TEACHERS

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TEACHERS DAY 2005 THE
CHANGING SHAPE OF CHRISTCHURCH Doug
Johnston Room 311 Ext. 7917
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• OBJECTIVES
• to examine the role transport has in influencing
  the
• shape of expanding cities
• ii) to outline non-transport factors that also
  affect the
• shape of expanding cities
• iii) to examine these ideas in the context of
  Christchurch
• as a case study

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1. CHANGING URBAN TRANSPORT TECHNOLOGY i)
Walking horse
FOOT city ii) horse bus horse tram

iii) early railways
TRACKED city
iv) electric trams
bus services v) bicycle private car
motorcycle RUBBER city
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1. CHANGING URBAN TRANSPORT TECHNOLOGY
II Changes in transport technology gt higher
travel speeds / shorter travel time (some) gt
greater spatial flexibility (some) gt greater
temporal flexibility
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• CHANGING URBAN TRANSPORT TECHNOLOGY III
• BUT - changes did not occur abruptly (modes
  often
• co-existed for a long time)
• - changes did not occur simultaneously
  throughout
• the city
• - improved transport technology did not
  necessarily
• mean cheaper transport costs
• - assumption of ongoing population growth

HOWEVER we can identify distinct phases of urban
change in relation to particular types of modes
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Schematic relationship between urban form and
transport (Daniels and Warnes,
1980, p 3) 1. Pedestrian city 2. Horse
bustramways 3. Early railway 4. Later rail and
bus 5. Car other private
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a) Foot City / Pedestrian City - relatively
small area, densely built up - little spatial
segregation - all land-uses together -
people live at / near work-place (ala Asian
shop-house) - everything within walking
distance - only elites had private transport
(horse-drawn)
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b) Hansom cab / Horse bus / Horse tram - first
forms of urban public passenger transport BUT
- relatively expensive - cheaper than private
transport gt elites able to move away from
congested centre first real separation of
residence and place of work - expanded areal
extent of city but still essentially circular (?)
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Hansom cabs at Christchurch Railway Station,
1880s (Alexander, 1983, p 10)
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Horse tram on the Sydenham line, Christchurch
(Alexander, 1985, p 27)
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c) Early railways / steam trams - allowed urban
expansion along distinct corridors defined by
rail tracks able to commute to CBD from nearby
settlements gt - commercial development around
stations residential areas within walking
distance of stations
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Steam tram in Cathedral Square, Christchurch
(1893-1905) (Alexander,
1985, p 2)
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d) Electric tram / Motor bus - provided higher
capacity per vehicle - shorter distance between
stops gt continuous development along
corridors buses - independent of special
tracks gt feeder services to railway
stations routes between railway lines gt
residential in-filling between rail corridors
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Christchurchs first motor bus, 1904
(Dew, 1996, p 8)
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Electric tram and trailers in Christchurch, 1922
(Alexander, 1986, p 52)
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Buses in Cathedral Square, Christchurch, 1936
(Dew, 1996, p 17)
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• e) Private car (and motorcycle)
• gt completed in-filling between rail / bus
  corridors
• further outward expansion
• back to circular city

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3. CASE STUDY CHRISTCHURCH I a)
foot city 1866 - compact central
settlement outlying villages - horse
transport (but only for well off) b)
Christchurch had railway from 1863 - but not of
major importance for daily travel - season
tickets at Kaiapoi, Woolston, Heathcote gt 250
people per day!
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Christchurch 1886
(Douglass, 2000, p 2)
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3. CASE STUDY CHRISTCHURCH II c) steam /
horse trams from 1881, electric from 1905 - low
fares gt almost universally available gt radial
expansion of city along main lines linking
pre-existing villages gt suburbanisation along
Ferry, Papanui, Riccarton, Lincoln Colombo
roads
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Tramlines of the steam and horse tram era
1880-1905 (Alexander, 1985,
centrefold)
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Christchurch Tramway Boards operations in the
1920s (Alexander, 1986,
centrefold)
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3. CASE STUDY CHRISTCHURCH III d)
motor buses added to system from 1904 - in
theory, more flexible than trams - in practice
took over same network plus added extra radial
spokes gt in-filling between original
corridors few non-radial routes (i.e.
strong focus on CBD)
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Christchurch 1926
(Douglass, 2000, p 2)
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3. CASE STUDY CHRISTCHURCH IV e) Private motor
vehicle - rapid increase in numbers of vehicles
and availability per person gt significant
extension of urban area by 1966 - not circular
but identifiable obstacles - Travis Swamp and
the Estuary - Wigram Airfield - Harewood
Airport - urban fence
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Christchurch 1976
(Douglass, 2000, p 2)
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• 3. CASE STUDY CHRISTCHURCH V
• f) Expansion continued
• - within urban area
• - extensions - Halswell
• - West Melton
• - Kaiapoi
• PLUS - in recent years gt life-style blocks
• - counter-urbanisation
• - urban people in rural areas

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Christchurch 1996
(Douglass, 2000, p 2)
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3. CASE STUDY CHRISTCHURCH
VI BUT NOTE - transport improvement does not
CAUSE expansion - makes expansion possible via
reduced travel time - can travel further in
acceptable time OTHER FACTORS affect whether
opportunity taken up
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4. OTHER FACTORS AFFECTING EXPANSION OF
CITIES i) Working hours - in old European
cities (ala Charles Dickens) worked 10-12
hour days emphasised need to live close-by -
NZ gt 40 hour, 5-day week from 1936 - as
working day became shorter (custom / law) gt
more time available for travel to work ii)
Income levels relative to transport costs - as
incomes increased gt able to afford public
transport and live more than walking distance
from work
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4. OTHER FACTORS AFFECTING EXPANSION OF
CITIES iii) land available for housing
influences - ability to expand - direction(s)
of expansion - relative cost of
land/building - affected by - physical factors
(slope, drainage, soil, view, aspect) -
cultural factors (ownership, subdivision rules
etc) - actions of developers
Christchurch expansion gt policies to curb
sprawl - urban fence - minimum subdivision
size - satellite towns (e.g. Rolleston)
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4. OTHER FACTORS AFFECTING EXPANSION OF
CITIES iv) availability of housing finance -
New Zealand introduced policies to provide
relatively easy access to housing loans gt
encouraged / allowed transition from rental to
owned gt lower density housing and greater
spread v) Acceptability of high-density
living - in-fill housing - high-rise
apartments
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5. OVERVIEW
Transport technology CAN influence the
expansion / shape of a city - compact
pedestrian city - star shaped tracked
city - circular rubber city BUT other factors
are also involved i) Working hours ii)
Income levels relative to transport costs iii)
Land available for housing influences iv)
Availability of housing finance v)
Acceptability of high-density living AND as
city expands it changes in structure
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(Douglass, 2000, p 5)
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6. THE CASE OF CHRISTCHURCH I -Decentralization
of
employment Percent of Employment Year in
Central Business District 1959 (55
approx.) 1971 42.5 1986 33.3 1991 3
0.2 1996 25.0 2001 26.3 (Regional
Planning Authority and Census data)
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