Signs our city is growing up

How grown up is Christchurch?

Is it a toddler, a youngster, a stroppy teen, an adult, or an oldster?

My own pick is that, as a city, we are somewhere in the transition stages between the late teens and early maturity.

Christchurch is growing into the early stages of maturing as a major New Zealand city.

The last 20 or 30 years for Christchurch have been the time when we have shrugged off the last traces of a fairly staid, conservative past and begun to grow towards a more mature version of ourselves. A still conservative city that at the same time is becoming more willing to take risks. The waves of enhancement projects like the Westpac Centre, the Convention Centre, and the upgrade of what is now Jade Stadium have been part of the “bricks and mortar” of this maturing as a city.

Perhaps one of the major signs of our maturing was the opening of our new Art Gallery just over a year ago.

This long-awaited showcase for our artistic wealth turned out to be a lot more than just a superb gallery. It was also the final building block in a complex mix of amenities and services that sorts out mature cities from those still finding their way.

It was a very tangible signal to the rest of the world that Christchurch is now a mature city that has grown past its pioneering origins.

The opening of the new Christchurch Art Gallery took place against a global trend of consolidation in cities. Without getting too fancy about it, the demographic trend throughout the developed and developing world is towards major population centres becoming the norm.

Nations and regions are developing their own population magnets. For New Zealand, the future trend is sharply apparent already. Auckland will do the job in the North Island, while down here Christchurch is, and will be, the hub for the South Island.

Whereas 20 years ago, our challenge was at times to stay economically viable, the new challenge we face is how to hold onto our best qualities as a city in a time of robust economic and social growth.

How we manage to retain and teach our tradition of social cohesion and shared sense of responsibility will prove critical to how well we do in future years. We are already tackling major infrastructure issues such as sewage and wastewater management, at huge expense, to maintain our proud tradition of prudent management of our core services.

Other issues, like the attempts to cut down our rubbish going into the waste stream and eventually into landfill, are also part of this process of maturing as a city.

One of our biggest challenges, now and in the future, will be how to work towards becoming a more environmentally sustainable city. We have come a long way already on this trip away from the “tip”. It is worth reminding everyone that not so long ago recycling was still seen as the preserve of environmental extremists.

Now it is quite mainstream and normal with about 70 per cent plus of Christchurch homes voting with their crates every week.

It is again part of this maturing process as a city.

In fact, a couple of years ago, when we hosted a major APEC event here, I was able to tell the assembled diplomatic guests that, whereas at home most of them were draining their swamps, they had come to a city where we were restoring what we had left in the way of swamps.

One of the best examples of world-class work we are doing as a city is retaining and restoring our waterways and streams.

We are one of the few growing cities on Earth where we are seeing more species of bird and water life return to live within the city limits.

Increasingly throughout Christchurch, people are taking up active ownership and pride in their rivers and streams and working together with Council staff on their restoration and enhancement.

Again, I think it is a sign of a maturing city where active pride in the natural environment is so public and so widespread.

Christchurch is very much a city in transition. From a large rural and manufacturing centre into something altogether more mature and diverse.

It is an exciting time to be part of this city for all of us. At least that’s how I find it.