Matthew Taylor

Here’s a couple of videos:

^{Image credit: me}

About a month ago Social Innovation held the CERA Recovery Strategy Youth Jam at Hagley Community College because the submissions received so far on the draft Recovery Strategy were missing young people’s opinions. About 20 of us went over CERA’s Recovery Strategy for Christchurch, and as a group submitted responses to the questions posed by CERA about the strategy (we’re in the organisation spreadsheet under ‘Emerging Leaders Forum’). Excellent food was provided by The Sauce Kitchen.

These are the questions and some of our responses to them, from my notes and the spreadsheet. Longer versions of our answers are in the spreadsheet, typed up by some poor people at CERA from 49 A2 sheets.

On with the show.

Not us.

We’ve highlighted the most important lessons we’ve learnt since the earthquakes began – but are there others?

• How useful technology was – http://eq.org.nz, Twitter. Use existing technology more effectively. We all have cellphones, can we take advantage of them better? The Civil Defence website was a train wreck, just a big list of updates. Radio – are we meant to listen to a specific station?
• The definition of “essential services” is different between people. For some people public transport is essential as it is the only way they have to get around.
• There’s a reliance on volunteers – Student Volunteer Army, the EQ map etc.
• Neighbourhoods could be trained – have their own Search & Rescue team, they are willing
• Only a few schools were used as Civil Defence “bases” for shelter etc. – why not use more?
• Businesses need backup plans, be able to work away from the office. Not just technology backup.
• Need to be careful what is used as a memorial eg. the opposite of the CTV lift shaft idea
• Grassroot movements
• Communities formed and came together after the earthquakes – how do we glue them together so they stick once we have rebuilt?
• Need to record down what has happened, capture stories – library is doing this, audio recording booth at The Show
• Emergency kit – being prepared
• Global connectedness
• Our ability to adapt to change

Together, do these goals describe the recovered greater Christchurch that you want? Are there other key goals we should seek to achieve?

• Communication throughout the process
• High speed broadband
• Cycleways
• Heritage buildings
• Community
• Sustainably manage resources
• Environmental need takes into account
• Better air quality
• Better ways to get around
• Easy to commute to city
• Modern tram system, not heritage – light rail
• Precincts mean you know where to go, but variety is important
• Psychological health
• Attracting new people
• Living in town
• Walking
• Death to malls
• Democracy, voices heard, CCC open, transparent
• Educated community, free seminars in first aid
• Diversity – ages, backgrounds, ethnicity
• Unique businesses
• Do not return to the way it was, new ideas, opportunities
• Building community resilience
• Disaster planning
• Engagement between locals and tourists -> interaction, not segregated
• Positive spontaneous stuff
• Vibrancy
• Sense of ownership of public space

Given demands on resources, do you support the priorities identified? [What priorities did we miss?]

• Enabling people is important. Getting businesses back into their red zone properties
• Youth involvement
• Hosting major events
• Engaged and informed public
• Schools and education
• Building standards
• Innovation precinct
• Safety and well-being
• Economy, businesses, creation of jobs
• Big infrastructure – stadiums
• Focus on the word affected areas
• Open spaces near buildings – somewhere to go if we have another quake
• Getting people sorted, but fixing for the future
• Safe place for youth day and night
• Giving opportunity to voice ideas
• Connecting the city with transport
• Environment and sustainability
• Acceleration as a priority is concerning – do it well
• Decreasing reliance on infrastructure through design
• Re-design, don’t just re-establish
• Community
• Being the garden city
• Get back the old before we build new things
• Business connection hub
• Tourism
• Youth input and consultation
• Preserve heritage buildings
• Significance of people losing their lives
• Recreation centres/areas in residential red zones

There’s no perfect number of Recovery Plans, so if you think we need other plans tell us what and why?

• Community – maintaining strength, each neighbourhood is unique and knows its own needs
• Environmental, sustainability
• Too much weight towards economic plans
• Flooding
• Attracting tourists
• Emotional recovery
• Communication. Transparency and accountability for public spending
• Technology
• Urban design
• Energy, power generation, efficiency, localised, smaller scale
• Community Education

Recovery requires confidence – of insurers, banks, developers, investors, business-owners, residents and visitors. Will the proposed Plans provide sufficient confidence for people to progress recovery?

• If youth involved, they will build where they want to live
• Being involved at all stages. Accountability, communication, collaboration -> confidence
• Investors can be part of something new
• Insurers – will they insure, pay out, how much for?
• Community involvement gives confidence, there’s safety in numbers.
• Red zone people lack of confidence

What will ensure decision makers deliver the recovery we want, as soon as we need it, at a cost we can afford?

• Accountability, transparency, communication, ongoing consultation
• Try not to displace communities
• Use different methods to get input. Engage the city – go to the public, schools, use social media – Facebook

What else needs to be assessed when monitoring the Recovery Strategy? Are there other circumstances in which a review of the Recovery Strategy may be required?

• If we have another disaster
• If the community doesn’t feel involved
• How are the strategies going to be monitored? How can people have their say?
• Monitor prioritization
• Adapt communications to suit different demographic.
• Survey/monitor how well people understand and care about the strategy.
• Opinions about the design, feel, location of buildings
• Environmental monitoring
• Economic monitoring
• Ability for citizens to review the implementation of strategy. Reports that come from monitoring need to be appropriate to the audience – us
• Can agencies/established community networks be appropriated to carry out monitoring initiatives within respective demographic eg. Otautahi Youth Council, this in turn invests in future leaders
• If monitoring is to encourage accountability then monitor transparently
• Reporting – ticking boxes – doing something that doesn’t actually change anything
• Make results of monitoring easily accessible and engaging.
• If there is another significant quake
• If there is a change in Government there needs to be a review of their perspective on the strategy
• If monitoring reveals dissatisfaction then time for review and change of direction
• In the instance of a natural disaster have lessons been learnt and how can we adapt approach
• Ongoing failure of basic utilities
• Reluctance of private investors to participate in reconstruction‚
• Dubious public private partnerships for recovery
• If people do not reinvest in CBD and public does not rejuvenate city
• Climate change is not considered
• Young people’s educational futures

^{Image credit: PopTech}

A week ago, Christchurchians braved the aftermath of the snow and met at the Bush Bar for the first TEDxEQChCh Salon^*. Previous TED talks were shown, and people were invited to share what they were involved in post-quake, or something else the audience would be interested in. Someone I talked to summed up the difference between May’s TEDxEQChCh well: this was more about the people than the buildings.

Kunst Buzz‘s tweet cathedral, the ChristChurch Cathedral made of a random selection of almost 1000 #eqnz tweets (approximately 98,000 characters) which was on display in the TEDxEQChCh lobby, among other TEDxEQChCh memorabilia that has been given to Te Papa.

The talks

Brene Brown: The power of vulnerability

Brene Brown hacks into lives for a living. She talks about banana nut muffins, worthiness, being imperfect, her office supply addiction and human connection, which led her on a quest that sent her to therapy, but changed the way she lived.

Something she said seemed very relevant post-quake: “they had the compassion to be kind to themselves first and then to others.” Very similar to advice given in a pamphlet dropped in our letterbox yesterday.

Tony Robbins asks why we do what we do

Tony Robbins usually runs 50+ hour coaching seminars over weekends. He talks about patterns, resources, needs and describes what happened in one of his seminars of 2000 people from 45 different countries in Hawaii on the day of 9/11.

Mark Bezos: A life lesson from a volunteer firefighter

Mark Bezos usually fights poverty, but also volunteers as a firefighter. He talks about his first fire, and that we shouldn’t wait for something to happen before we try to make a difference.

Dave Meslin: The antidote to apathy

Dave Meslin tries to make local issues engaging. He talks about barriers that keep people from getting involved.

The people

Tim Taylor

Tim Taylor talked about Project Regenerate a subsection on the Rebuild Christchurch site which shares visions for a future Christchurch in video form and lets people vote and comment on them.

Trent Hiles

Trent Hiles talked about the creation of a multi-purpose arts complex in Lyttelton and Lyttelton’s Act of Art, a Gap Filler project whose first installation, a tribute to James K Baxter and the town, is up.

Grace Duyndam

Grace Duyndam talked about the 350.org Moving Planet September 24th worldwide rally against fossil fuels.

^{* TEDx Salon’s are intended to engage the community between larger events through small recurring events, keeping the spirit of TED alive—ideas worth spreading.}

Arie Smith-Voorkamp was the face of Christchurch earthquake looting because of the media attention he received. He made it onto at least one of the <insert bad thing here> the looters!12@@#%^## Facebook groups. Shame on the looters! There is no excuse. Who are they to pick on the poor people of Christchurch?

The loot

The story gets interesting when you find out what he is alleged to have stolen. Two light bulbs from an untenanted and vacant building. Police describe the nature of the offending as serious and say that there is a strong public interest in the case. Arie was in jail for 11 days.

Asperger’s

Arie has Asperger’s syndrome which fuels his obsession for all things electrical, including old light fittings. “Sometimes I get that excited about it sometimes I can’t sleep.” He had walked past the building many times, and became fixated on a switch in the shop. Once inside he found that the switch was too modern, but found two light bulbs that he thought he could clean up and display in his house. He says he was not thinking about theft, or the danger he was placing himself in.

Sunday programme

The Sunday programme ran a story about Arie last week, which seemed to excite the Police. Canterbury Central Police Area Commander Inspector Derek Erasmus suggested to the building owners they call TVNZ to try to stop the story going to air.

“On Friday the Sunday programme received an email from Inspector Erasmus advising us that we were under criminal investigation in relation to our story. So we’ll keep you updated on that.”

The victims

Building owners Andrew and Irene Matsis didn’t even know about the “theft” until Sunday contacted them for the story. This seems to contradict the Police calling the offending serious. Surely in serious offending the victims would actually be notified.

“Well since Sunday interviewed the Matsis’ a fortnight ago, senior Police have visited the couple twice. The first time Thursday and again Friday. On Thursday in a press release Inspector Derek Erasmus, said the Matsis’ were now happy for the case to proceed to court, where the matter should be resolved. Sunday spoke to Andrew Matsis just hours ago, he’s happy for the case to go to court but hopes Arie’s name will be cleared.”

On the programme, Andrew says if he knew about the alleged looting he would’ve been angry at Arie for putting himself in danger, not for pinching anything.

Andrew and Irene say they would not have pressed charges if they were contacted by the Police. The interview resulted in the hilarious question: “So… how do you feel about your lightbulbs being stolen?” to which Irene replied: “We do not care about our lightbulbs, he’s welcome to them. And you can tell the Police, I mean we have more important things [to deal with, our] house is falling down and we’re going to worry about light bulbs? No.”

I know stealing is stealing (though is it in this case if the building owners say he is welcome to the light bulbs, abeit after the fact?), but common sense dictates there is a better use of court time and money than to make an example out of someone who offended as a result of a documented disability, who has an unblemished criminal record, and who has already served jail time just because he took a couple of lighting fixtures.

Andrew Matsis: You said you never had any other history of doing anything like that before?
Arie Smith-Voorkamp: No.
AM: First time with the Police?
ASV: Yes.
AM: And they make a court case. What a waste of money.

What do you think? Is there no excuse for looting, no matter the situation?

^{Image credit: Me}

We’re in the Green Zone. Here’s the letter we got from CERA (Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Authority) today.

 
^{Image credit: Daniel Ansel Tingcungco}