Christchurch gets tips from U.S. cities on civic pride

Press, 7 December 1985, Page 19

Christchurch gets tips from U.S. cities on civic pride

By

TESSA WARD

A city’s civic pride campaign tends to reflect its identity. Ten American cities, visited recently by the executive co-ordina-tor of the Civic Pride Campaign in Christchurch, Mrs Janet Borrette, have highlighted how true this is. Pensacola, Florida, for example, places a similar high priority as Christchurch does on preserving areas of open space and the natural environment, Mrs Borrette says.

And it was from Pensacola that she adopted the “Leave only your footprints please” slogan which has since been successfully introduced throughout New Zealand. “In Georgia, the emphasis by Macon residents on their city’s beauty is like Christchurch but is derived from a different heritage,” Mrs Borrette says. “It was once a decaying, unattractive city which, with the help of a pioneering veteran civic pride campaigner, Carolyn Crayton, has become a prominent city on the international tourist calendar.

“Several years ago, Macon embarked on a massive planting programme of cherry blossom trees and the rest of the civic pride efforts fall into line with this theme, including an annual cherry blossom festival. This is just the kind of programme that could be a major success in our own city, particularly when you consider how many cherry blossom-loving Japanese people visit Christchurch each year along with many other tourists.”

While Christchurch does not have a patch on the consumerism of American cities, its growing litter stream is beginning to reflect more of a consumer society, Mrs Borrette says. “We can’t just close our eyes and rest on our laurels while the litter mounts and some of the earlier beautification efforts become faded memories. Now is the time for a renewed commitment learning from the examples of other cities.” For several weeks, at the invitation of cities participating in the Keep America Beautiful programme, Mrs Borrette conducted a fact-finding mission. “I wanted to know how the programme is implemented, as well as to look at new programmes like energy conservation. New Zealand has adopted the American beautification programme because it is positive and the best one going.” The private sector in Christchurch, which paid for Mrs Borrette’s travel, is an important fund contributor to the Civic Pride Campaign. Other important fund contributors are the Christchurch City Council and other local bodies, while volunteers provide most of the vital help in running the cam-, paign. “One of our campaign’s priorities for next year, with the help of the

knowledge I have gleaned from my tour, will be the development of more effective fund-raising efforts,” says Mrs Borrette. “In some of the United States cities the Keep America Beautiful programme generates funds for the cities. “An obvious example of this is the growth in tourism that an appealing city attracts. Another example is with attractive, privately funded litter bins. A company providing the bin in some of the American cities is able to promote itself with a bin plaque. “In Pensacola alone this saved the city litter budget $18,000.”

Many of the American cities Mrs Borrette visited were particularly strong on rewarding people for their efforts to create a more beautiful city. “There is scope for more of this in Christchurch, and one way is for the Civic Pride Campaign to give more recognition to efforts by the business sector. For example, some retailers have gone to the trouble of placing attractive hanging baskets of flowers outside their shops to give the area a visual lift.”

In San Diego, California, Mrs Borrette found an effective example of positive reward with the presentation at the end of each year of awards to schools that

devised the best clean-up and beautifying projects. “At the same time public offenders can pay off their offences with community restitution work, including cleaning up freeways. Wellington has just started such a scheme which recently included restitution work by John Kirk’s painting rubbish bins. “Of course restitution work could encourage others to litter where they know other people will clean up after them. This kind of community service has to be part of a package, including public education, appropriate technology such as suitable litter bins, sound bylaws, and enforcement.” San Diego is also strong on the use of covers for trailers full of litter, Mrs Borrette says. “Litter falling off trailers and commercial vehicles on their way to dumps is a particular problem confronting Christchurch. The Civic Pride Campaign will be looking at the San Diego programme to deal with this, including the sale of old nets at garages to help people secure their litter loads.

“Unlike the American cities, the litter laws in Christchurch lack legal teeth because the city council cannot enforce them. This is an area we need to study in more detail. . “The American cities adhere to a five-step approach to the Keep America Beautiful programme which could be applied to many challenges, other than just litter, that Christchurch faces.

“The five steps are getting the facts with surveys, getting the people involved within task forces, drawing up a systematic plan, focusing on the results of the strategy adopted, and positively rewarding people.”

The strong commercial orientation of Houston in Texas is very apparent in its Keep America Beautiful programme, Mrs Borrette says. “The organisers work closely with the Houston Chamber of Commerce and the multi-national corporations. Their slick slogan of Tight dirty,’ sported by a wellknown city identity, is effective in encouraging good waste-handling practices.

“Each business is asked to contribute to keeping the city clean by contracting a clean-up person to take care of their frontages. Some of the money earned from Houston’s recycling programme, mainly for the computer paper, is used to pay the salaries of those promoting the Keep America Beautiful programme.” Politics is big-time in New Orleans, Louisiana, and this city’s Keep America Beautiful programme is a focal part of political campaigning for city seats, Mrs Borrette says. “The Mayor spends more money on his electoral campaign than the United States President, and 70 per cent of the New Orleans population is made up of transient visitors. To effectively cope with all the litter

this involves and keep the residents satisfied, the city has kicked off a three-year programme with a $650,000 clean city advertising campaign.” In Jacksonville, Florida, Mrs Borrette was particularly keen to investigate the city’s energy conversion system, including the combustion and recycling of litter products.

“America has a real problem with using landfills because the highly toxic pollutants that are dumped can wreak havoc on the water table. They can also cause major hassles in later years when the landfills are built over.

“In southern California, for example, one shopping centre exploded because of the gaseous build-up from toxic wastes in the ground below it.”

Christchurch has its own difficulties with recycling since most of the paper collected must either be shipped to the North Island for processing, or, in some cases, to Fiji, the next nearest centre with these facilities, Mrs Borrette says. “Since returning from my trip I have been presenting my findings and slides to interested groups in Christchurch. I also spoke about the American cities at a national meeting in Wellington of all the city civic pride co-ordinators. “During my subsequent discussions I have sometimes had to deal with a parochial attitude that lacks an appreciation of what valuable ideas the American cities have to offer us.”