A Case Study of the Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Act 2011 and Its Impact on Planners Operating in Post-Quake Christchurch
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Lincoln University Digital Dissertation Copyright Statement The digital copy of this dissertation is protected by the Copyright Act 1994 (New Zealand). This dissertation may be consulted by you, provided you comply with the provisions of the Act and the following conditions of use: you will use the copy only for the purposes of research or private study you will recognise the author's right to be identified as the author of the dissertation and due acknowledgement will be made to the author where appropriate you will obtain the author's permission before publishing any material from the dissertation. The role of the planner in recovery after disaster: A case study of the Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Act 2011 and its impact on planners operating in post-quake Christchurch A Dissertation submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Planning at Lincoln University by Nicholas Beattie Lincoln University 2019 Abstract Abstract of a Dissertation submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Planning. Abstract The role of the planner in recovery after disaster: A case study of the Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Act and its impact on planners operating in post-quake Christchurch by Nicholas Beattie The world experiences a number of disasters each year. Following a disaster, the affected area moves to a phase of recovery which involves multiple stakeholders. An important element of recovery is planning the rebuild of the affected environment guided by the legislative framework to which planning is bound (March & Kornakova, 2017). Yet, there appears to be little research that has investigated the role of planners in a recovery setting and the implications of recovery legislative planning frameworks. This study was conducted to explore the role of the planner in the Canterbury earthquake recovery process in New Zealand and the impact of the Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Act 2011 (CER Act) on planners’ roles and how they operated. The methodology comprised a combination of document analysis of legislation and related recovery material and 21 semi-structured interviews with key planners, politicians and professionals involved in the recovery. The results suggest that the majority of planners interviewed were affected by the CER Act in their role and how they operated, although institutional context, especially political constraints, was a key factor in determining the degree of impact. It is argued that planners played a key role in recovery and were generally equipped in terms of skills needed in a recovery setting. In order to better utilise planners in post-disaster recovery or disaster risk management, two suggestions are proposed. Firstly, better promote planners and their capabilities to improve awareness of what planners can do. Secondly, educate and build an understanding between central government politicians and planners over each other’s role to produce better planning outcomes. Keywords: Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Act 2011, disaster, earthquake, emergency legislation, planner, planning, politics, recovery, recovery planning, role, skills ii Acknowledgements Firstly, I would like to thank my participants’ willingness for taking part in this research. I am incredibly grateful for the time that you all gave and the candour extended when answering my questions. The contributions you all made, I believe have elevated the meaningfulness of the outcomes produced from the research for the planning profession. Thank you for the interest you showed in the topic and sharing your knowledge and experiences with me. To Mark, Michelle, Kirsty, and Helen. Thank you for your ceaseless support, motivation, and kindness you extended to me over this year. You are all amazing people and I look forward to working, learning and laughing together. To my fellow MPlanning students and Ashley thank you for the support, friendship, knowledge and fun each of you have helped provide for me over this time. I wish you all the best for the future and I hope that we can continue to build our relationships after we leave university. To my awesome supervisor Hamish Rennie, thank you for those meetings we had where we solved the world’s problems and worked on improving my dissertation. I am truly grateful for the wisdom and guidance that you provided to help me through this final year of my masters. I am thankful that you challenged and pushed me to produce a dissertation that both you and I are proud of. I am going to miss having you as my lecturer, supervisor and mentor. I hope that we can continue to have a relationship once I leave university. To my sister, thank you for being a friend to me over this time. I wish you all the best for your future endeavours. To my parents, I am truly blessed to have such a wonderful mother and father. Thank you for providing me with every opportunity to pursue my dreams. Thank you for supporting and teaching me how to be a good person. Finally, thank you for your unyielding love and belief in me and my abilities. iii Table of Contents Abstract ....................................................................................................................................... ii Acknowledgements ..................................................................................................................... iii Table of Contents ........................................................................................................................ iv List of Tables .............................................................................................................................. vii List of Figures ............................................................................................................................ viii List of Abbreviations .................................................................................................................... ix Chapter 1 Introduction ............................................................................................................ 1 1.1 Brief look at the topic of study .................................................................................................1 1.2 Research question .....................................................................................................................2 1.3 Overview of the dissertation structure .....................................................................................3 Chapter 2 Literature Review..................................................................................................... 5 2.1 The role of the planner .............................................................................................................5 2.2 The role of central government in post disaster recovery .................................................... 11 2.3 Disaster legislation ................................................................................................................. 13 2.4 Planning in a post disaster recovery context ......................................................................... 18 2.5 Summary ................................................................................................................................ 23 Chapter 3 Methodology .......................................................................................................... 25 3.1 Approach ................................................................................................................................ 25 3.1.1 Introduction ...............................................................................................................25 3.1.2 Overview ....................................................................................................................25 3.1.3 Data collection ...........................................................................................................26 3.1.4 Interviews ...................................................................................................................26 3.1.5 Sampling method for interviews ................................................................................27 3.1.6 Document collection ..................................................................................................31 3.1.7 Data analysis ..............................................................................................................34 3.1.8 Ethics ..........................................................................................................................35 3.1.9 Limitations and risks ..................................................................................................35 Chapter 4 Analysis of legislation .............................................................................................. 37 4.5.1 Facilitation and compliance .......................................................................................47 4.5.2 Participation in planning by the community in the Act .............................................50 4.5.3 Technocratic top-down planning component of the planning model seen within the Act ..............................................................................................................................53 4.5.4 CERA ...........................................................................................................................61 4.5.5 Other relevant planning provisions ...........................................................................63