Changing Thinking is a Walk In the Park

Many of you will know that we have lost (but still have interim use of) our Wainoni Scout Hall venue due to a late call on red zoning, but post Sept 2010 & Feb 2011 damage to the city owned Canterbury Hockey stadium and its adjacent river surrounds we proposed and submitted to CERA, (Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Authority) CCC (Christchurch City Council) and the CDHB (Canterbury District Health Board) a detailed whole of city concept for dog trails with the fit for purpose park as the hub.

"Barkerton Park" has been scrutinised by many who have applauded the concept and noted the referenced supporting literature and science evidencing the SOCIAL CAPITAL and WELLBEING that comes from recognising and rethinking urban design in a unique city that has twice as many dogs per household as Auckland and three times that of Wellington.

April and until 21st May is your opportunity to contribute to the Christchurch Otautahi 2012-13 Draft Annual Plan.

You may wish to submit your support for the School of the Naked Dog rebuild proposal to repurpose Porrit Park and the existing dog friendly amenities into a whole of city civic project and venue of national and international significance and opportunity we titled "Barkerton Park".

It is a project that Champion of Healthy Christchurch, Professor Hornblow described as "Christchurch needs a Success, Now!". CERA sat on it for six months before emailing us saying it is a CCC issue.

This is our last and only chance to put consultation back into the community.... 
and crucially, an opportunity for the Garden City to invent itself around the safety and wellbeing, of its citizens, families and its communal space rather than the ten mega-million dollar 'bricks and mortar' CBD based "Major Projects" that have been the focus these past 18 months.

The benefits are highly indicated and the work and money required minimal. The speed of implementation is paramount, needed now and not difficult at all. We call it a rates neutral, quick return, evidence based inter generational equity by bottom up design.

Further inquiries welcomed. A site visit and project presentation is planned. You can see the whole proposal as a PDF File or read it below

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A healthier Christchurch starts at

Barkerton Park

A Healthy Addition, and a Quick Success for Rebuilding, An EARLY WIN

A Community Opportunity, starting One Dog Owner at a time

Comment and Feedback in respect of the Draft Recovery Strategy

“Land, Building and Infrastructure Recovery Plan What? This plan identifies where, when and how rebuilding can occur; timeframes for making decisions about whether land can be remediated, and a process and timeframe for land remediation; a methodology for reviewing existing national, regional and local strategies and plans; programmes and sequencing of areas for rebuilding and development; a spatial plan for housing and strategic infrastructure and community facilities to maintain the short-term wellbeing of communities, long-term recovery and growth aspirations; a framework for identifying investment priorities and opportunities for horizontal, strategic and community infrastructure; and identification and prioritisation of ‘early-win’ projects.” pp.28-29 of Stronger Christchurch

Of all the biopsychosocial parameters we have captured since the quake, the one most missed may well be the game changer for East Christchurch, the River Park and Greater Christchurch. 

 

What characterizes a city challenged with the displacement of entire communities? 

Where do they go and why?  

What might we have we missed as we work towards
“Making Place” out of what we have?

Consider:

In trying to turn High Street into one of the great public spaces in Australia, the first thing I did was organise a weekly Friday night event during the summer called ‘Lounging on High’. We put some old retro lounge chairs in the street, hired a jazz band and invited people to bring food and drink and ‘lounge on High’. Because many people lounge at home with their pets, we put out dog drinking bowls to encourage people to bring their dogs. When we eventually rebuild High Street it will include dog drinking bowls and hitching rails.

In place making, dogs play a much greater role than just ‘conversation starter’ or ‘social lubricant’. One of the secrets of place making is to get people to slow down. If people take twice as long to get from A to B, the street will look twice as full, without attracting a single extra customer. A street full of people is more appealing than a street half empty. So when people stop to pat a dog or chat to the owner, they are actually helping to bring the street to life.

As a place maker, my job is to deliver a memorable experience. Dogs can help create that memorable experience for many people, especially for children.

In Living Well Together you will find lots of case studies of how cities, towns and neighborhoods are using pets to improve the wellbeing of communities and build social capital. It is a timely reminder that we often think that creating great places, great streets and great parks requires big, expensive plans, when in fact, it is the simple things that help us live well together.

DAVID ENGWICHT
Former CBD Place Maker for City of Wodonga

Christchurch has twice as many dogs per household as Auckland and three times more than Wellington.

Blair Anderson

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Dogs, Dogs and More Dogs

We are a “Dog City” at the hub of a Country built on the back of the Dog.

Christchurch rebuild discussions to date has missed something that encapsulates that which can be defined as integral to Our Character, Our Heritage and our Life Style.

Could it be what the good Doctor ordered? 

(see Dr Lisa Wood, Centre for the Built Environment and Health, School of Population Health, University of Western Australia “Living Well Together” – How Companion Animals can help Strengthen Social Fabric.)

“Research in the last few decades is proving what we’ve always known anecdotally – pets aren’t just good, they’re actually good for us. We now know that pets can help improve our quality of life; they can reduce stress, improve health and provide much-needed companionship. Pets also encourage people to enjoy the outdoors, stimulate conversations between strangers and improve our feelings of safety.”-http://www.petsinthecity.net.au/sites/default/files/pets_in_the_city.pdf

Should we engage with and ask the Champions of Healthy Christchurch, what would characterize a healthy city better than ‘for all its dogs’ – applying best practice all of city pet friendly  urban design, and what that insight brings to the solution space and to informing  what will work better for everyone.

It should be recommended reading for everyone who can make a difference to the health and well-being of individuals and communities – so not just health professionals and community workers, but also planners, engineers, architects, developers, councils and governments, even individuals. Why? It shows what’s possible when we work together with commitment, passion and a determination to make a difference.

 

The focus of the Handbook is pets and how they contribute to social capital. This emphasis on social capital goes to the heart of the Healthy Spaces and Places project. Healthy Spaces and Places is a national [aus] approach that recognises the influence the spaces and places we build for living, working and playing (the built environment) can have on our lifelong health. 
- ANNE MORONEY, Project Manager,  Healthy Spaces and Places Project.

 

DOG WALKING AND PHYSICAL HEALTH

Walking and physical activity is strongly linked to improved general health and lower risks of obesity, heart disease and blood pressure problems. Many studies now associate pets, and particularly dogs with increased levels of physical activity. Australian research indicates that not only do dogs motivate their owners to walk more

often and meet recommended levels of physical activity; but also that children who own dogs are less likely to become overweight or obese.With obesity also a growing problem among the pet population36 dogs themselves stand to benefit. In the “Dog Ownership can address obesity epidemic” case study, Dr Jo Salmon reports on studies the physical benefits that children harness from owning dogs.

 

MENTAL AND SOCIAL HEALTH

There is increasing evidence of the benefits that physical activity has on mental health and wellbeing.37 Walking for example, can provide contact with nature which can be restorative, provide stress relief and be beneficial to mental health.Similarly, it also provides opportunities for informal contact with others. 

More people and dogs out walking, combined with an increase in regular walks, can further a sense of safety in the communitywhile well exercised dogs are less likely to behave anti-socially.All of which is critical in building and maintaining community cohesion, pride, and social capital. This in turn has been linked to better general health, lower mortality rates,positive child developmentand less violent crime.

- The “A Sense of Safety…” case study explores the way in which dogs and dog walking promote a sense of safety in the community.

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So!   Did we miss something?

This writers ‘alert’ to the strategists and analysts considering what we should and could be doing around our rebuild is also  to alert that when it comes to the stuff that is easy to deliver, the hard work has largely been done, all that needs doing is distribution of the rich body of ‘design’ content back into such organisations as the Institute of Architects, to the Champions of Healthy Christchurch and of course – crucially our Developers/Investors, Councilors and the Public by way of support for sustainable community concepts embodied within this feedback.

Support for  the opportunity in the Barkerton Park  design principals and a civic approach to highly  integrated ‘pet friendly’ approach that is possible within the new transport options, Riverside Park, the CBD, and in people friendly  urban development.

Should we ask  CCC Animal Control what education and deliverables would be utopia in a city Dog Park set amongst a riverside park?

Should we integrate Human/Dog Activity Trails in a urban setting?

The answer of course is yes we should ask these questions?

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Let's look at some of the evidence.