No, New Zealand is not Amsterdam ...

But there is still so much we can do to make our cities and towns liveable

The devastation of the Christchurch earthquakes provided an opportunity to rethink the Christchurch CBD, prioritising people over cars

And Ōtautahi Christchurch can prove it - as I discovered on a recent trip there to attend the Transport Research Network Symposium.

Since the quakes I have visited the city I once called home a handful of times, but it was this time that I noticed some significant changes to share road space in a more equitable and safe way with people not operating one-tonne metal boxes on wheels. These measures, alongside some wonderful examples of place-making (such as pocket - and full size - parks, public realm spaces, murals and other public art) and more varied inner city residential development, has brought an unmistakable vitality and vibrancy to the Christchurch CBD.

One of the many pocket parks and public realm spaces in the Christchurch CBD

It sounds like some of the speed reductions within the four avenues are under threat from recent government mandates to reverse recent speed reductions, but the city’s decision-makers are holding out as much as they can within the new rules.

And they have plenty of evidence to bolster their resolve. Since the advent of affordable motor vehicles in the 1950s, our cities and towns have been designed around car mobility, and the harm to people, places and the planet continues to multiply, as illustrated in the diagram (Miner et al, 2024) below.

Adding to this is our recent love affair with SUVs (significantly more lethal than the smaller metal box variety of car) to tootle around town to pick up the kids and the groceries, as well as the use of bigger and bigger trucks to move freight around - at the cost of road damage (almost all road pavement wear is caused by trucks), road safety (trucks are around three times more lethal than cars in a road accident), climate, noise and air pollution. Today, due to successive government under-investment in rail and policies favouring the trucking industry over rail, about 87% of all freight is transported by road, with less than 13% by rail, despite it being many times more energy and emissions-efficient as well as much safer.

Above and below: An Amsterdam-esque ‘shared zone’ in which people, not cars, take priority. When I walked through this area around 8:30am on a weekday, the cafes were bustling with people, suggest that despite persistent fear-mongering to the contrary, people who walk and ride bikes also spend money.

But these shining examples in Ōtautahi Christchurch shows that we can have it all: more space for people and nature, more active and healthy people, less climate, air and noise pollution, less death and injury from motor vehicles - and, can it be true?? - yes, more vibrant urban places - with bustling cafes, restaurants and shops.

So maybe we need to start looking at the examples here in Aotearoa of initiatives to improve liveability in our own towns and cities, and give strength and encouragement to the decision-makers who have held their resolve in the face of considerable backlash, knowing that what they are doing is right. And keep on reminding ourselves that while we are operating in an ‘evidence-optional’ policy environment at the moment (as one symposium presenter brilliantly put it), this too will pass.

To all those people working to make our cities and towns more liveable, kia kaha.