Christchurch Central Recovery Plan - New Zealand Listener

Listen to the PeopleChallengesNgā Au Hei PikiChristchurch needs a city centre with the facilities, services and amenities that would beexpected in any equivalent city worldwide.The people of greater Christchurch need anddeserve a central area that draws them in tolive, work, learn and play. This area must becreated from the ground up as an environmentaccessible to and welcoming of everyone.Businesses need a base from which they canoperate effectively and link to the rest of theworld.Investors need to be confident that activitywill thrive in the centre, and to see a range ofinvestment opportunities.The facilities and services that have been lostneed to be replaced, relatively quickly. Theseinclude a convention centre, arts and culturalvenues, a public transport hub, a stadium andmetro sports facilities, hotels, and a diversity ofretail and entertainment options.Central Christchurch needs to be designedand resourced so that it can be the focus foreconomic, social and cultural activities like anysuccessful city.Key challengesToo much spaceThe demand for commercial and retail space is notenough to fill the current area of the central city.How can the city deal with this surplus of space?Extent of damageThe damage in central Christchurch is widespread.It is not about filling in a few gaps; whole areasneed to be rebuilt.How can large-scale rebuilding proceed without‘pepper-potting’ – developing many separate areaswith no critical mass?Attracting investmentReplacing the number of facilities proposed ina short time will be challenging. Public sectorfunding and facilitation of projects will be subjectto business case processes, and will need tostimulate private sector (including philanthropic)investment. Over time the private sector isanticipated to provide the greater proportion ofrecovery interest.How do we catalyse private sector investment?Time to fixIt will take time to redevelop the central city. Duringthe transition the central city needs to be a socialplace that is vibrant and comfortable, attractingpeople and investment again.How can the central Christchurch area be made tofeel like a great place to be again so people comeback?Multiple ownersThe growth of the central city over time meansthat it now has thousands of different land owners.To get the best from the rebuild, the core needscoordinated design, which incorporates thefeatures that the citizens of greater Christchurchhave said are desirable, such as open space, light,innovative and safe design, and land owners needto know they will be able to achieve economicreturns.How can coordinated design and implementationbe encouraged to occur?East is worst hitThe loss of fabric in the east of the central city isfar worse than in the west. As a result, individualredevelopments may seem isolated until the overallrecovery has advanced further.How can the eastern area gain spatial definition?Christchurch Central Recovery Plan24