Missing Suburbia
So much of the quake coverage has shown the horrific and devastating effects on the inner city buildings. We've heard rumours that the whole of Armagh St will have to be demolished. It's hard to separate fact from hysteria right now. However from the parts of the city that we can see and have tried to visit, it is becoming more and more aparent that the rest of our city has been terribly affected as well. So many local shopping centres have either collapsed or have been taped off as unsafe. Many buildings which had been barricaded after the Sept or Boxing Day quakes are now being demolished. The corner of Harewood Road in Papanui is one of the many areas to have been affected.
How long will it take all these small shopping precincts to recover? WIll this mean that Christchurch becomes a bland shopping district dominated by Malls? What happens to all those small business owners who have strived to create unique and smart shops? We can only hope that they are all safe and sound.
Will we be able to retain our Christchurch identity when we all feel so desperately that it has been written off the map? We have to find the will to rebuild our city, but right now many people just feel so overwhelmed and useless. Several people have started talking of survivor guilt. The true impact of this quake will take some time to sink in. We're all still in shock, but somehow we've got to find a way to keep supporting each other and to help each other through this awful time.