Following the Canterbury earthquakes, Christchurch City Council launched the Share an Idea community engagement process, in which the public submitted over 106,000 ideas for the Christchurch rebuild. The community’s vision was for a liveable, vibrant, green and prosperous city. This public feedback formed the basis of the Christchurch Central Recovery Plan which included A Transitional City Programme, to be led by the Christchurch City Council. 

The Transitional City Programme includes support for recovery in three areas – social, sense of place, and business. The timeframe is ongoing, as the recovery is expected to take 20 years. To support the recovery in both the immediate and longer-term timeframes, the programme aims to achieve the following outcomes:

• Support social / community recovery: 

· Through early recovery: by enhancing healing and wellbeing, encouraging participation in the recovery and creating new positive memories.

· Through long-term recovery: by enhancing community resilience, fostering volunteering, and testing new ideas for long-term adoption. 

• Support recovery of sense of place:

· Through early recovery: by creating a safer, more welcoming city for all, with temporary greening, more fun, and greater activity choice.

· Through long-term recovery: by encouraging and enabling creative exploration of identity in the public realm, to create a new identity for the city.

• Support recovery of business

· Through early recovery:

- by mitigating the 'island effect' as businesses recover.

- through wayfinding, activity, streetscapes which use temporary, relocatable and adaptable materials and approaches.

· Through long-term recovery: by fostering entrepreneurship, innovation, creative industries, and developing new local and international tourism markets.

The Transitional City Programme is based on Community Innovation and organizations supporting community-initiated actions.

- Life in Vacant Spaces (www.livs.org.nz) - Established and co-funded by the Council

A not for profit trust delivers vacant space brokerage services that provides a single point of contact for anyone wanting to lead a temporary project, test an enterprise idea, or offer space rent-free while it’s not needed. LiVS lowers risks, matching projects to suitable spaces. LiVS can umbrella others in its public liability insurance policy, and offers simple legal access agreements. Purpose-built for Christchurch, LiVS is supported by local government, utility and pro bono partners, and a cross-sector advisory group. LiVS aims to become a permanent part of the urban fabric of the new city.　　　　

- Gap Filler (www.gapfiller.org.nz) - co-funded by the Council

A not for profit trust delivers temporary community-initiated installations, art and creative/social activity on vacant spaces. Gap Filler aims to encourage a wide range of positive community interactions, making the city more vibrant and fun.　　　　

- Greening the Rubble (www.greeningtherubble.org.nz) - co-funded by the Council

A not for profit trust delivers temporary community-initiated landscaping and ecology projects in vacant sites, with native plants, pocket parks, green roofs, and food-producing community gardens. Greening the Rubble aims to increase biodiversity and voluntary participation in local initiatives.　　

Business Innovation:　　　　

- Re:START Mall (www.restart.org.nz) - temporary retail supported by Council and CERA　

The Re:START temporary container mall was established by the Central City Property and Building Owners to breathe new life into Christchurch’s central city. Re:START now hosts 50 businesses and includes regular market stalls, street performers and buskers.　　　　

- EPIC (www.epicinnovation.co.nz) - temporary office development on Council land

EPIC (Enterprise Precinct and Innovation Campus) is a two-stage development to create a world class innovation campus and hub for local technology companies. Stage 1, called Sanctuary, is a temporary building housing 20 companies and 300 staff which opened in September 2012.

• Transitional City Projects Fund (www.ccc.govt.nz/recoveryfunding)　　

This fund encourages and enables temporary projects in vacant spaces which support recovery. To lower barriers, the fund runs short cycles, enabling projects to develop quickly. Normal funding requirements were relaxed, enabling individuals and businesses to apply. The Transitional City Projects Fund supports up to 50% of project value, which encourages partnership. To recognise volunteering, pro-bono and in-kind contributions, a budget tool was developed which values non-cash contributions in monetary equivalents.

• Creative Industries Support Fund (www.ccc.govt.nz/recoveryfunding)　　

This fund aims to retain and strengthen our creative talent as the city recovers. The fund supports entrepreneurship, social enterprise models, increased collaboration and financially viable partnerships across the creative industry. This approach has been recognised as an innovative arts recovery and urban regeneration tool. Creative NZ (www.creativenz.govt.nz) recently adopted this model to deliver the new Community Arts Development Fund across New Zealand.　　

Strategic outcomes have been achieved in the three dimensions of the Transitional City Programme.

Outcomes for community recovery:

- At least 325 community events have been organised since 2010.

- Over 10,000 hours of volunteer hours have been given by the community.

- The community continues to test new ideas for the future.

- Numerous positive media articles and supportive responses have been received.

Outcomes for recovery of ‘sense of place’

- Nearly 100 vacant sites have been activated 450 times with over 150 creative projects.

- Transitional city projects are now recognised by the community and visitors as symbols of hope and recovery.

- Ever Evolving City connects people to spaces and businesses throughout the city.

Outcomes for business recovery:

- 70 new businesses have established in the city (see www.restart.org.nz).

- Increasing visitation, including 20,000 visitors attending a single event (see www. 2012.festa.org.nz/luxcity). 

- Projects have been focused on supporting business clusters and community hot-spots.

- High levels of corporate sponsorship and in-kind support have been received.

- Pop-up retail is now included in private tenancy agreements.

- 25 new business models, products and services have been established from pop-up spaces.

- Artists and entrepreneurs are choosing to move to Christchurch for the opportunity to participate in the creative spirit.

International travel guide Lonely Planet in 2013, and New York Times in 2014, highlighted Christchurch as one of the best places to visit. Both specifically mentioned the transitional city projects.

The multi-layered and integrated framework adopted by Christchurch is replicable to other cities. Supportive leadership of the Council is critical to adopt new ways of working, test new ideas and to take risks. The Council employs a Transitional Projects Advisor to build internal capacity for this programme and to build relationships with delivery partners.

The success of the Transitional City Programme is built on innovation in following areas:

• Governance: collaborative approaches used to align partners around a new concept for the city including local Maori, property owners, businesses, tourism, event organisers, the arts community and local universities. Supporting the establishment of new not for profit trusts (with broad community representation) to activate vacant sites with landscaping and social activity. 
• Strategy: urban regeneration and recovery planning including Council and community-led transitional architecture and temporary activities for the city. 
• Administration: derisking the use of public and private spaces for temporary activation through the creation of a broker organisation (Life in Vacant Spaces) and relaxing planning regulations for approvals. 
• Financing: adopting a cofunding approach for community grants (Transitional City Projects Fund) and boosting the local creative industries (Creative Industries Support Fund).
• Community: many projects and events delivered by the community.
• Business: local entrepreneurs testing new goods or services in a low cost, low risk environment, embracing new transitional business opportunities and partnerships.　

- Christchurch,New Zealand:Our Ever Evolving City, Guangzhou Award for Urban innovation 

http://www.guangzhouaward.org/815/content_2196.html (accessed 27 January 2016)

- Our Ever Evolving City, Urban innovation database 

http://www.urban-innovations.org/index.php/Our_Ever_Evolving_City (accessed 27 January 2016)