I too found the meeting very informative. Some of the discussion was more
generic and applied to Christchurch in general, rather than the eastern suburbs
specifically, but I was particularly impressed by the talk by Di Lucas, the
landscape architect. Briefly she mentioned the flood management area, that the
land east of the Cathedral are wetlands, that the volume of the river Avon has
been reduced by 30%, resulting in some of the stagnant areas we see. She
referred to the rupturing of the levees and showed plans produced from the
1990's showing Avonside Drive as Avonside Park and referred to the desirability
of a "grand river corridor". She mentioned Bottle Lake, which she said is
stable land. It is now being used for dumping but she suggested using damaged
land for dumping and the stable Bottle Lake area for resettlement, if required.
She emphasised the need for spacial plans - "lines on maps" - otherwise all we
have is a wish list.
I also liked the point made by Harvey Perkins, a human geographer from Lincoln
University. Like other speakers he pointed out that the solution cannot just
be imported from overseas, it has to be appropriate for New Zealand culture.
He said that there had been a lot of talk about making Christchurch a "compact
city" but there is resistance from some New Zealanders to medium-high density
cities - that we think of slums or multi-storey housing estates. He said a city
should provide (1) homes providing shelter, security, social interaction, etc
(2)opportunities for people - profitable jobs, etc (3) efficient services and
infastructure and (4) capital to generate wealth.
All seven speakers were interesting, and will no doubt be covered further.
Lianne Dalziel was, as mentioned above, passionate about conditions in the east
and said she too was frustrated with delays, but it was important that detailed
and reliable information be placed before government and they needed to know
what can be done, can the land be insured afterward, and how much will it cost.
I also noted the former mayor, Gary Moore, in attendance.