We’re proud to announce that Sinéad Gill from The Press will be joining @StuartBDonovan and Mark Gregory for our panel discussion on a City of 1.5 Million on October 20 — next Monday! We are sold out, however a recording will be available soon after the event.

We’re proud to announce that Mark Gregory, Chartered Transport Planning Professional and chair of the Transportation Group, will be joining @StuartBDonovan for our panel discussion on a City of 1.5 Million on October 20. Tickets are nearly sold out, grab one below 👇

NEW STARTER PACK! This time I’m hoping to encourage and support global urbanists from OUTSIDE North America here on Bluesky, so hopefully this will help! Who’ve I missed? Just joined? Let me know! I’ll keep updating, so please keep checking & sharing this pack! And let’s try using #GlobalUrbanists.

Greater Ōtautahi is proud to welcome urban economist Stuart Donovan for a special event, A City of 1.5 Million? Join us for an insightful event exploring why Christchurch needs to think bigger—and the benefits that come when we do. More information and booking link below 🧵🔗

New post by Greater Ōtautahi: Want Light Rail? Think MDRS. Councillors are currently deciding where medium density zoning will be implemented across Christchurch. However, their approach will actively risk mass rapid transit being constructed at all. Have a read below 👇

Keen for some kai and kōrero about all things urbanism? Come along to Greater Ōtautahi's July social hui 🏡 ⏰ Thursday 17th July, 6:00pm 📍Little High Everyone is welcome— we hope to see you for some great chats 🫶🏻

And to cap off a great day, The Spinoff did a piece on us and our mahi!

HUGE news today: Chris Bishop has made his decision on the council's Plan Change 14, and it's a massive win for the city. 🎉 🥳 Here’s what was approved and disapproved🧵👇

Reminder — on tomorrow! Weather is looking conducive for a meeting of the City's greatest urban ponderers, full of reckons to share (that includes you, dear Bluesky user)

New article: Townhouses! Where will the kids go? 🏘️👩‍👩‍👧🌳 "Sometimes townhouses are presented as replacing housing that traditional families would otherwise have lived in — though is this actually the case?" Have a read, linked below 👇

Keen for some kōrero and kawhe about all things urbanism and Ōtautahi? We're back at Foundation cafe for May's social hui! 🫡 Everyone is welcome. We hope to see you there for an amazing time! 📍 Foundation cafe, Tūranga 🕛 Saturday, 24th May, 12pm

We are glad to see that Minister Bishop has declined the Council's request for yet another extension on rules that would have allowed more homes to be built in areas where people want to live — delaying this would have been another attempt to kick the can down the road. 🧵

Motu Move readers have a hidden feature! The QR code reader at the bottom could be used for event tickets. Imagine scanning your Warriors game ticket to get a free bus ride to Te Kaha! Integrating public transport like this will be critical for making Te Kaha a success.

Christchurch has a rich history of trams on our streets. It used to be how people got around the city quickly; now it's a tourist attraction. But what if we had a modern tram system like Amsterdam or Melbourne? Check out this video from #NotJustBikes all about trams youtu.be/bNTg9EX7MLw

For those coming to our social hui, we’re at the back left corner of Boom Boom Chicken

Tonight's your last chance to have your say on the Moorhouse Avenue pedestrian safety improvements! These changes will make some intersections along Moorhouse significantly nicer by foot, so make sure you make a submission. letstalk.ccc.govt.nz/safetyonmoor...

Love seeing progress on a denser, livelier city! This proposed building’s weird shape is caused by recession planes (rules forcing upper floors to step back). Are they beneficial, or do they lead to less functional and less aesthetically pleasing buildings?

Keen for some kōrero and kai about all things urbanism? We're back at Little High Eatery this April for this month's social hui! 📍 Little High Eatery (indoors dining area— we'll post our table on our socials!) 🕠 Tuesday, 22nd April, 5:30pm

Calling all Ōtepoti Dunedin urbanists! Join us for an informal catchup, where people interested in urban issues meet for a casual beer and conversation, with special guest @studonovan.bsky.social It would be great to see you there! Send me a DM if you're keen.

Also, shoutout to Cody who did our submission on behalf of @greater-otautahi.bsky.social just after me, he did a much better job than I did! DCs are an important tool for directing how we want our city to grow. We need to use them well. www.youtube.com/live/Iae2qhZ...

Ōtautahi people! The City Council wants *your* feedback on their draft annual plan. We've put together a handy dandy submission guide to give you some ideas on what to say. Submissions close TOMORROW EVENING so get in quick! docs.google.com/document/d/1...

Greater Ōtautahi member Harrison McEvoy is back at it with another Local Politics 101 article! This time, he explains the machinery of Christchurch's local government—what organisation does what. Specifically, the unsung heroes of locals: Community Boards! Have a read 👇 substack.com/home/post/p-...

There's been some controversy about this design and its cost blow out! Our thoughts, and link to The Press article detailing it below 👇🧵

Greater Ōtautahi member Harrison McEvoy wrote another excellent Substack article, giving an accurate and informative overview of the current Council and political dynamics. As we’re heading towards a local government election this year, it’s worth a read! Link below 👇

Walking back from the Mayoral Forum and there were more cyclists on Park Terrace than cars. Mixture of commuters and families with young kids out for a ride. Can’t beat Ōtautahi on a nice evening.

Good news! Earlier today Council agreed to press on with upgrades to Antigua Street, including adding a cycleway. It makes sense to upgrade the transport network around Parakiore now, ready for the estimated 10k people who will be using it every day when it opens.

The Press had an excellent article today on the Wharenui Sports Centre in Riccarton—once on the brink of closure, it has seen a 400% increase in attendance and an overall profit. This provides a perfect example of economies of scale thanks to density! 🧵 www.thepress.co.nz/nz-news/3605...

Reminder that this is TONIGHT!

Ōtautahi whanau! Keen for some kai and kōrero about all things urbanism? Come along to Greater Ōtautahi's February social hui 🏡 ⏰ Saturday 15th February, 5:30pm 📍Little High (Courtyard) Everyone is welcome— we hope to see you for some great chats 🫶🏻

This is pretty wild. Good work @greater-otautahi.bsky.social but that should not be necessary!

We made an OIA request to understand why some councillors were excluded from voting on Plan Change 14. Turns out, some of them weren't! So upzoning of Sydenham is back on the cards next week! www.thepress.co.nz/nz-news/3605...

Now that the dust has settled, what can Christchurch learn from the Meet Me on Gloucester project? And what the heck is "tactical urbanism"? greaterotautahi.nz/tactical-urb...

We’re disappointed that Christchurch City Council staff apparently discouraged a developer from building a mixed-use apartment building behind Victoria Mansions, because it would “dominate” the existing building. Instead we’re getting… yet more flat car parks!

New York streets sometimes get closed to become a playground for local kids. This fosters a stronger sense of community and gets kids out of the house. We had a trial of this in Ōtautahi in 2020, would be so cool to see more of these pop up out in the suburbs!

We wrote to Chris Bishop, Minister for RMA Reform, to give our pro-housing take on the Christchurch City Council's alternative recommendations on the District Plan changes. You can read it below: t.co/HOPNDcWcRv

The take I am most certain of that gets me in the most trouble is just "The reason homes are so expensive is because there are not enough of them, so we really really really need to build more of them."

This is awesome - Ōtautahi Christchurch is a cycling city! 🚲❤️ www.newsline.ccc.govt.nz/news/story/c...

Ōtautahi peeps! Come join us tonight 6pm @ Smash Palace! We'll be hearing from Joey Shannon, Director at KPMG, about the financial and economic realities of building social and community housing in NZ

Did you know it takes about 569 days to build a house in NZ? 😲 The government has announced a 20% reduction in the time it takes to process survey and title applications. Given how slow the process of building is, any improvement is very welcome. www.beehive.govt.nz/release/new-...

Check out this awesome old picture of High St and Colombo St. Even back in 1910, Christchurch was the ideal place to get on a bike thanks to our flat topology. Cycling is taking off at the moment, thanks to all the cycleways we've been rolling out. But the mahi isn't done yet!

Come along to Greater Ōtautahi’s first Social Hui of 2025 6:00pm next Thursday, January 9 at Smash Palace! 🎉 We’ll have special guest Joey Shannon (@foxcar_joey), a housing and infrastructure consultant, to speak about the realities of increasing social housing supply in NZ.

Antigua St cycleway is included in draft Annual Plan and is intended to be built by the opening of Parakiore! This is great news after this project has been delayed and delayed for various reasons since it was approved by council back in May 2022, and construction was expected to start in Sep 2022!

We were in the media at least 24 occasions this year - not bad! We achieved our goal of getting a pro-housing view in the local media, to counteract the anti-housing NIMBY residents’ associations. greaterotautahi.nz/media-covera...

When Cody Cooper sees a cracked footpath, fallen tree or broken sign, he calls it in. Now the Christchurch City Council has grown so frustrated with the volume of his requests that a senior staff member suggested “we should ban him for life”. www.thepress.co.nz/nz-news/3605...

Now that Main Nth Rd has been handed back to the Christchurch City Council I’m keen to see it redesigned to turn over more road space to pedestrians, and in particular add more pedestrian crossings. Like this bit near my house has almost 400 metres between crossing points.

Getting people out of their cars is possible with the right plans and policies theconversation.com/getting-peop...

Despite the rain, here's a wee update on the City to Sea Pathway and Lichfield Street! The City to Sea Pathway is a fantastic ride. It's very smooth, well connected to side streets and it will be a great addition to the city. 1/4

We’re through these doors and to the right! If you can’t find us, flick us a message.

Reminder for tonight, see you at Little High from 6pm

One news reporter: house prices will be flat in 2025 but in 2026 they will go up by at least 5%. Presenter: "fingers crossed"