Abstract
Creativity has been discussed in relation to disaster recovery as a component of resilience, entrepreneurship and improvisation. However, this chapter draws on research completed in the wake of the Canterbury earthquake sequence about how individuals, creativity and social processes intersected in the post-disaster setting. In the immediate and mid-term recovery period, creative ideas were lauded as a saviour of sorts, for their novelty and utility. The physical destabilising of Ōtautahi led to social destabilisation. The application of neoliberal principles that were viewed as a sociopolitical norm were questioned. This allowed others—particularly those who appeared pre-adapted to instability—to provide adaptive and creative solutions that were initially well-supported. I discuss what personally and contextually enabled or hindered those prepared to implement beneficial creative ideas after the disaster. I also consider the importance of recalling the value of embracing unconventional ideas in order to courageously do so in non-disaster periods.
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Notes
- 1.
For full information about the methods and methodology see Chapter 3 in Between the Cracks: the intersection between individuals, social processes and creativity after the Canterbury Earthquakes 2010–2012 (https://researcharchive.lincoln.ac.nz/handle/10182/13328).
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Cameron, T. (2022). Turn and Face the Strange: Reflections on Creativity Following the Canterbury Earthquake Sequence. In: Uekusa, S., Matthewman, S., Glavovic, B.C. (eds) A Decade of Disaster Experiences in Ōtautahi Christchurch. Palgrave Macmillan, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-16-6863-0_14
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