All-weather streets lead to better communities
We sat around a small rod iron table on the cobbled walkway. Spanish mission-style buildings with their elaborately curved lines and decorative balconies rose above our heads, shrouded by the emerging night sky. The barman served something foreign to us, but made, he said, from local ingredients. Cool rhythms sneaked out of every doorway, surrounding the diners and passersby with a musical glow.
Was I dreaming of a night out in Spain?
No way. This was Christchurch’s New Regent St on a balmy evening a couple of weeks ago.
New Zealand has some fabulous public spaces for dining, strolling and gathering to take in an evening vibe. Wandering in these spaces heightens a sense of community, of respect for place and history, and encourages the social and cultural interactions that give our lives meaning and enjoyment.
Look around the world, and you see an instinct for evenings spent outside . . . al fresco dining in the Mediterranean, night food markets throughout Asia, and the open food stalls and entertainment on African streets. Public spaces, people, food, relaxation, and evenings just go together.
But in Aotearoa, those ancient tendencies are stymied by our weather. Whether it’s the wind snapping off Wellington Harbour in Courtenay Place, the freezing ‘‘Beasterly’’ ripping through the wind tunnels of Christchurch, or the four seasons in one day in wet Auckland, our erratic weather discourages a widespread culture of outside dining and evening use of public places.
When they first arrive in New Zealand, people from Asian countries often ask me, ‘‘Why does everyone go inside and shut their doors at night?’’
Maybe part of the reason is the absence of dry and inviting urban spaces to draw us out into public life.
Rain-friendly urban designs can protect from inclement weather while maintaining a sense of wide open spaces for all. Covered walkways, for example, have been a feature of European design for centuries. Here, they are an under-used resource.
To stimulate a year-round interest in getting out of our homes in the evenings, there needs to be more all-weather outdoor public spaces. If councils could better shield residents from Aotearoa’s winds and rains, maybe people would get out and use its businesses more.
We don’t need to look further than Rotorua for an example of how a simple covered walkway can increase the use of public spaces, build a sense of community, and ensure businesses servicing the space are thriving throughout the entire year.
The $2 million investment for the Eat Street covered walkway seems worth it to the economic development agency Rotorua NZ. According to spokesperson Marisa Balle, the street is now a ‘‘magnet for both locals and visitors’’ and is great for local businesses. All commercial properties under the structure have been tenanted since it was erected in 2013, and it has ‘‘really created a hub for the local community’’. There are even early discussions about extending the covering at one end.
The Eat Street project includes retractable roofing over dining areas which connect to the central walkway, providing extra space for al fresco diners. Unique to Rotorua is the street’s geothermal heating underlay, which keeps the area cosy even during cold and wet winter days.
Imagine if similar structures were built above New Zealand’s key central city locations: Wellington’s Cuba St, Christchurch’s Strip, Tauranga’s Wharf St, and others.
Not just covered courtyard bars, but promenades where the spaces between dining, strolling, and entertainment are blurred – and always dry and inviting.
With the risk of winds tunnelling through the enclosures, removable wind blocks could flank the street ends in stronger weather conditions, ensuring that, year-round, public outdoor spaces can always be used.
Restaurants and bars could double their table spaces, their custom, and their revenue. Shops could spill their goods on to the dry footpaths.
Councils could ensure musicians and buskers could perform in any type of weather. Night markets would never again be cancelled due to rain.
And New Zealanders would have fewer excuses to stay home and watch Netflix and a lot more reasons to get out, interact, and connect with their communities.
Back to New Regent St, New Zealand’s ‘‘most beautiful street’’. That night, as the unseasonably warm autumn wind played across my bare shoulders, a glass lid for the historic street was the last thing we needed. But for the vast majority of the other days of the year, a sheltered public space for an evening stroll is just what we need to build a culture of spending evenings in public and businesses that can be sustained through every season.
If councils could better shield residents from Aotearoa’s winds and rains, maybe people would get out and use its businesses more.