence in the city. </p>
<p>These projects are novel, interesting, fun, visually effective and – to my mind – even important. </p>
<p>Will they make a meaningful and lasting impact on the re-imagining of the city? At the end of 2013, local journalist John McCrone <a href="http://www.stuff.co.nz/the-press/opinion/9558967/Another-year-another-confused-blur">summed it all up</a> well by saying:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Yes, another year, another confused blur, most likely. Come back for a clearer analysis some time around 2024.</p>
</blockquote><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/23319/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Barnaby Bennett is the founder and a director of the cooperative publishing company Freerange Press that published the book Christchurch: The Transitional City. He is living in Christchurch and completing a P.hD on temporary architecture with an Australia Post-Graduate Award via University of Technology, Sydney. He is the current chair of the Christchurch Transitional Architecture Trust that runs the annual Festival of Transitional Architecture. He is co-editing a major review and critique of the government led recovery plan which will feature over 40 essays and be released in the second half of 2014. </span></em></p>February 22 is the third anniversary of the powerful earthquake that killed 185 people and radically altered the New Zealand city of Christchurch. The city centre is flattened and empty, with thousands…Barnaby Bennett, Ph.D candidate, University of Technology SydneyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.