Experimentation in a post-earthquake living lab

Keywords: bicultural, climate change, governance, managed retreat, post-earthquake
Session Type: Virtual Paper Abstract
Day: Monday
Session Start / End Time: 2/28/2022 05:20 PM (Eastern Time (US & Canada)) - 2/28/2022 06:40 PM (Eastern Time (US & Canada))
Room: Virtual 4

Abstract

The Ōtākaro Living Laboratory (OLL) is a New Zealand initiative, sitting in the Ōtākaro Avon River Corridor (AORC) in the eastern part of the city of Christchurch. The AORC was ‘red zoned’ during the Canterbury Earthquake Sequence of 2010-13, when its suburban districts were destroyed by liquefaction, with the land sinking up to 1.5 metres. It covers 600 hectares, twice the size of Manhattan’s Central Park, and is perhaps the largest area of urban managed retreat in the world. Nearly 5500 households were displaced, with the abandoned lands set aside as an experimental space for post-earthquake adaptation.

An objective of government-approved the AORC Regeneration Plan is ‘To establish a world-leading living laboratory in the Ōtākaro Avon River Corridor where we learn, experiment and research; testing and creating new ideas and ways of living’. This paper asks first, how the environmental, social and cultural programmes of the OLL are being co-created between a coalition of city institutions. Second, it explores how these are framed by a bicultural context acknowledging the city’s Māori heritage and role of the regional tribe, Ngāi Tahu, and third, outlines its aspiration to connect with researchers and cities internationally. This is to facilitate the sharing of knowledge of climate change and sea level adaptation, as well as biodiversity enhancement and bi-cultural environmental governance.