A report released last year found Christchurch was “undersupplied” for malls, and that strong projected population growth in the region would probably lead to demand for an additional 70,000sqm of mall space by 2031.
Mall culture contrasts dramatically with the grassroots initiatives springing up in the city’s central business district, like Gap Filler and the Cashel St container mall, which post-earthquake Christchurch is becoming renowned for.
But that’s just fine for people like public relations consultant David Lynch, who last week called for Gap Filler’s “messy” and “backward” urban initiatives to be moved to a more “bohemian” site out of the inner-city.
LISTEN to Radio New Zealand’s Insight documentary, ‘Burden of Christchurch Rebuild’.
The interests and priorities of people like Lynch are clashing with new, innovative approaches to how Christchurch could and might look in future.
Gap Filler’s Trent Hiles has described it as “a classic case of old Christchurch versus the new, unknown Christchurch”.
“The old boys’ network, the established businesses, want to make money ... What drives us is community.”
The Wireless contributor Hamish Parkinson says initiatives like Gap Filler are seen by the corporate interests in charge of much of the rebuild as “part of the transition, not part of the future”.
“The old will only want to support them temporarily, because they’re concerned with their bottom line. Both are serving the community, but the problem is the ‘new’ approach might disappear.”
In this short documentary shot by Julian Vares, Hamish gives his perspective on a trip to one of Christchurch’s many shopping centres on a wet Sunday afternoon.