Post-disaster temporary urbanism: An analysis of the creation, use and benefits of transitional community-initiated open spaces in Christchurch, New Zealand

Abstract

The paper examines post-earthquake transitional community-initiated open spaces (CIOS) in Christchurch’s central city. Drawing on empirical research in Christchurch and existing literature on temporary urbanism in Christchurch and elsewhere, the paper encourages a holistic perspective on Christchurch’s small-scale bottom-up approaches to urban design. It analyses potential benefits of post-disaster temporary projects from the perspectives of producers/users, regulators and landowners, examines key challenges and discusses future scenarios revolving around the question if CIOS are ‘only’ short-term phenomena that will cease to exist as soon as ‘regular’ urban development picks up or if they may instigate long-term change, empower communities and become testing grounds for alternative urban design concepts.