Shape your place toolkit : Christchurch City Council

This toolkit is for you - community groups, or individuals, who are looking for ideas and information on how to shape and enhance your place, be it your local neighbourhood or the commercial centre in which you run a business.

kids playing in comunity

It takes a place to create a community and a community to create a place.

Project for Public Spaces

Our vision for Ōtautahi Christchurch is to be a city of opportunity for all. A city open to new ideas, new people and new ways of doing things; a place where anything is possible.

This toolkit is a resource for community-led place-making projects. It is designed to provide an understanding of what is required to get such projects planned, designed and delivered, an indication of the time and resources needed, and how and when the Council and other agencies should or could be involved.

The information provided here is applicable across a range of projects, suitable in neighbourhoods or commercial centres. However, some information is tailored for business owners who wish to improve the appeal and performance of their commercial centre.

This toolkit is a living document, so we'll update it from time to time. We welcome your feedback using the reference 'Shape Your Place Toolkit'.

We hope this toolkit empowers you to shape your place in Ōtautahi Christchurch.

This toolkit helps promote the Council’s priority of enabling active and connected communities to own their future, with recognition of the principles herein.

Ōtautahi Christchurch is a collection of communities with their own sense of place, needs and ability to identify, plan and deliver their own projects through community-led place-making.
Place-making is a people-centred, collaborative and hands-on approach to transforming public or private spaces into meaningful community places. It’s not just the act of enhancing a space, but a process that strengthens the connection between you, your neighbours and the places you share.
Liveable neighbourhoods and thriving commercial centres are generally those where people have committed to collaborating.
A wide range of place-making projects can transform public or private spaces into community places. These include holding a street party, looking after outdoor spaces of value to the community or a clean-up of local graffiti.
Depending on their nature, scale and complexity, some place-making projects are more appropriately led by the Council. However, the majority will be led, planned, designed, delivered and managed by local community groups with support, if needed, from the Council.