Christchurch - Government

Government

Christchurch's local government is a democracy with various elements including:

• Christchurch City Council, comprising the Mayor of Christchurch, and 13 councillors elected in seven wards.
• Community boards (six in the pre-amalgamation city area), each covering one ward, with five members each plus the two ward councillors. The Banks Peninsula ward has two community boards with five members each, plus the ward councillor, who is also a member of each board.
• District councils in surrounding areas: Selwyn, and Waimakariri. The Banks Peninsula district council was amalgamated into Christchurch City in March 2006 after a vote by the Banks Peninsula residents to disestablish in November 2005.
• Canterbury Regional Council, known as 'Environment Canterbury', including four Christchurch constituencies with two members from each constituency.
• District Health Board (Canterbury), with five members for Christchurch.

In 1993, Christchurch was selected as the "Best Run City in the World", also known as the 'Carl Bertelsmann Prize: Local Government', by the Bertelsmann Foundation of Germany. Especially noted was the increased efficiency of communal services in competition with private enterprises. Christchurch shared the award honour with Phoenix, Arizona, USA.

Some of the local governments in Canterbury and the New Zealand Transport Agency have created the Greater Christchurch Urban Development Strategy to facilitate future urban planning.