Southerly: One Hundred and Thirty-one Million Reasons to Copenhagenize Christchurch
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Emma Hart, in reply to
Wind tunnels too; Hereford St east of the Square used to be foul.
It really was, which is a pity, cause there were some good shops down there.
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Sacha, in reply to
Earthquake risk hasn't stopped the Japanese or the Californians from building upwards, so surely it can't stop ChCh from doing the same.
Given that they're proposing a CBD quarter the previous size (and not for quake reasons; it was failing before that), imagine how small the area would be if it was allowed to be 30 storeys tall again?
Land owners aren't likely to be happy about height limits if they're making traditional market assumptions about value per square metre. Expect fierce lobbying from those who have the most resources and access to the right ears. That's not the general public.
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Just thinking, in reply to
The four aves are still of uknown/unstated stability.
The plan is very much a dream untill this is known & it is likely to settle over the next year(s).
My office is built on solid silt and the concrete floor is bowing - it could be an optical illusion but I think a coloum is tilting. You can't tell what is 90 degress - cause everything is off by 2-20 degrees.
The Green Placard expired in July - but it is still displayed to protect us like so much bureucratic feng shui. -
Hebe, in reply to
Yes; and silly old Lois Cairns in the Sunday Star-Times has taken the bait today hook line and sinker, as she always does. The SST is in a unique position to contribute to the Chch debate because it has the time to examine stories and distance to give it some objectivity, but it's not -- the same old interest groups are getting the column inches.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/5441690/Is-Christchurch-worth-saving
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Hebe, in reply to
I reckon that should be feng sway these days.
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Sacha, in reply to
Sunday Star-Times
Some useful detail, but only the one narrow group interviewed. Surprise.
Plans to spend nearly $2 billion rebuilding Christchurch's quake-ruined central business district could be money down the drain if businesses can't be convinced it is in their financial interests to move back.
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Canterbury Employers' Chamber of Commerce chief executive Peter Townsend
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Several property experts
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Colliers International managing director Hamish Doigand for light relief
"I love the concept of light rail. But is it realistic?" Christchurch MP Lianne Dalziel said. "The recovery planning process under the Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Act is not the time for vision to overshadow reality."
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It is also proposing to introduce regulations to restrict commercial developments in suburban areas for the next five years to stimulate investment and development in the city, and make it harder for businesses to set up elsewhere.
oh great, no more corner dairies??
all our small suburban shopping centres have virtually disappeared
(though I don't miss the malls!)
Bob Parker witters on that there will be a compelling and eclectic mix of businesses that will encourage people back into the central city - without ever saying what those businesses might be and why we might want to visit them - not sure I'd trust his judgement on what might be the best commercial / social mix... -
Interesting urban areas don't often arise out of council's plans, but often in contrast to those plans.
Cuba St, for instance, used to be a mainstream shopping street with banks and department stores. Those all moved across to the Lambton Quay area, and Cuba St became a neglected area with cheap rents. That meant that new and edgy businesses could afford to set up and hence it became a creative hub.
Planned developments, OTOH, tend to be predicated on shininess and high rents, which means that only the usual suspects (*$s, Glassons, Body Shop and the like) can afford to move in.
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Sacha, in reply to
Cuba St, for instance, used to be a mainstream shopping street with banks
Like this beauty
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Hebe, in reply to
Is Dorothy's High-Class Cakes still there?
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Sacha, in reply to
not my neck of the woods, sorry. someone else might know
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Kumara Republic, in reply to
Is Dorothy’s High-Class Cakes still there?
You mean Dorothy’s Patisserie? Unfortunately the owners retired rather than risk bankruptcy from rising rentals. Espressoholic has since shifted there from Courtenay Pl.
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Another news item showing how Copenhagen got it right from the 70s onwards - and what ChCh might look like in five years' time if common sense prevails:
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This seems relevant to your work on cycle helmets/safety David:
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