Impact of flagship projects on the recovery of a city post-disaster

Following the Christchurch earthquake sequence in 2010–2011, the New Zealand government formulated a blueprint plan constituting 17 flagship projects to lead the economic and social revival of the city. Taking Christchurch Bus Interchange as a large scale project, the researcher undertakes an ex-post impact assessment to understand the social impacts the project has had on the city of Christchurch. Seventeen face to face interviews with stakeholders of the project revealed that most of the negative impacts are related to the service offered by the interchange and its environment, not limited to the building itself. The identified high impact long-term factors are linked to significant operational costs, relatively novel design, ongoing inner-city construction work, and declining passenger numbers in Christchurch. To achieve the recovery goals set at the start, a project needs to consider fundamental relationships between built, social, economic, and natural environments, align its service with those objectives for the physical building and be public-led. The case study suggested that flagship projects require careful planning that may not be possible post-disaster due to time and resource constraints. The author recommends potential solutions to mitigate the negative impacts that Christchurch faces currently.