Design for Smart Transport: An Integrated Multi-Modal Transport Interchange in Central Christchurch

Transportation, an essential component of modern life, is responsible for one of the biggest growth  areas of our greenhouse gas emissions which causes problem for our environment and the economy. New  Zealand cities face the same issues as many other cities in the globalised world. This thesis  analyses the integration of all the public transport systems to encourage people to get out of the  car and reduce the traffic volume within the city centre to develop with the aim of developing a  sustainable city towards the future. Drivers in New Zealand believe commuter stress could be  significantly reduced by improving public transport. The design calls for a new central transport  interchange for all the public transport systems within Christchurch city to form a spectacular  gateway to the city. The aim of the design is to create a unified urban structure in which diverse  infrastructural and public elements merge together to form one building. The outcome of this research identifies a strong future for a public transport interchange, but  states that its physical and organisational form needs to be re-established. It finds that  technology and architecture offer new opportunities useful for reinterpreting the typology. The  thesis concludes that future public transport interchanges will become hybrids of activity, and  places where the threads of urban life are joined together. The interchanges can become a major  catalyst of urban regeneration - a focus for commerce and the flow of ideas as well as the movement of people.