Destruction and rebirth: building a New New Zealand post-COVID-19
EHF Fellow Roger Dennis responded to the 2011 Christchurch Earthquake with bold innovation to create the world’s first Sensing City. Now, as New Zealand rebuilds its economy post-COVID, Roger is once again paving the way with a vision for a New New Zealand.
Anyone who has ever exited the gym with aching limbs can tell you that muscle growth is a violent affair. It requires the muscle tissues to be damaged and injured in order to be rebuilt stronger. This paradox exists across the natural world - wildfires clearing the ground for new growth and caterpillars completely disintegrating in their cocoon to re-emerge with wings.
For humanity, this rule of nature can be a comfort and an inspiration. As we stand in the wake of war, pandemics, or natural disasters, our hope must lie in the future. But unlike our muscles and the butterfly, the pathway to rebuilding a city, country, or society is not instinctual. It requires deliberate reflection, meticulous planning, and a willingness to innovate beyond what is comfortable.
Christchurch Earthquakes and Sensing City
When Roger Dennis, EHF Fellow from cohort 3, is pressed for his job title, he will often offer up the term ‘serendipity architect’. Over the course of his life, he has been vigilant to observe surprising connections that awaken new solutions and put them into practice.
Think of Sir Alexander Fleming returning to his lab after a two-week vacation and accidentally finding the mold that produced penicillin.
In practice, this has led Roger to consult on a wide variety of future-driven initiatives, from redefining healthcare in New Zealand to reimagining the way financial services could be deployed on smartphones in Europe.
But none of his projects were as personal as Sensing City - an initiative he started in the wake of the Christchurch earthquakes.
Looking at the devastation caused by the quakes, Roger decided not to waste the crisis. Around the time of the earthquake, people around the world were beginning to talk about “Smart Cities” that could collect important data using sensors and then use those insights to manage resources and improve operations. But installing sensors into a pre-existing infrastructure presented many challenges.
Roger recognized a unique opportunity then, to install sensors as Christchurch was being rebuilt. Sensing City received widespread international support with one of the projects successfully replicated in Scandinavia.
However, even great ideas cannot come into being without adequate funding and support, so the project closed in 2016.
A New New Zealand
In the past few months, our world has been rocked by a new disaster in the form of a global pandemic. New Zealand’s rapid response and community efforts in the face of COVID-19 have made an example for the rest of the world.
But although Roger is proud of his country’s response, he is looking ever-forward for ways to enact lasting improvements as New Zealand rebuilds.
His latest initiative, A New New Zealand, is an opportunity to put New Zealand at the forefront of global innovations. It brings together leading commentary on this issue to spark conversations about what is realistic and possible.
“A New New Zealand is a catalyst for this conversation, and what it means for our most significant industries.”
From tourism to agriculture to technology, New Zealand is uniquely situated to make an impact. But, Roger warns, the opportunity must be grasped by everyone. This means uniting industries, citizens, and the public sector.
“New Zealand won’t emerge from this unless the public and private sector work closely together. Neither one will be able to address this issue on their own.”
People can become involved with A New New Zealand by sharing insights from the site with friends and thinking about the implications for their own context.
To continue the conversation with A New New Zealand, visit www.anew.nz.
Journey with us
Impact is a journey and it doesn’t happen in a vacuum. It takes a group of inspired, committed, and informed individuals to get a world-changing idea off the ground. You can help amplify EHF Fellow impact as they work to develop solutions to some of humanity’s biggest problems. Here is how you can join us in this work as we journey together on a path to a better world:
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