Green or Grey Pandemic Recovery? Revealing the Blue–Green Infrastructure Influences in Aotearoa-New Zealand’s “Shovel Ready” Covid-19 Response

ABSTRACT

This paper analyses Aotearoa-New Zealand’s “shovel-ready fund” to assess if, and how, blue–green infrastructure systems were present in bids from its largest city regions. Findings indicate a greater prevalence in areas with existing spatial plans, and while there was some consideration of climate resilience, there was no real acknowledgement of the pandemic or human health. More positively, there was some evidence of unique indigenous influences that have potential to develop more inclusive and holistic blue–green infrastructure initiatives. The overall response, however, demonstrates a disjointed approach to blue–green infrastructure-related projects, and a missed opportunity for a more transformative response to the climate crisis and human health emergencies.

摘要

本文分析了奥特亚罗亚-新西兰的 “可动用基金”，以评估蓝绿色基础设施系统是否以及如何出现在其最大城市地区的投标中。研究结果表明，在现有空间规划的地区更加普遍，虽然有一些对气候复原力的考虑，但没有真正认识到流行病病或人类健康问题。更积极的是，有一些证据表明，独特的本土影响有可能发展出更具包容性和整体性的蓝绿基础设施倡议。然而，整体的回应显示出对蓝绿基础设施相关项目的脱节，以及错过了对气候危机和人类健康紧急情况作出更多变革性回应的机会。

KEYWORDS:

• Spatial planning
• climate change
• cities
• resilience
• adaptation
• water
• greenspaces

Disclosure Statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1 Construction ready projects (Crown Infrastructure Partners, 2020).

2 Resource consent is the authorisation to use, develop or protect natural and physical resources in Aotearoa. It is comparable to the development assessment and approval process in Australian jurisdictions.