Photograph captioned by BeckerFraserPhotos, "Choir boys dressed in choir gowns and high viz jackets preparing for the memorial service in Cathedral Square. Art Gallery, Montreal Street".
At 4.35 a.m. on 4 September 2010, the Canterbury region was struck by a magnitude 7.1 earthquake. It shook Cantabrians, their properties, their land and their lives.
The Canterbury earthquake sequence of 2010-2011 wrought ruptures in not only the physical landscape of Canterbury and Christchurch’s material form, but also in its social, economic, and political fabrics and the lives of Christchurch inhabitants. In the years that followed, the widespread demolition of the CBD that followed the earthquakes produced a bleak landscape of grey rubble punctuated by damaged, abandoned buildings. It was into this post-earthquake landscape that Gap Filler and other ‘transitional’ organisations inserted playful, creative, experimental projects to bring life and energy back into the CBD. This thesis examines those interventions and the development of the ‘Transitional Movement’ between July 2013 and June 2015 via the methods of walking interviews and participant observation. This critical period in Christchurch’s recovery serves as an example of what happens when do-it-yourself (DIY) urbanism is done at scale across the CBD and what urban experimentation can offer city-making. Through an understanding of space as produced, informed by Lefebvre’s thinking, I explore how these creative urban interventions manifested a different temporality to orthodox planning and demonstrate how the ‘soft’ politics of these interventions contain the potential for gentrification and also a more radical politics of the city, by creating an opening space for difference.
After the Christchurch earthquakes, the government declared about 8000 houses as Red Zoned, prohibiting further developments in these properties, and offering the owners to buy them out. The government provided two options for owners: the first was full payment for both land and dwelling at the 2007 property evaluation, the second was payment for land, and the rest to be paid by the owner’s insurance. Most people chose the second option. Using data from LINZ combined with data from StatNZ, this project empirically investigates what led people to choose this second option, and what were the implications of these choices for the owners’ wealth and income.
Indigenous Peoples retain traditional coping strategies for disasters despite the marginalisation of many Indigenous communities. This article describes the response of Māori to the Christchurch earthquakes of 2010 and 2012 through analyses of available statistical data and reports, and interviews done three months and one year after the most damaging event. A significant difference between Māori and ‘mainstream’ New Zealand was the greater mobility enacted by Māori throughout this period, with organisations having roles beyond their traditional catchments throughout the disaster, including important support for non-Māori. Informed engagement with Indigenous communities, acknowledging their internal diversity and culturally nuanced support networks, would enable more efficient disaster responses in many countries.
An aerial photograph looking west over the Christchurch CBD, towards Hagley Park. Latimer Square can be seen in the bottom centre of the photograph.
An aerial photograph of Hereford Street in the Christchurch CBD with the remains of Te Waiponamu in the centre and the Holiday Inn below.
The Hereford Street office of Brendon Burns, Member of Parliament for Christchurch Central. Thin cracks can be seen in the front of the building.
Photograph captioned by BeckerFraserPhotos, "The CCC held a road show to gather the citizens' opinions on how Christchurch should be re-developed".
An aerial photograph looking west over the Christchurch CBD, towards Hagley Park. Latimer Square can be seen in the bottom centre of the photograph.
An aerial photograph of the Christchurch central city with Gloucester Street running through the centre of the photograph, and Clarendon Towers in the middle.
A photograph showing parts of the interior ChristChurch Cathedral, including the top of a stained glass window, visible through the damaged west wall.
A photograph of members of the Dog Section of the New Zealand Police at the site of an earthquake-damaged building in central Christchurch.
A photograph of cracks along a street in Christchurch. A road cone has been placed over a crack as a warning for road users.
A photograph of the earthquake damage to a house in Christchurch. The house has fallen off its foundations and is on a severe lean.
The Hereford Street office of Brendon Burns, Member of Parliament for Christchurch Central. Thin cracks can be seen in the front of the building.
An aerial photograph looking south west over the Christchurch CBD with the Avon River visible to the left and Hagley Park in the distance.
An aerial photograph captioned by BeckerFraserPhotos, "Colombo Street beginning at the Copthorne on the left and ending just past the Christchurch Cathedral".
A document which details the agreement in September 2013 between the Government and the Christchurch City Council over governance of the horizontal infrastructure rebuild.
A promotional brochure explaining the Forward Works Viewer and that the tool was a key to cost-effective and efficient project delivery in Christchurch.
A variation to the consent granted by the Christchurch City Council, providing consent to carry out earthquake repair work that may affect protected vegetation.
Aftermath of September 4th Earthquake in Canterbury (area covers Christchurch City) NZ. Damage to bridge on Spencerville Road crossing the Lower Styx river.
A photograph captioned by Paul Corliss, "CTV memorial fence".
A photograph captioned by Paul Corliss, "CTV memorial fence".
Canterbury Earthquakes Symposium - Ōtautahi creative spaces: Strengthening the recovery context through a collective arts-based approach This panel discussion was presented by Dr Catherine Savage, Director (Ihi Research) and Kim Morton, Director (Ihi Research) The Canterbury Earthquakes Symposium, jointly hosted by the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet and the Christchurch City Council, was held on 29-30 November 2018 at the University of Canterbury in Christchurch. The purpose of the event was to share lessons from the Canterbury earthquakes so that New Zealand as a whole can be better prepared in future for any similar natural disasters. Speakers and presenters included Greater Christchurch Regeneration Minister, Hon Dr Megan Woods, Christchurch Mayor, Lianne Dalziel, Ngāi Tahu chief executive, Arihia Bennett, head of the public inquiry into EQC, Dame Sylvia Cartwright, urban planner specialising in disaster recovery and castrophe risk management, Dr Laurie Johnson; Christchurch NZ chief executive and former Press editor, Joanna Norris; academic researcher and designer, Barnaby Bennett; and filmmaker, Gerard Smyth. About 300 local and national participants from the public, private, voluntary sectors and academia attended the Symposium. They represented those involved in the Canterbury recovery effort, and also leaders of organisations that may be impacted by future disasters or involved in recovery efforts. The focus of the Symposium was on ensuring that we learn from the Canterbury experience and that we can apply those learnings.
A photograph of the back page of a Christchurch City Council form. The form allowed contractors to apply for the authorisation to enter the Christchurch Red Zone after the 22 February 2011 earthquake. Information on the back reads, "What does this authorisation mean for me? I am wearing appropriate personal protection clothing and equipment. At all times DO NOT enter any red placarded building. You may enter a yellow placarded building for a period of time (no longer than 30 minutes) and follow the instruction of the escorts. A green placarded building may be accessed for longer periods. Please note: do not enter any buildings which are not for the purpose of your authorisation".
In 2010 and 2011 a series of earthquakes hit the central region of Canterbury, New Zealand, triggering widespread and damaging liquefaction in the area of Christchurch. Liquefaction occurred in natural clean sand deposits, but also in silty (fines-containing) sand deposits of fluvial origin. Comprehensive research efforts have been subsequently undertaken to identify key factors that influenced liquefaction triggering and severity of its manifestation. This research aims at evaluating the effects of fines content, fabric and layered structure on the cyclic undrained response of silty soils from Christchurch using Direct Simple Shear (DSS) tests. This poster outlines preliminary calibration and verification DSS tests performed on a clean sand to ensure reliability of testing procedures before these are applied to Christchurch soils.
A photograph of the interior of the Transitional Cathedral.
A photograph captioned by Paul Corliss, "Desalination plant, New Brighton".
A photograph captioned by Paul Corliss, "Desalination plant, New Brighton".