Abstract
On 14 November 2016, a magnitude (Mw) 7.8 earthquake struck the small coastal settlement of Kaikōura, Aotearoa-New Zealand. With an economy based on tourism, agriculture, and fishing, Kaikōura was immediately faced with significant logistical, economic, and social challenges caused by damage to critical infrastructure and lifelines, essential to its main industries. Massive landslips cut off road and rail access, stranding hundreds of tourists, and halting the collection, processing and distribution of agricultural products. At the coast, the seabed rose two metres, limiting harbour-access to high tide, with implications for whale watching tours and commercial fisheries. Throughout the region there was significant damage to homes, businesses, and farmland, leaving owners and residents facing an uncertain future. This paper uses qualitative case study analysis to explore post-quake transformations in a rural context. The aim is to gain insight into the distinctive dynamics of disaster response mechanisms, focusing on two initiatives that have emerged in direct response to the disaster. The first examines the ways in which agriculture, food harvesting, production and distribution are being reimagined with the potential to enhance regional food security. The second examines the rescaling of power in decision-making processes following the disaster, specifically examining the ways in which rural actors are leveraging networks to meet their needs and the consequences of that repositioning on rural (and national) governance arrangements. In these and other ways, the local economy is being revitalised, and regional resilience enhanced through diversification, capitalising not on the disaster but the region’s natural, social, and cultural capital. Drawing on insights and experience of local stakeholders, policy- and decision-makers, and community representatives we highlight the diverse ways in which these endeavours are an attempt to create something new, revealing also the barriers which needed to be overcome to reshape local livelihoods. Results reveal that the process of transformation as part of rural recovery must be grounded in the lived reality of local residents and their understanding of place, incorporating and building on regional social, environmental, and economic characteristics. In this, the need to respond rapidly to realise opportunities must be balanced with the community-centric approach, with greater recognition given to the contested nature of the decisions to be made. Insights from the case examples can inform preparedness and recovery planning elsewhere, and provide a rich, real-time example of the ways in which disasters can create opportunities for reimagining resilient futures.
Highlights
There is growing consensus that to reduce losses in the face of global environmental change, risks, and hazards, ‘busineessss as usual’ is not an option; fundamental, often radical, and possibly rapid changes towards greater resilience are required to secure livelihoods and wellbeing [1,2,3]
These insights are relevant for New Zealand (Aotearoa) a small developed economy in the PPaacciiffiicc [[99]]..AAootetaeraoroa-aN-NewewZZeaelaalnadndisisesisemismicaicllayllaycaticvteiv. eO.vOervtehretlhaestladsetcdadecea, dthee, tchoeuncotruynhtrays hexaps eerxiepnecreiedncfeodurfomurajmorajeoarrethaqrtuhaqkueask, eass, aws ewllelalsasmsmalalellrerevevenentstsththaatt hhaavvee collectively iimmpacted thousands of homes and households, businesses, and industtrriieess in both urban and rural settings; from the densely populated capital city Wellington, to dispersed regions, reliant on limited road and rail connections [10,11]
The system—including the rural population in the area, their households, networks, formal and informal governance, and institutional arrangements—is navigating the transition between conserving the previous, legacy system, and moving towards a new one. These case studies provide an empirical account of transformations following a disaster in the context of a rural region, within a developed economy
Summary
There is growing consensus that to reduce losses in the face of global environmental change, risks, and hazards, ‘busineessss as usual’ is not an option; fundamental, often radical, and possibly rapid changes towards greater resilience are required to secure livelihoods and wellbeing [1,2,3]. It is the main link between Picton and Christchurch, and to the rest of the South Island, carrying substantial volumes of traffic and goods, and is a popular tourist drive In response to these earthquakes and other recent damaging hazard events—including earthquakes, wildfire, snowstorms, and prolonged drought—there is widespread interest among government, policy-makers, and practitioners in New Zealand in enhancing resilience, reducing vulnerability, and encouraging greater adaptability throughout society (natural, social, cultural, and economic systems) [9]. Findings from the case studies challenge the normative interpretation of transformation equating novelty and newness with improvement This empirically grounded analysis of rural recovery dynamics provides a means to share lessons and insights on the practice implications of resilience and transformation, drawing on insights from different disciplines and diverse contexts through structured examination of the ways in which change occurs [30,31,32,33]. The results of the empirical research are discussed as two shorter case examples, followed by summary and conclusion
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
