South Riccarton, Christchurch - Hannah Dow

**View in Full Text

South Riccarton is one of the poorest areas in Christchurch with one of the highest crime rates and a very low amount of green infrastructure considering the large amount of stormwater generated from hard surface areas such as Westfield Riccarton Mall. Riccarton has very little character (particularly South Riccarton) and is generally known only for its large mall that completely turns its back on South
Riccarton. The community living in South Riccarton are very transient due to the majority of residents being students therefore it is difficult to build a strong community. The presence of the mall however brings a great opportunity to design for a higher quality, higher density living.

Design Vision: To inspire design that is focused on bringing communities together throughthe use of mulit-functional green infrastructure and the creation or enhancement of a sense of place within the community. “How can green infrastructure based design increase community cohesion in an urban street setting?”