Born and raised in Ōtautahi, Mayor Lianne Dalziel has seen Christchurch rise, fall and rise again. She reflects on the rebuild and shares her vision for the future.
As someone who both lives and works in the central city, I am struck every day by how much change has occurred over the past ten years.
From the destruction and devastation of the earthquakes, a new central city is emerging - a city that celebrates its beautiful, meandering river – making it accessible for all.
I love walking out of my office on a sunny day and seeing crowds of people enjoying the river, milling on The Terraces and outside the wonderful Riverside Market.
The transformation that has occurred in the riverside areas of the central city is one of the most positive changes to come out of the earthquakes. The Ōtākaro Avon River Precinct has greatly improved our connections with the Avon and given us a world-class waterfront that we can enjoy year-round.
We now have a people-friendly city centre that is peppered with laneways and sheltered courtyards that act as gathering spaces and create a sense of community.
In the public realm we are now acknowledging the heritage and places of significance to our pre-European history and the role that Māori have played in the shaping of our city. The rebuild has given us the opportunity to reconsider how we acknowledge our past and I am grateful for that.
For me, one of the highlights of the rebuild has been the opening of Tūranga, the new central library. This building on the edge of Cathedral Square epitomises the very best of our new-look city – it is eco-friendly, architecturally striking, and welcoming.
Tūranga, along with the Margaret Mahy Playground, has brought families back into the city centre. It has become a busy community space in the heart of our city, a place of knowledge, creativity and connection. It is constantly busy with people of all ages enjoying all that it has to offer.
Another highlight has been the reopening of the Christchurch Town Hall. This Warren and Mahoney-designed building could easily have become another casualty of the 22 February 2011 earthquake, but thankfully Christchurch City Council took the decision to repair and restore it.
As a result we now have a building that retains all its original character and style, but is stronger and better equipped to again play its role at the heart of our civic and cultural life, as well as offering a home to Christchurch Symphony Orchestra.
While much has been achieved in our city centre over the past ten years, we still have work to do. There are still vacant sites that need developing. Hopefully, some of those sites will be used for housing because it is vital that we get more people living in the city centre if we are to maintain the momentum of the last few years.
Thriving neighbourhoods and strong communities are at the heart of some of the world's greatest cities. Our challenge is to find ways to encourage more people to make our central city their home.
There are plenty of great reasons to live in the city centre; however, we need more homes of varying types, sizes and prices if we want to attract young people, old people and families into the area.
We also need to finish construction of the Metro Sports Facility and build the Canterbury Multi-Use Arena. These two anchor projects will add significantly to the vibrancy of our city centre.