142
Learning from Cities— The 2nd Guangzhou International Award for Urban Innovation
populous urban area in New Zealand,
some 15,000 households; the seismic
second only to Auckland and Wellington.
shock waves caused the ground of some
It is also the largest city in the South
suburban parking lots to liquefy and turn
Island. Located along the Pacific Ocean’s
into mudflats; the central city was closed;
Ring of Fire and sandwiched between
communities, schools and enterprises
Pacific Plate and Indo-Australian Plate,
were forced to relocate somewhere.
Christchurch is frequently struck by low-
With the city in tatters and with trails of
intensity earthquakes.
destruction seen everywhere, the urgency
The Canterbury Earthquake (also known as the Darfield Earthquake) struck
of rebuilding Christchurch City could not be overstated.
the South Island of New Zealand (about 40 kilometers to the west of Christchurch)
2. The Christchurch Central
with a moment magnitude of 7.4 at 4:35
Recovery Plan based on public
a.m. local time on September 4th, 2010.
involvement
Despite the fact that the earthquake caused
Confronted with a series of
no casualties, it did wreak havoc on
earthquake-induced problems,
Darfield Town and its surrounding areas.
Christchurch City Council launched the
After the Canterbury Earthquake erupted,
“Share An Idea” community engagement
Christchurch was struck successively by
process, a program designed to galvanize
over 10,000 earthquakes and aftershocks,
Christchurch citizens’ enthusiasm
including several ones with massive
and wisdom for the post-earthquake
magnitudes. The most severe one erupted
rebuild. As a result, the public submitted
on February 22nd, 2011, recorded with
over 100,000 ideas and suggestions
a magnitude of 6.3, which claimed 185
concerning the Christchurch rebuild. The
lives and injured thousands of people.
community’s vision was for a livable,
As a result of frequent occurrences
vibrant, green and prosperous city.
of earthquakes, land, infrastructure
The public feedback formed the basis
and buildings were critically damaged.
for the Christchurch Central Recovery
80% of the buildings in the city center
Plan, which included the Transitional
were demolished; certain sections of
City Program, to be led by Christchurch
Christchurch Cathedral were devastated;
City Council. Envisioned to be fulfilled
electric wires in certain areas of the
within 20 years’ time, the Christchurch
eastern suburbs fell to the ground,
Central Recovery Plan drew strengths
resulting in a blackout that affected
from successful practices from around