On Thinking Big in Christchurch.

English: N1brick (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

If there is a lesson unlearned from all this investment in bricks and mortar marketed as services is that we are all to ready to give up our ownership, operationally and in terms of civic use/access.

So our anchor projects are too employ a few people at base rates. It brings a few people to other peoples businesses in exchange for an inequitable  public benefit,  but it doesn't just fail there. If we,, as a city are to put a dollar down and everything on tick into these grand plans we have to internalise all  the benefits.

If replacing  and improving is worth doing for other people to profit from it, it is worth doing for us, for our benefit, for our children's benefit and not the shareholding 'returns' to otherwise foreign and/or distant enterprises.

English: Kilmore Street frontage of Christchurch Convention Centre. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Only on these criteria should we proceed. Design it so it is our solution, our asset and our character that is on display... not the functional but sparse tilt slab that we had in Kilmore Street, a facility we leased out to others because we couldn't/wouldn't sell it ourselves.

If WE cant do the latter, we shouldn't fund it... not until we are smart enough to realise money without brains values neither.

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