Transitional organisations, affective atmospheres and new forms of being‐in‐common: Post‐disaster recovery in Christchurch, New Zealand

Abstract

With reference to the post-disaster urban landscape of Christchurch, New Zealand, this paper examines the emergence of particular forms of nongovernmental organisation after the 2010 and 2011 earthquakes, and the kinds of transitional activities in which they have been engaged. Two sets of conceptual apparatus are deployed. First, we suggest that the spaces and activities of transitional organisations have provoked particular "affective atmospheres" in Christchurch that are informing new senses of place, belonging, imagination and social encounter. Second, and drawing on ideas from poststructural geographies of ethics, we suggest that transitional organisations in Christchurch have assembled a capacity for new forms of "being-in-common", and in so doing are facilitating new and more positive emotional performances in the city. The paper thereby contrasts the neoliberal affects inherent in top-down plans for rebuilding the city centre in Christchurch with the affective atmospheres emerging from the activities of these transitional organisations. We also acknowledge the potential in these transitional activities for new forms of incommonness, arising from and at the same time contributing to the unfolding geographies of the post-disaster city. K E Y W O R D Saffective atmospheres, being-in-common, disaster recovery, New Zealand, transitional organisations ---

Qualitative methods I: On current conventions in interview research

“…So, for example, Breul and Revilla Diez (2018) in their study of a global production network restrict direct quotation to short snippets of interview text. Kivelä (2018) uses short quotes – again from experts – to back up analytical statements about the relationship between citizenship and health care provision in Finland (see also Hall, 2015; Cloke and Conradson, 2018). A similar effect, although created this time with more substantial interview quotes, is evident in Poon et al’s (2018) study of Sharia finance in Malaysia.…”

“An opportunity to hope and dream”: Disaster Politics and the Emergence of Possibility through Community‐Led Recovery

“…Yet many of these organisations have applied for funding from local and central government and have worked alongside council and government departments to achieve their aims. This has been one critique of these projects, presented as evidence of the neoliberal co‐option of the initiatives (Cloke and Conradson ). More broadly, some scholars have also suggested that temporary urbanism through transitional projects are seductive concepts that utilise experimental approaches to push the boundaries of urban projects while not challenging the foundations of “neoliberal urban development” (Ferreri :183).…”

“…As Till and McArdle () note, when framed as “temporary projects” officials readily see these projects as “stop gaps” that further capital accumulation and contribute to gentrification, yet in practice these projects support non‐capitalist forms of exchange and create space for alternative urban imaginaries. In the case of Ōtautahi Christchurch, Cloke and Conradson () agree, describing transitional projects as facilitating community empowerment and contributing to the “re‐coding” of the city that has provided opportunities for participation in projects that foster experiments that contest neoliberal power and work towards creating different worlds.…”

Reassembling Heritage after the Disaster: On the Sungnyemun Debate in South Korea

“…What is highlighted in such an "expanded assemblage of commemoration efforts", as Rico nicely described it, is "affective atmospheres" as Palu Cloke and David Conradson address on a similar occasion, a series of earthquakes that took place in the city of Christchurch, New Zealand, from 2010 to 2011. They focus on discussing how artists and other members of the community affectively engage with each other in order to generate shared senses of being together, which would challenge those who tend to consider post-disaster recovery simply as a "material and measurable" project [9]. In the meantime, endeavors of generating affective atmospheres become more important in Asian countries such as Japan, China, and South Korea where "materiality is [fundamentally] impermanent" (i.e., heritage structures constructed from wood that is highly susceptible to fire) [10,11].…”