An evaluation of the Waimakariri District Council's integrated and community-based recovery framework following the Canterbury Earthquakes: implications for urban resilience

Abstract

A range of permanent and ad hoc entities and organisations have a part to play in disaster management. This article begins from the position that, despite their longevity, local knowledge and established ‘architecture of engagement’, local government (at the metropolitan, city or district scale) has been undervalued as having an important role to play in both integrated disaster recovery and building urban resilience more generally. This argument is based on the ‘exemplary’ performance of the Waimakariri District Council who, following the Canterbury (New Zealand) earthquakes, adopted an ‘integrated and community-based recovery framework’ emphasising community involvement and coupled social/infrastructure recoveries. This raises questions about the degree to which their ‘best practice’ is transferable given the Waimakariri District Council is of a ‘medium size’ (235 staff), responsible for a ‘rural’ district in which a number of small towns and settlements are located. The bulk of this article identifies and describes key elements of their practice that worked well, and then discusses the implications of their approach for larger urban centres. The article concludes that issues of ‘governance’ may be as, if not more, important than form or scale in building urban resilience.