Greater Christchurch is Aotearoa New Zealand’s second-largest urban area with a population of over half a million people – 10% of the national population and 45% of the South Island population. It is the economic, logistics and service hub for the Waitaha/Canterbury region and the South Island.
Greater Christchurch has recorded more than a decade of strong population and employment growth. This growth, along with the redistribution of people and businesses displaced by the earthquakes in 2010 and 2011, and significant investment in recovery and regeneration, has changed our urban areas.
We expect this strong growth rate to continue. We need to plan now for how our urban areas will provide housing for more people and what they will need to live well in the future.
We've had a coordinated approach to urban planning and transport investment in Greater Christchurch since 2007.
- The Greater Christchurch Urban Development Strategy 2007(external link) and Our Space 2018-2048 - Greater Christchurch Settlement Pattern Update(external link) set the framework for urban planning which informs this current work.
- The Public Transport Futures Combined Business Case(external link) set out an investment programme for improvements across the Greater Christchurch public transport system. Investigation of a potential Mass Rapid Transit system is the next phase in this work.
Our current Urban Growth Programme builds on this work, considering future opportunities and challenges and integrating urban and transport planning for our urban areas so we are ready for the future.
In 2020 Greater Christchurch residents told us that by 2050 they wanted Christchurch to be sustainable, vibrant and safe, with less urban sprawl, more affordable housing and much better transport options lessening our dependence on cars. See the Engagement Report [PDF, 747 KB](external link) for more details of what the community told us. This has provided us with clear direction on the aspirations of the community, which is guiding our current work.
Greater Christchurch has a strong foundation to develop a sustainable and modern city where people enjoy a high standard of living. Read our Foundation Report(external link) if you want to learn more about the strengths we can build on and the challenges we need to address as we plan for the future.