Where will we live?
Over 120,000 more people are expected to live in the area by 2041. That could mean another 70,000 people living in Christchurch City – but where? Will they live in inner city apartments, or in new suburbs around Halswell or other developing areas?
To fit all of the additional 70,000 people within the present boundaries of Christchurch we may have to build up (with more multi-storey apartment blocks) and reduce the size of our sections (putting 2 or more townhouses on the remaining quarter-acre sections). Another alternative is that we expand into rural areas.
The other 50,000 extra people are predicted to live in Selwyn, Banks Peninsula and Waimakariri districts. Will these new residents live in the towns, such as Rangiora or Lincoln, or will we see more farmland divided into lifestyle blocks?
Creating subdivisions incurs significant costs for infrastructure such as water supply, stormwater, sewerage, roads and footpaths. How do we ensure infrastructure is in the right place, with the right capacities and at an affordable cost?
While the population is increasing, the average household size is decreasing, which means we will require even more dwellings. Will changing lifestyles also change the type of houses we want to live in, the location and demand for services such as shops, schools and recreational facilities?
Residential and lifestyle developments have begun to spread into areas of highly productive farmland and market gardens, like Marshland and Clarkville. Will all the land currently zoned for housing be built upon by 2041 or should we change how and where we build? In Greater Christchurch we have space for our growing population, but with each choice comes consequences. One thing is certain – we must make a choice.
Where will we work and shop?
Over time employment and shopping have become more dispersed. Employment in traditional industries, such as manufacturing, is declining, as employment in service industries such as information technology and tourism continue to grow.
As employment changes, transport patterns change. If future industrial activities are located further from the city centre, will we also move out to be closer to our places of work or spend more time and money to travel to them? How can we find appropriate locations for future employment areas?
Suburban malls have expanded greatly in recent years so that Christchurch now has more shops per head of population than any other centre in New Zealand or Australia. Do we need more large malls in the suburbs, and what is the future for the central city? How should we balance mall development, central city and township growth?
Where will we play?
Changes in our population and lifestyles will change what we want to do for leisure and where we relax and play. For example, if we build more townhouses with smaller gardens, more people may want access to community parks and gardens.
Where will these parks be located - close to home as small, local community parks within easy walking distance or out around the region as large regional parks designed for a variety of activities? Purchasing and providing land for open spaces will also become more expensive as councils compete with developers to purchase land. How much can we afford to pay to enjoy public gardens and open space?
As our population ages, the type of exercise and recreation we do will also change. Individual sporting activities, such as walking, cycling and extreme sports are all on the increase, while some team sports are in decline. Will we still need large sports grounds and stadiums in the future, or will walking tracks and cycleways satisfy communities?
How do we decide what facilities we need and where they should be located? With the choices we make for where we live, we need to make choices for where we play.
We're growing bigger each day:
Over the past decade, the population in Greater Christchurch has grown by 1.2% per year. That equates to 13 more people calling Greater Christchurch their home each day. Think of it another way – each day in Greater Christchurch four new households are set up.
We're born to shop:
In addition to many existing malls expanding (even doubling their size), large format retailing, such as the Belfast Supa Centre and Tower Junction, has grown from almost nothing in 1995 to 18% of the retail market by 2003. Large areas of industrial land, such as at Ferrymead and along Blenheim Road, are now used for retail.
We're building bigger houses for fewer people to live in:
New houses typically include three or four bedrooms and two bathrooms, even though on average most houses in Greater Christchurch have only two to three people living in them. One in four houses have just one occupant.
We're becoming more culturally diverse:
167 different ethnic groups live in Greater Christchurch.