From my notes:
Paul Downton eco-city advocate and theorist:
Christchurch is having a crash course in urban reconstruction.
You have the opportunity do begin now what cities all over the world
will be forced to do in the next 30 or 50 years. You can build a
sustainable city in Christchurch.
Green is NOT the same as sustainable. To be sustainable is not about how
it looks, it's about how it works.
Cities are human creations. Cities are about life and living.
The buildings we build are expressions of who we are.
In the process of building cities we have transformed the planet.
The tools we have used to do that are very old, and our understanding of
the effect we were having, was poor.
Understanding cities as eco-systems is fundamental to making the new
Christchurch a success.
We now know that we can build cities that trash the planet. We've done that.
It's possible to build cities that regenerate life and energy and have a
small impact.
All successful communities are about the ability of people to meet.
People meet in small places, that are defined and where there is only
slow movement.
The small meeting place is a cultural fractal that can be reproduced
over and over to create a very agreeable inner city environment.
Example; Christie Walk - Adelaide
http://www.urbanecology.org.au/christiewalk/factsheet.html
***
For me this was to encourage us to begin.
There is no problem with beginning small. Fractals are small by nature.
What we need to do, is operate from a correct set of principles.
Then we begin, start now and head in the right direction. As we go,
we'll learn how to do it better.
NOTICE:
If we are to accept the challenge of rebuilding a NEW Christchurch, this
forum needs to grow much bigger. Please invite your friends to join. I
can't run 25 forums alone, I need your help.
This is not television. Every one of you has a say here. Help me, help
yourself, by being responsive to the posts.
If we can't have a conversation here, we can't decide what we agree
about, and somone else will make decisions for us. Each one of us is
responsible for what happens (and is currently not happening) here.