Abstract
This paper evaluates the masterplan for Christchurch which was conceived in the wake of the 2011 earthquakes, against projects completed in the intervening 8 years, paying special attention to three key objectives of the blueprint: a low-rise/compact core, a green city, and an accessible city. The paper finds that the design-led, top down, recovery approach forms a minimal framework for recovery, and that successful regeneration following the recovery phase will require significant community engagement and coherent governance.
Highlights
This paper evaluates the masterplan for Christchurch which was conceived in the wake of the 2011 earthquakes, against projects completed in the intervening 8 years, paying special attention to three key objectives of the blueprint: a low-rise/compact core, a green city, and an accessible city
The vision for the central city was underpinned by the Recovery Strategy for Greater Christchurch (RSGC) and set out in the Christchurch Central Recovery Plan (CCRP) (Christchurch City Council, 2011; Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Authority (CERA), 2012a), a statutory plan mandated by the Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Act 2011
When the Central City Development Unit (CCDU) was established in 2011 to lead the recovery of the central city, the outputs of the Share an Idea campaign were absorbed by a design team, appointed by the government via its agent CERA, and merged with technical expertise in land economics, design, commercial, financial, social science and policy makers
Summary
This paper evaluates the masterplan for Christchurch which was conceived in the wake of the 2011 earthquakes, against projects completed in the intervening 8 years, paying special attention to three key objectives of the blueprint: a low-rise/compact core, a green city, and an accessible city. As authorities proceeded to demolish 80% of the CBD and 20,000 people abandoned their city (ibid.), the opportunity arose to rethink the urban future of Christchurch and redesign the city‟s inner core This manifest itself as a design-led approach to growth driven by national and local government agencies. The vision for the central city was underpinned by the Recovery Strategy for Greater Christchurch (RSGC) and set out in the Christchurch Central Recovery Plan (CCRP) (Christchurch City Council, 2011; CERA, 2012a), a statutory plan mandated by the Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Act 2011 These documents were supported by a range of associated agreements and implementation strategies and policies, of both national and regional significance (See Figure 2). Engagement with communities was listed as a priority and sat at the centre of the RSGC (CERA, 2012b, p. 12)
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