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This paper examines the implications of two geospatial tool systems, developed by the “Greening the Greyfields” research, to support local governments in encouraging community engagement in the process of decision-making for the rebuild. The two tools, Envision and ESP, allow the identification of areas of reconstruction priority, and modelling different reconstruction scenarios with 3D visualisation and precinct design assessment. The main expected outcome is that these tools will support the local government to expand the communication with stakeholders and communities towards shared decision-making amidst the different counterparties involved in the rebuild process. The 2010/2011 Christchurch earthquakes, with 7.1 Mw and 6.3 Mw magnitudes caused 185 fatalities and an unprecedented damage throughout the city and region. An estimated 91% of Greater Christchurch dwellings suffered some type of damage, in which approximately 7.5% of buildings collapsed or required demolition. The aftermath was particularly severe in suburban areas near the sea, rivers, and in the central city where approximately 90% of buildings required demolition. Consequently, there has been considerable pressure on housing and commercial property markets. Moreover, horizontal infrastructure was severely damaged, with water mains, sewer lines, and roads needing repairs that are estimated to cost approximately 1.5 billion NZD. Subsequently, Christchurch suffered an unparalleled population and activity movement throughout the city and Canterbury region, which prompted significant social and economic transformation. The need to obtain support for decision-making and integrate communities in the rebuild process, created the chance for new geospatial tools to be trialed in Christchurch. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The 22nd February 2011 Christchurch earthquake killed 185 people, injured over 8000, damaged over 100,000 buildings and on-going aftershocks maintained high anxiety levels. This paper examines the dose of exposure effect of earthquake damage assessments, earthquake intensity measures, liquefaction and lateral spreading on mood and anxiety disorders in Christchurch after this event. We hypothesise that such disorders are more likely to develop in people who have experienced greater exposure to these impacts within their neighborhood than others who have been less exposed, but also live in the city. For this purpose, almost all clinically diagnosed incident and relapsed cases in Christchurch in a 12 months period after the 2011 earthquake were analysed. Spatio-temporal cluster analysis shows that people living in the widely affected central and eastern parts after the 2010/11 earthquakes have a 23% higher risk of developing a mood or anxiety disorder than people living in other parts of the city. Generally, mood and anxiety-related disorders increase with closer proximity to damage from liquefaction and moderate to major lateral spreading, as well as areas that are more likely to suffer from damage in future earthquakes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: This research assessed the comparative risk associated with exposure to traffic pollution when travelling via different transport modes in Christchurch, New Zealand. Concentrations of PM1, UFPs and CO were monitored on pre-defined routes during the morning and evening commute on people travelling concurrently by car, bus and bicycle. It was found that car drivers were consistently exposed to the highest levels of CO; on-road cyclists were exposed to higher levels of all pollutants than off-road cyclists; car and bus occupants were exposed to higher average levels of UFP than cyclists, and travellers were occasionally exposed to very high levels of pollution for short periods of time. PM10 and PM2.5 were found to be poor indicators of exposure to traffic pollution. Studying Christchurch adds to our understanding as it was a lower density city with limited traffic congestion compared most other cities previously studied. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Much research has examined associations between particulate pollution and health. The majority of this research has focused on outdoor air. Yet it is known that people spend most of their time indoors. This research has examined concentrations of PM10, PM2.5 and PM1 inside and outside of a boarding school in Christchurch, New Zealand. Christchurch is a city with a known wintertime particulate pollution problem as a result of burning wood for domestic heating. Data were collected over the winter of 2004 (May–September) using TEOM and GRIMM dust analysers. Results show that there is a close relationship between the fine fraction (PM2.5 and PM1) of indoor and outdoor particles. However, the activities of the building occupants resulted in the resuspension of coarse particulate fractions resulting in weaker indoor–outdoor relationships for PM10. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Background: Adverse respiratory effects of particulate air pollution have been identified by epidemiological studies. We aimed to examine the health effects of ambient particulate air pollution from wood burning on school-age students in Christchurch, New Zealand, and to explore the utility of urine and exhaled breath condensate biomarkers of exposure in this population. Methods: A panel study of 93 male students (26 with asthma) living in the boarding house of a metropolitan school was undertaken in the winter of 2004. Indoor and outdoor pollution data was continuously monitored. Longitudinal assessment of lung function (FEV1 and peak flow) and symptoms were undertaken, with event studies of high pollution on biomarkers of exposure (urinary 1-hydroxypyrene) and effect (exhaled breath condensate (EBC) pH and hydrogen peroxide concentration). Results: Peak levels of air pollution were associated with small but statistically significant effects on lung function in the asthmatic students, but not healthy students. No significant effect of pollution could be seen either on airway inflammation and oxidative stress either in healthy students or students with asthma. Minor increases in respiratory symptoms were associated with high pollution exposure. Urinary 1-hydroxypyrene levels were raised in association with pollution events by comparison with low pollution control days. Conclusion: There is no significant effect of ambient wood-smoke particulate air pollution on lung function of healthy school-aged students, but a small effect on respiratory symptoms. Asthmatic students show small effects of peak pollution levels on lung function. Urinary 1-hydroxypyrene shows potential as a biomarker of exposure to wood smoke in this population; however measurement of EBC pH and hydrogen peroxide appears not to be useful for assessment of population health effects of air pollution. Some of the data presented in this paper has previously been published in Kingham and co-workers Atmospheric Environment, 2006 Jan; 40: 338-347 (details of pollution exposure), and Cavanagh and co-workers Sci Total Environ. 2007 Mar 1;374(1):51-9 (urine hydroxypyrene data). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: A Walking School Bus involves parents or other adults escorting a group of children on a set route to school. The first one was established in 1996 in Canada. They can now be found in a variety of countries, including New Zealand. Many of the benefits associated with them are based on the general benefits of affecting a modal shift away from cars in favour of walking. However, there is still relatively little known about the less quantifiable benefits of them, and there has been some suggestion that they can adversely affect children’s independent mobility. This research examined the perceived benefits of Walking School Buses by interviewing people involved in the day to running of the scheme in Christchurch, New Zealand. The results suggest that walking school buses have many social benefits and that if anything; they encourage children’s independent mobility. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

In a number of environmental-justice studies it has been noted that the exposure to an array of air pollutants varies between different social groups. This inequality in exposure is one possible explanation for the variations in pollution-related health outcomes such as lung cancer and other respiratory diseases. Previous environmental-justice studies that have focused upon air pollution have tended to be concerned with exposure to industrial and vehicle pollution and rely upon simple estimates of exposure, ignoring the complex interaction of emissions, topography, and meteorology that determine pollution levels in many urban areas. In this paper we use accurate and geographically detailed estimates of pollution calculated from an atmospheric dispersion model to examine issues of environmental justice related to air pollution sourced from domestic heating in Christchurch, New Zealand, a city with particularly high levels of particulate pollution during winter months. We consider whether there is a social gradient in exposure to air pollution in Christchurch by comparing estimates of particulate pollution for small areas across the city to a range of demographic and socioeconomic indicators including age, ethnicity, income, and deprivation. Furthermore, we examine whether there is a social gradient in exposure to extreme pollution episodes. We demonstrate that different social groups in the Christchurch population are exposed to different levels of both ambient air pollution and extreme air-pollution episodes. In particular, pollution is significantly higher among more disadvantaged communities. We also find evidence which suggests that the groups responsible for producing a large proportion of the pollution in Christchurch are not the same groups exposed to high levels of particulate air pollution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Research was conducted to examine what factors influence the durability of the Walking School Buses initiative in Christchurch, New Zealand. Interviews with the parent co-ordinators of current and former Waling School Buses provided the main source of information. The results indicate that the programme is suffering a significant decline. Parents involved had experienced numerous difficulties, but the main problems were a lack of volunteers to share their workload, and insufficient ongoing support from the school or Council. In order to enhance the durability of the initiative, the Council need to restructure the organisational processes involved ensuring that parents receive all the assistance necessary to sustain their Walking School Buses in the long-term. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Epidemiological studies that examine the relationship between environmental exposures and health often address other determinants of health that may influence the relationship being studied by adjusting for these factors as covariates. While disease surveillance methods routinely control for covariates such as deprivation, there has been limited investigative work on the spatial movement of risk at the intraurban scale due to the adjustment. It is important that the nature of any spatial relocation be well understood as a relocation to areas of increased risk may also introduce additional localised factors that influence the exposure–response relationship. This paper examines the spatial patterns of relative risk and clusters of hospitalisations based on an illustrative small-area example from Christchurch, New Zealand. A four-stage test of the spatial relocation effects of covariate adjustment was performed. First, relative risks for respiratory hospitalisations from 1999 to 2004 at the census area unit level were adjusted for age and sex. In three subsequent tests, admissions were adjusted for annual exposure to particulate matter less than 10μm in diameter (PM10), then for a deprivation index, and finally for both PM10 and deprivation. Spatial patterns of risk, disease clusters and cold and hot spots were generated using a spatial scan statistic and a Getis-Ord Gi* statistic. In all disease groups tested (except the control disease), adjustment for chronic PM10 exposure and deprivation modified the position of clusters substantially, as well as notably shifting patterns and hot/cold spots of relative risk. Adjusting for PM10 and/or for deprivation shifted clusters in a similar spatial fashion. In Christchurch, the resulting shift relocated the cluster from a purely residential area to a mixed residential/industrial area, possibly introducing new environmental exposures. Researchers should be aware of the potential spatial effects inherent in adjusting for covariates when considering study design and interpreting results. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

This study examined intrapersonal factors related to cycling to school among adolescents in two New Zealand cities based on the Theory of Planned Behaviour and the Prototype Willingness Model. Data were collected from 803 adolescents (Christchurch: n = 373, Dunedin: n = 430; age 13–18 years; living ≤4 km from school; non-boarders). Despite similar attitudes towards cycling to school, Dunedin adolescents had lower prevalence of cycling to school (2% versus 19% in Christchurch) and also scored lower for all measures of injunctive norm, descriptive norm, self-perceived cycling capability and autonomy, and behavioural intention with respect to cycling to school compared to their Christchurch counterparts. The dominant influence on the intention to cycle to school was subjective norm in Christchurch and attitude in Dunedin. Future initiatives for encouraging adolescents to cycle to school should consider the contributions of intrapersonal factors, the social needs of adolescents, and the need to increase adolescents’ cycle skills. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Particulate air pollution is significantly elevated during the winter in Christchurch, New Zealand, largely attributable to use of wood burners for domestic home heating, topography, and meteorological conditions. Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are a key component of airborne particulate matter (PM) and urinary 1-hydroxypyrene (1-OHP) has previously been used to assess exposure of people to PAHs. We examined urinary 1-OHP in Christchurch male non-smoking schoolchildren (12–18 yr) on two occasions after high pollution events (48 and 72 μg PM10/m3 24-h average) and two occasions during periods of low pollution (19 and 12 μg PM10/m3). Concentrations of urinary 1-OHP were significantly elevated in the students during high pollution events (median (mean±SD) 0. 043 (0. 051±0. 032) and 0. 042 (0. 060±0. 092) μmol OHP/mol creatinine respectively) compared with low pollution periods (median (mean±SD) 0. 019 (0. 026±0. 032) and 0. 025 (0. 028±0. 018) μmol/mol creatinine respectively). The observed 1-OHP concentrations are at the lower end of those determined in children and non-occupationally exposed adults in international studies and suggest a generally low exposure to PAHs. The increased urinary 1-OHP concentrations following nights of elevated particulate concentrations in ambient air suggest increased exposure to ambient air pollution during winter time, and could potentially be used as a biomarker of exposure in this population. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]