At the city's centre is Cathedral Square, surrounding the now-damaged landmark Anglican cathedral, Christ Church. The area around this square and within the 'four avenues' of Christchurch (Bealey Avenue, Fitzgerald Avenue, Moorhouse Avenue and Deans Avenue) is considered the central business district of the city. The central city also has a number of residential areas, including Inner City East, Inner City West, Avon Loop, Moa Neighbourhood & Victoria. Cathedral Square stands at the crossing of two major central streets, Colombo Street and Worcester Street, though both have been blocked off or detoured at the approaches to the square.
Cathedral Square, the heart of the city, hosts attractions such as (until recently) the Wizard of New Zealand, Ian Brackenbury Channell, and evangelist Ray Comfort; regular market days; free standing food and coffee carts; an aquarium, pubs and restaurants and the city's chief tourist information centre.
The central city also includes the pedestrianised sections of Cashel and High streets commonly known as 'City Mall'. Refurbished in 2008/09 the mall now features especially designed seating, flower and garden boxes, more trees, paving, and an extension to the central city tram route (with trams operating in time for the 2011 Rugby Union World Cup). The Bridge Of Remembrance commemorating war dead stands at the western end of the mall.
The Cultural Precinct provides a backdrop to a vibrant scene of ever-changing arts, cultural, and heritage attractions within an area of less than one square kilometre. The Arts Centre, the Canterbury Museum and the Art Gallery are located in the Cultural Precinct. The majority of the activities are free and a printable map is provided.
In 2010, the Christchurch City Council released "A City For People Action Plan", a program of work through to 2022 to improve public spaces within the central city to entice more inner city residents and visitors. A primary action is to reduce the impact of motorised private vehicles and increase the comfort of pedestrians and cyclists. The plan is based on a report prepared for the council by renowned Danish design firm Gehl Architects. Since the 2011 Christchurch earthquake Wellington architect Ian Athfield has been selected to re-plan, although many varied suggestions have been promoted for rebuilding the central city
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