The characteristics of the local environment such as access to community amenity and facilities and their impact on health and wellbeing have been well researched. The question is can local amenity confer similar benefits to help facilitate community resilience? Research following the Christchurch, New Zealand February 22nd 2011 earthquake has shown that socially connected communities were able to respond and adapt with collective action. The informal community response was important in supporting residents until infrastructure and more formal structures could be put in place. This research provides support to the importance of social connectedness prior to a disaster to help foster community resilience. It discusses the role of local infrastructure such as shops, local pubs and community amenity in providing gathering places for people to meet and interact and share information. It shows that geographically defined communities with central meeting places were able to use social connections and from this collective action as support. Resilience is a by-product of having good social connections and community amenity helps to facilitate those connections.
In 2010/11 Christchurch, New Zealand suffered a series of major earthquakes that resulted in significant damage to the physical and social environment. The majority of buildings suffered some type of damage, with an estimated 11% of homes requiring demolition. The total cost of rebuilding the city has been estimated at $31bn; equivalent to 17% of NZ’s annual GDP. The social impacts of the disaster are ongoing and difficult to estimate, with continuing social displacement throughout the city and metropolitan area. These impacts will continue to have a significant impact on community recovery and resilience for some time to come. This paper introduces the Greening the Greyfields research project, which aims to develop and implement of a number of tools to aid urban planning decision-making with an overt focus on community and stakeholder engagement in the post-disaster reconstruction of Christchurch. The research was initially developed in two Australian metropolitan areas (Perth and Melbourne) and has been extended to New Zealand, to help facilitate the reconstruction process in Christchurch. The project has developed a geospatial toolkit designed to help produce best reconstruction options, by identifying potential redevelopment precincts, and simulating different scenarios in a 3D visualisation environment. The implementation of the project in Christchurch includes direct feedback from different stakeholders, in order to get buy-in and make the reconstruction process more sustainable and community-inclusive. This paper will briefly outline the methodology comprising the tools, and how it encourages community and stakeholder involvement in the post-disaster reconstruction of Christchurch.
Recycling is often employed as part of a disaster waste management system. However, the feasibility, method and effectiveness of recycling varies between disaster events. This qualitative study is based on literature reviews, expert interviews and active participatory research of five international disaster events in developed countries (2009 Victorian Bushfires, Australia; 2009 L’Aquila earthquake, Italy; 2005 Hurricane Katrina, United States; 2010 and 2011 Canterbury earthquakes, New Zealand; 2011 Great East Japan earthquake) to answer three questions: What are the main factors that affect the feasibility of recycling post-disaster? When is on-site or off-site separation more effective? What management approaches improve recycling effectiveness? Seven disaster-specific factors need to be assessed to determine the feasibility of disaster waste recycling programmes: volume of waste; degree of mixing of waste; human and environmental health hazards; areal extent of the waste; community priorities; funding mechanisms; and existing and disaster-specific regulations. The appropriateness of on or off-site waste separation depends on four factors: time constraints; resource availability; degree of mixing of waste and human and public health hazards. Successful recycling programmes require good management including clear and well enforced policies (through good contracts or regulations) and pre-event planning. Further research into post-disaster recycling markets, funding mechanisms and recycling in developing countries is recommended.
