Seismics and the City 2016 forum to focus on regeneration

Christchurch, 15 March 2016 – Seismics and the City 2016, a cross sector forum focusing on the post-quakes recovery and regeneration, will be held in Christchurch on Friday 18 March.

With the theme of Shaping Canterbury’s Future Now it is the fifth in an annual series involving representatives of public, private and community sector organisations and interested individuals sharing their knowledge and perspectives for creating a vibrant 21st century city.

Forum convener Lyall Lukey from SmartNet says, “This year’s forum provides an opportunity to look back and apply the lessons of the last five years and to look forward and help shape the future for the next 25 years and more through collaboration and innovation.”

The one day event commences with a networking breakfast followed by keynotes from Dr Laurie Johnson, Pacific Earthquake Engineering Research Centre (USA) on learning about the physical dimensions of regeneration from other cities that have experienced disasters, and Prof. David Johnston, Senior Scientist at GNS Science on examining the social dimensions.

This will be followed by perspectives on progress and outstanding issues from Hon. Nicky Wagner, Associate Minister for Canterbury Earthquake Recovery; Lianne Dalziel, Mayor of Christchurch; Peter Townsend, CEO of Canterbury Employers’ Chamber of Commerce; André Lovatt, Chair, Regenerate Christchurch; Hugh Cowan, General Manager of Reinsurance, Research & Education EQC; and Antony Gough, Developer.

Other speakers during the day include Amanda Cropp, Christchurch Business Bureau Chief at Fairfax Media on the role of the Fourth Estate in post-quake Christchurch; Toni Gutschlag, GM, Mental Health Services at CDHB on mental health Issues and solutions; and Leanne Curtis, formerly Cancern, on articulating the issues of earthquake affected citizens.

In a session on Shaping Christchurch and Canterbury JLL’s Director Research & Consulting Justin Kean will talk on the industrial and commercial evolution, Prof. Chris Kissling a Fellow of The Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport will talk on transport roles, and Dr William Rolleston, President of NZ Federated Farmers, on urban/rural interdependence and science and innovation in Canterbury.

Innovation is the umbrella theme for the afternoon plenary sessions with speakers including Kay Giles the Chief Executive of CPIT Aoraki on reinventing her organisation post-quakes, Leanne Crozier from Decipher Group on employment trends in post-quakes Canterbury and Engineer Grant Wilkinson from Ruamoko Solutions on engineering regeneration, collaboration and innovation.

Dr Hugh Cowan, EQC will speak about the role of collaboration in research, using the innovative Ground Improvement Project and the Canterbury geotechnical database as examples. Haydn Read, Smart City Coalition, LINZ will demonstrate how real time information and feedback tests the value of Smart City concepts.

The afternoon session will also include a review and preview of the development of the city’s anchor projects by Ross Butler, Chairman of Otakaro Limited, the new crown company charged with coordinating their progress.

A final Open Forum gives participants the opportunity to have their say on topics such as anchor projects priorities, inner city development, Christchurch’s changing character and self-image and to give some Canterbury-wide perspectives.

Seismics and the City 2016 is sponsored by EQC and Schneider Electric and is supported by Canterbury Employers’ Chamber of Commerce (CECC), The Press and JLL.

“The Earthquake Commission is proud to be a sponsor,” Dr Cowan says. “This year’s emphasis on collaboration, regeneration and innovation is reflected in the contribution we’re making, in particular our support of the keynote speakers Dr Laurie Johnson and Prof David Johnston whom we are delighted to have addressing the forum.”

While the event is aimed at representatives of public and private sector organisations there are special rates for representatives of community organisations and interested individuals.

For the full programme and more information on Seismics and the City 2016 visit www.smartnet.co.nz

ENDS

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