Planning for resilient cities: Lessons from post-earthquake Canterbury

Abstract

In this chapter, I identify some of the key issues around urban resilience that have resulted from this cross-pollination of disaster management and peacetime planning, before testing some of those debates as they have played out in a particular context. Beginning on 4 September 2010, the Canterbury region of New Zealand was rocked by an ongoing sequence of earthquakes that has caused 185 direct fatalities, numerous injuries and inflicted widespread damage to land, infrastructure and utilities, town centres, community facilities and services. The social, economic and environmental effects have been considerable, affecting all who live and work in the region. As a result of this disaster, numerous plans of varying scope and scale have been developed.

The second part of this chapter therefore provides an overview of some of the more influential of these before assessing them in terms of the key debates.