Reinventing Spatial Planning at the Urban Rural Interface: A Christchurch, New Zealand Case Study

Abstract

Peri-urban areas are characterized by rapidly changing relationships between rural and urban land uses and activities and present both conceptual and practical policy challenges. Traditional urban containment strategies are being supplemented by a range of alternative spatial strategies and styles of governance. New Zealand has experimented with a performative approach to planning, replacing conventional land use zoning with an effects-based resource management paradigm. Consequences for peri-urban landscapes are investigated and implications for other developed countries seeking to reform their planning systems are discussed.