Story: Historic places

Demolition city

This aerial view of Christchurch's central business district in early 2013 shows the extent of the demolition undertaken following the 2011 earthquake – and more buildings were demolished subsequently. Most of the demolished buildings were older structures that were deemed too unsafe by the Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Authority (CERA) to retain. This assumption was vigorously disputed by heritage advocates, who argued many buildings could have been easily strengthened if there had been the will to do so.

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Ross Becker & Moira Fraser
Reference: ROSS6132.jpg
Photograph by Ross Becker

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How to cite this page:

Ben Schrader, 'Historic places - Recent developments, 2010s', Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, http://www.TeAra.govt.nz/en/zoomify/42147/demolition-city (accessed 24 April 2024)

Story by Ben Schrader, published 22 Oct 2014, updated 19 Aug 2016