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Kōrero: 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.

Te whakamahi i tēnei tūemi

Ross Becker & Moira Fraser

Reference: ROSS6132.jpg

by Ross Becker

This item has been provided for private study purposes (such as school projects, family and local history research) and any published reproduction (print or electronic) may infringe copyright law. It is the responsibility of the user of any material to obtain clearance from the copyright holder.

Ngā whakaahua me ngā rauemi katoa o tēnei kōrero

Me pēnei te tohu i te whārang

Ben Schrader, Historic places – Recent developments, 2010s, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/mi/zoomify/42147/demolition-city (accessed 25 June 2026).

He kōrero nā Ben Schrader, i tāngia i te 4 July 2013, updated 19 August 2016.