Saturday, 10 Feb - Christchurch NZ

Photos of the Day


The lovely surroundings of Christchurch are quite a contrast to the destruction that's still evident from the earthquakes 7 years ago. There are beautiful parks and gardens that survived, but many old and historic buildings are still unrepaired, or have disappeared entirely. Some neighbourhoods have been emptied of homes, and declared unfit to build on. They have made interesting use of shipping containers -- a temporary mall, made from them is just now being dismantled and in many places stacks of them shore up walls that would be in danger of collapsing in another 'quake. A temporary Anglican cathedral is supported by huge reinforced cardboard tubes. Streets are still torn up, because not all the infrastructure (power, water, sewage, etc.) is fully and permanently restored. But it is clearly a city with lots of energy and originality. A very successful playground was designed by 2 elementary school students. Areas are being dedicated to specific types of activity, such as arts, recreation, administration, entertainment and so on. Roads are incorporating bike lanes.

No comments:

Post a Comment