Christchurch City Council wants ideas

Christchurch City Council held a forum this weekend to ask for ideas about re-building the city after the 6.3 earthquake February 22nd. The forum was held in a large indoor stadium.

Inside the entrance was some information about Christchurch city when it was first built in the 1850s. In another part of the stadium, there were videos on the damage to the city after the earthquake and the work done by Urban Search and Rescue (USAR). There were places for children to build a new city from Lego or draw a picture. On the back wall were four areas labeled: Life, Space, Market and Move where people could see pictures from other cities around the world as well as from Christchurch before the earthquake. Life included living in the city, visiting the city for cultural things like the theatre or concerts, and eating and drinking in the city. Space included parks and places to sit and enjoy the city. Market meant shops and businesses and Move was transport. People were given post-it notes to write their ideas and stick them on the wall. There were thousands of ideas.

Here are some of the ideas from post-it notes. Many people wanted more cycle-ways and more green spaces like parks. They want low rise buildings, not high rise. They want more people living in the city. They want WiFi in the city. They don’t want buses or cars in the city but parking buildings not too far away and trams to take people into the city.

There were also speakers during the two days giving their ideas on what the new city should look like. Hundreds of people listened to the speakers and asked questions.

Now the Council will try to organise all the ideas and make a draft plan by the end of July. Then Christchurch people can discuss the plan. The final plan will be in December.

If you live in Christchurch and want to give your ideas, go to Share An Idea.

Vocabulary
A forum is a place where people can exchange ideas and discuss important matters.

A draft plan is the first plan which can change. It is not the final plan.

Questions
How is it possible to listen to everyone when there are such different ideas? Should the Council just listen to the experts?

How do the people of Christchurch feel about being asked for their ideas?

Christchurch was a city of about 400,000 people before the earthquake. In the future it will probably be smaller as some businesses and residents have left and will not return. It is flat. How would you design a small city? Think abut those four categories: Life, Spaces, Market, and Move.