Southerly: Village People
109 Responses
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merc, in reply to
Really good point. And if you work for off-shore wages here, as I once did, you know we are protected by NZ employment laws, ay Mr Key.
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There is nothing inherently wrong with sprawl. (Ha) But if your mode of transport is a car then miles and miles of converging traffic into a central point is the big problemo. But if Auckland's sprawl included transport corridors, - walking, cycling and rail / trams - then it works. Especially - especially - if there are cross routes as well that bypass the centre. Spag junction demonstrates the complete folly.
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Sacha, in reply to
There is nothing inherently wrong with sprawl
It makes all infrastructure like water more expensive too, not just transport. Fairly allocating to developers the actual cost might see some more realistic decisions about the relative attractiveness of intensifaction. We might keep more productive land to grow food on rather than carve up for quarter acre sections.
Factoring in transport usage changes from peak oil should also tip the balance in favour of our children being able to live in functioning cities. Not holding my breath while foolish dinosaurs are in charge.
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Sacha, in reply to
Not that there is anything inherently wrong with dinosaurs (in the right time and place).
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Islander, in reply to
Like, several million years ago (except for tuatara of course.)
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I agree with the equivalence of dinosaurs and sprawl. We're putting pressure on our arable land as it is, with stupid irrigation schemes in Canterbury as a glaring example. If housing is designed WELL, not just thrown up by some mickey-mouse builder who can draw a few boxes on a plan and use the cheapest materials, then greater density is definitely achievable.
I personally didn't have a problem living in terraced housing in London, but I did have a problem with the retrofitted three-story Victorian place I lived in. Upstairs flat were elephants and it turned out I was paying downstairs' power bill for nearly a year. So it needs to be done properly and it needs to be regulated AND inspected.
But if you DESIGN to minimise sound transmission and use decent materials, it is doable. And probably better than those hideous McMansions taking up 80%+ of the landarea, built with the lightest of materials, and with about a metre between your bedroom window and the neighbours' lounge.
Recently, I couldn't believe it when I looked at some newish apartments in Tory St in Wgtn - yes, double-glazing on the Tory St frontage itself, but the side with the alleyway by the pub only had single glazing. The master bedroom, no less. Uh, WTF? And for the price of it as well.
So, for denser housing, there should be standards about maximum noise transmission between party walls, floors above and below and from outside. And no, not by throwing wobblies after building a crappy development in the central city and forcing pubs that have been there for scores of years to close. Proper climate control, whether it's by air-conditioning (meh), or "green design" keeping the climate to a manageable level (equivalent to a single fan or heater per room to provide boosts at climactic extremes).
I personally don't care about "shoeboxes" in terms of size, because not everyone needs room to stash the same number of bookshelves I do. But there should be a mixture of sizes, with pricing to match - look at those majestic New York and London apartments (and some in Auck) where you could comfortably bring up a family in terms of space. If there is room for a kitchen with a stove and a fridge, a suitably-sized ablution area with proper shower and loo space, and room for a queen-sized bed plus a seating area as the minimum. So many washing machines per x residences, whether individual or in communal laundries (I've had good experiences when I lived in developments with the latter). No stupid rules about hanging washing out on balconies and the like, unless it's to say that nothing should overhang/encroach on neighbours, perhaps.
Per x landarea covered by whatever density, so much land to be set aside as a reserve (London's "garden squares" and parks make that city actually liveable in the areas properly supplied with them). Allotments/community gardens. Streets that can be properly navigated using public transport. I know there have been developments where that is simply not possible. Perhaps not all streets, if you want to have a pedestrianised feel, but no more than a couple of hundred metres or so to get to one.
People have alluded to Canberra's layout, but it differs from Twizel by way of the fact that those windy streets are arranged in a number of "pods" around the city. If you need something located in a different pod, try getting around without a car outside peak hour or not on a major bus route. If you have a well-serviced pod, it's all good.
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Just came across this story about a new Christchurch recreation centre, named after a well-known disabled person who died a few years ago, which is not wheelchair accessible. But instead of apologising to them, the disabled critics are criticised.
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Sacha, in reply to
There's stuff-all point in just doing an audit after the build wihtout being involved in the planning and design processes all the way through. It also shows up the sad lack of understanding by disability groups about how to get progress in local government.
A disability advisor for the Christchurch City Council Cam Scott says there are no quick fixes to create universal accessibility and unfortunately that is making some people angry.
Pathetic.
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Stephen Judd, in reply to
For the record, our current insurers (AMI) told me today that if we move to a rental in Christchurch, we can simply transfer our existing contents policy. So that’s good. But this is because I’m an existing customer. They also told me they are not writing any new business in Christchurch. Which is not so good.
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Ian Dalziel, in reply to
A disability advisor for the Christchurch City Council Cam Scott says there are no quick fixes to create universal accessibility and unfortunately that is making some people angry.
This is the same Council who held up consents for small businesses trying to get restarted in tiny premises who did not have disability toilets/access - but it is ok for the Council to override that in its own premises... nice double standards!
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Sofie Bribiesca, in reply to
This is the same Council
Bob doesn't play with Gerry anymore. I can see this exploding.
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Sacha, in reply to
Lack of proper engagement with what's important and what will work - and not just Council but outside organisations who should know better by now. And neither pays the price.
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Sacha, in reply to
Parker is pretty slow on the uptake if it has taken him this long to see where the power really lies.
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Joe Wylie, in reply to
Like the Cheshire Cat, the smile is the last to go.
Thank you Gudrun GiselaThe Communicator of the Year is almost beyond parody these days. Despite his apparent role in the nobbling of ECAN and his supposedly being kept up to speed with the emergence of CERA, you really have to wonder if there's anything more substantial than focaccia between those once-telegenic ears.
Now that even cleanup hero Sam Johnson is telling it like it was, the Council are treating it as an exercise in damage control:
Council city environment general manager Jane Parfitt said she was surprised to learn of Johnson's comments.
"This is the first we've heard of Sam's issues ... We'll be getting in touch with Sam to discuss this.".Of course there'd be no such urgency if it were just another ratepaying red zone munter mouthing off.
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nzlemming, in reply to
Parker is pretty slow on the uptake
I thought your New Year's resolution was to quit restating the absolutely bloody obvious.
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Sacha, in reply to
it wavers now and then, my resolve
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linger, in reply to
you don't say :?)
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Sacha, in reply to
I aspire to not say.
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Lilith __, in reply to
if we move to a rental in Christchurch, we can simply transfer our existing contents policy
You may want to check if that's conditional on zoning. I have just moved from green zone to white and was dismayed to find when I rang my insurance company (State) to advise my change of address that they wouldn't necessarily cover my contents here. It took a detailed report on the condition of the house from my landlord before they said they would provide cover.
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Gnome Earthquake Recovery Authority – tribute or trashing? You decide.
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Joe Wylie, in reply to
"Designer Craig Pocock says the Botanic Gardens where the festival is being staged was a bit nervous about the political gnomes "
The merest whiff of controversy is enough to send those Botanic Gardens smurfs into rapid underwear-changing mode.
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Lilith __, in reply to
"We had to provide an image of them before they would sign off on the green wall going in the gardens, and my understanding is that they went through the Christchurch City Council and CERA to approve the whole lot."
Security was also required. "The gnomes had to go away at night and be locked up, not left on site, in case someone stole them and did inappropriate things with them."
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But he says Gardner, a recent art and design school graduate, took care with the "gnomification" so the models were in no way disrespectful.
WTF?? Didn't think we were quite in Dear Leader territory....
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merc,
All effigies must be pre-approved.
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“The gnomes had to go away at night and be locked up, not left on site, in case someone stole them and did inappropriate things with them.”
Could they be a bit more specific? I'm having a hard time thinking of innopropriate things to do with gnomes.
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linger, in reply to
... that's why they're called effigies ...
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