Changing Face Of The Inner City Increasing residential development is changing the face of Christchurch's inner city. The number of people living within the four avenues increased by 16 per cent in the five years between 1991 and 1996, twice the growth rate of the city as a whole. Planning policy for the city over the last 30 years has looked to encourage inner city living. There are real benefits to be gained in supporting the commercial activity of the central city.
People can live close to work and avoid long distance commuting.
It puts people back into the heart of the city, restoring a sense of community, as well as supporting facilities and services existing in the area. Greater development and a growing population does, however, mean change for the local environment. Much of the existing housing stock is older and design and architectural styles often differ from those of new housing. Townhouses and apartment buildings tend to be larger, closer together and more prominent in the landscape than the older housing stock they replace. With greater building density, issues of design become particularly important, the way buildings look, the way they relate to neighbouring properties and the contrast of old and new.