A case for spatial planning to manage the growing threat of wildfire in New Zealand peri-urban landscapes

Abstract

The 2017 Christchurch Port Hills Fires were an expression of increasing peri-urban wildfire threat in New Zealand. Internationally, traditional response management of wildfire threat has been complemented by place-based and pre-emptive social and spatial strategies. The formal recovery plans for the Port Hills Fires highlight the emerging role of social programmes but a distinct lack of spatial peri-urban planning in New Zealand wildfire management practice and research. Spatial dynamics have had a clear impact on the nature of the Port Hills peri-urban wildfire threat, yet the current recovery process largely reinstates the spatial patterns which heightened the likelihood, scale and impact of the 2017 fires. The spatial trajectories being followed in Port Hills will likely lead to a future where this wildfire threat is further heightened, highlighting the opportunity for spatial planning to intervene now and create a more resilient peri-urban community and landscape.