Christchurch CBD dead - Bob Jones

[Winston001]

Don't know if this has been posted before but Bob Jones has made some interesting comments about the projected rebuild of the Christchurch Central Business District.

http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/rebuilding-christchurch/5696381/CBD-can-t-be-rebuilt-Bob-Jones

Essentially he says the central city was dying before the earthquakes, its the same for medium sized cities world wide, and its unlikely to be rebuilt.

I notice similar reservations expressed by property investors in today's Christchurch Press.

Whaddya reckon?

[cs363]

I reckon he makes a lot of sense in that article.

So obviously Parker's mob won't be going with that.....

[Paul in NZ]

I read that a while back and I have to say I 100% agree. (as much as that disturbs me) Trying to replace like for like to replicate what was there isnt a great idea.

[ckai]

Yip, all medium sized cities CBD's are getting screwed. I think Chch was one of the first to struggle since it was very big in mall development early on.

It's the age old "Stupidity is doing the same thing over and over again, expecting a different result". When are councils going to realize that CBD's can't compete with the free parking, one-stop-shopping, under-one-roof of the malls??

Malls are for spending money, pure and simple. CBD's should be about 2 things: servicing the office drones, and the warm-fuzzy experience.

Malls can't compete with CBD greenscape so that's how the need to compete. Plant shit. Less shops with more greenery creates exclusivity meaning people won't care about paying money for parking if it gives them a nice warm fuzzy feeling.

PS: I only just read the article. I taught him everything he knows :)

[imdying]

Christchurch was already a mall centric city. The residents seem pretty happy with that. There is no office space in the malls. There is no pubs/clubs in the malls. The city served both those needs, but the parking was shite. Play to the strengths of each is my vote.

[lakedaemonian]

Christchurch has more shopping mall sq/mtr per person than most places I know of....so we are pretty overbuilt with retail space.

But in having said that, and personally hating shopping malls, I'd say the focus should be on a council owned large inner city market...an anti-shopping mall.

Something to cater to folks who live/work in the inner city as well as a tourist hub.

Much like in Melbourne, OZ.

The rest of the government focus should be on a few select community/arts hubs, maybe limited free WiFi/WiMax broadband, and planting shit(as already stated) and leaving all of the rest up to the private sector.

I don't see business and government at the local level in Christchurch returning to a centralized format.....so build a few hubs for residents, workers, and tourists and see what sprouts.

Just my 0.02c

[R6_kid]

My first thoughts would be to 'rebuild' away from the current 'city centre'... correct me if I'm wrong, but the damage done to buildings to the North of the city was minor/non existent compared to what happened in the area where the city centre was.

[jim.cox]

Yes the Chch CBD IS dead - deader than a dead dog

It remains to be seen if they can rebuild it

Whether they should try or not is an entirely different question

Personally I think that is like trying to push water uphill with a sharp stick - but there are just so many vested interests in this fucked-up city that I'm sure they will enjoy spending millions of our money trying :facepalm:

[mashman]

Whaddya reckon?

No comment.

Apart from that one.

And the one after that...

erm........

feckit, just one... he's bloody close to bang on, and that being the case we're wasting badly needed finance by pulling Chch down. Guess they need to be seen to be doing something :blink:

[rachprice]

He isn't a multi-millionaire for being a dumb ass!
Definitely tends to know what he is talking about and I suspect wouldn't speak up unless he was sure of his opinion and had a basis for his opinion

[tigertim20]

the silver lining to the whole disaster is that, with the right people in charge, we have the chance to really build something awesome. Use new tech, and new ideas and build a world class city worth being proud of and worth visiting. The problem is I doubt we have the right people in charge, and I doubt they have nearly enough foresight to see the benefits of building something totally new age in the first place

[imdying]

Something cool would be nice, but in reality the residents would be happy with sewerage that worked and roads that don't develop a multitude of sink holes when it rains. That alone will take most of decade I expect.