chch.live, the record, as files

Take the data

Everything the site knows is baked from public sources, and the files it bakes are public too. This page is the shelf: every dataset, what it holds, where it came from, and the licence it rides on. Take what is useful.

One rule of the road. A row in a file is a lead, not a verdict, the record merges public sources, and a listing is not proof a premises still trades, a boundary is exact, or a figure is current. Each file’s own note, caveat and sources fields say what its rows rest on; the same caveat rides every page that draws from it.

The datasetsthe directories and the shapes

The business directory

/businesses.json, every premises the public record lists, with kind, suburb, address, hours, website and a flag for each source that named it. Merged from OpenStreetMap (ODbL), the council’s licensed-premises register (CC BY 4.0) and its Find Christchurch directory (CC BY 4.0, a ~March 2024 snapshot, so it holds places that may have closed; the status field says which rows rest only on that snapshot). The directory as pages →
/businesses-index.json: the lighter index: the kinds with counts and the suburb names, enough for a browse without the whole file.
/businesses-moved.json: the slug moves: where an old premises URL consolidated into another, so links taken earlier still land somewhere honest.

The shape of the city

/suburbs.geojson, every suburb boundary as a real GeoJSON polygon, the file a GIS or geojson.io opens natively.
/suburb-boundaries.json: the same outlines in the site’s compact ring shape, the polygons the map and the contains-point lookups use.
/suburb-areas.json, each suburb’s computed area, the figure its page quotes for density.
/wards.json, the sixteen wards and six community boards and which suburbs sit in each, with the caveat attached: a suburb’s ward is the ward holding its centre point, and ward edges don’t always follow suburb lines. The wards as pages →
/localities.json, the named heritage localities, Akaroa, Lyttelton, the historic precincts, that group the place pages. The history index →
/places.geojson, every place on the register as a GeoJSON point: name, address, list number and its record page, the same ground the map’s heritage layer draws. Drawn on the map →

The reported record

/crime.json, the monthly-refreshed NZ Police victimisation record for Christchurch City, aggregated: meshblock × offence division × half-year, suburb × division × month, and the citywide day/hour/location/weapon splits. Aggregates only, no row names a single victimisation. Mapped and filtered →
/crime-meshblocks.geojson: the Stats NZ 2013 meshblock polygons the crime map draws (CC BY 4.0), each carrying its site-suburb join and land area.

Getting about

/bus-stops.json, all 2,171 Metro stops with their suburbs.
/bus-shapes.json, the 30 routes as driven paths, from the Metro GTFS feed via the Mobility Database mirror mdb-1313 (CC BY 3.0 NZ, Environment Canterbury). The routes as pages →
/suburb-stops.json, the stops grouped by suburb, the join the suburb pages make.
/walks.geojson, every heritage walk in one file: an ordered line per walk and a point per stop, each stop linked to its place page. Lines run straight between pins, the streets themselves run longer. Drawn on the map →
/walks-index.json, the 31 walks summarised: name, distance, stops, the suburbs crossed. The walks as pages →, and each walk’s own route answers at /walks/<slug>.geojson.
/waterways.geojson, every named waterway in one file: a MultiLineString per river, stream, drain and canal, merged by name from OpenStreetMap (ODbL). Centrelines, not banks, a line says where it runs, not how wide. The waterways as pages →
/waterways.json, the same 131 waterways summarised: name, kind, alternate names, way count and mapped kilometres, centrelines as coordinate arrays (ODbL).
/memorials.geojson, every named memorial, artwork and cemetery in one file: a point per record, a grounds outline where the map carries one (ODbL). The monuments as pages → · the cemeteries →
/memorials.json, the same 169 records summarised: name, kind, alternate names, position and the mapper’s own detail tags, artist, material, date, kept verbatim (ODbL).
/peaks.geojson, every named summit, lookout, ruin and archaeological site in one file: a point per record, elevation and dual names where the map carries them (ODbL). The high places as pages → · the old sites →
/peaks.json, the same 114 records summarised: name, kind, alternate names, position, elevation and the mapper’s own detail tags kept verbatim (ODbL).
/coast.geojson, every named bay and headland in one file: a point per feature, the dual names kept where the map carries them (ODbL). The coast as pages →
/coast.json, the same 110 features summarised: name, kind, alternate names and position, kept verbatim from the map (ODbL).
/beach.geojson, every named beach and island in one file: a point per feature plus an outline where the mapper drew one (ODbL). The shore as pages →
/beach.json, the same features summarised: name, kind, alternate names and position, kept verbatim from the map (ODbL).
/rock.geojson, every named rock, crag, reef and quarry in one file: a point per feature plus an outline where the mapper drew one (ODbL). The stone as pages →
/rock.json, the same features summarised: name, kind, alternate names and position, kept verbatim from the map (ODbL).
/lakes.geojson, every named lake, lagoon, pond, wetland, spring and reservoir in one file: a point per feature plus an outline where the mapper drew the shore (ODbL). The water as pages →
/lakes.json, the same waters summarised: name, kind, alternate names and position, kept verbatim from the map (ODbL).
/piers.geojson, every named pier, wharf and jetty in one file: a point per structure plus an outline where the mapper drew one (ODbL). The waterfront as pages →
/piers.json, the same structures summarised: name, kind, alternate names and position, kept verbatim from the map (ODbL).
/falls.geojson, every named waterfall in one file: a point per fall (ODbL). The falls as pages →
/falls.json, the same falls summarised: name, alternate names and position, kept verbatim from the map (ODbL).
/liquefaction.geojson: every mapped patch where the ground failed in September 2010 and February 2011: the GNS/ECan post-quake footprints, one polygon per patch with the survey’s own certainty (ECan open data). The moved ground as a page →
/liquefaction.json, the same patches summarised: event, kind, certainty, measured hectares, ring and centroid (ECan open data).
/quakes-sequence.json: every magnitude-3-or-bigger earthquake in the region since the 4 September 2010 mainshock: time, epicentre, depth, magnitude and GeoNet’s own place label, verbatim from the catalogue (GeoNet, CC BY). The sequence as a page →
/suburb-quakes.json, the same catalogue filed into suburb outlines: each suburb’s epicentre count and biggest shake. An epicentre is where the instruments placed the break, not a measure of the shaking felt.
/faults.geojson, every mapped fault trace near Christchurch as lines: the Greendale rupture of September 2010, the Ashley Fault Zone and the Hanmer Fault, kept as the surveyors drew them (ECan open data, GNS/council mapping). The faults as a page →
/faults.json, the same faults summarised: name, kind, mapped year, the survey’s own type labels, drawn length and every trace line (ECan open data).
/redzone.geojson, the residential red zone of February 2011 as polygons: the Crown’s classification of the land it judged beyond economic repair (CCC open data). The red zone as a page →
/redzone.json, the same boundary summarised: classification, hectares, filing centroid and every mapped area (CCC open data).
/suburb-redzone.json: the same zone filed into suburb outlines: for each suburb the line crossed, the hectares and the share of the outline.
/technical-categories.geojson: the TC grading as polygons: TC1, TC2 and TC3 plus the ungraded land, each with the official damage-risk and design-guideline text (CCC open data). The grades as a page →
/technical-categories.json: the same grading summarised: code, category, hectares and every mapped area (CCC open data).
/suburb-tc.json, the grading filed into suburb outlines: per suburb, the hectares of each grade and the dominant verdict.
/landfills.geojson, the buried city as polygons: every recorded dump, pit and tipped ground on the council’s books, each with its name, years and contents note (CCC open data). The buried city as a page →
/landfills.json, the same record summarised: site name, years, contents, operator and every mapped area (CCC open data).
/floods.geojson, the flood archive as polygons: every recorded flood patch, grouped by the survey or storm that drew it, 1934 to 2022 (CCC open data). The flood record as a page →
/floods.json, the same record summarised: one record per named event with its patches, hectares and filing centroid (CCC open data).
/suburb-floods.json: the flood record filed into suburb outlines: per suburb, the hectares the record drew water over and the count of distinct events.
/hazards.json, the hazardous-activities register: every parcel where contaminating work ran or is suspected to have run, with its work kind, status and verification (CCC open data). The register as a page →
/hazards.geojson, the same register as polygons.
/suburb-hazards.json: the register filed into suburb outlines: per suburb, the count of listed parcels, their hectares and the top work kinds.
/fill.json, the made ground: every parcel the property files describe as filled or characterised, with material, depth and the file’s own certification flags (CCC open data). The made ground as a page →
/fill.geojson, the same parcels as polygons.
/suburb-fill.json: the made ground filed into suburb outlines: per suburb, the parcels, their hectares and how many carry unvouched fill.
/boulders.json, the rockfall survey: every boulder the GNS field crews mapped in the Port Hills, size, shape, whether it fell, and the wobble verdict (CCC open data). The rocks as a page →
/boulders.geojson, the same pins as GeoJSON points.
/suburb-boulders.json: the pins filed into suburb outlines: per suburb, the rocks counted, how many fell and how many wobble easy.
/remediated.json, the remediation register: every parcel whose file says the contamination was dealt with, dug out, capped, managed in place, with the file’s own verified flag (CCC open data). The cleaned ground as a page →
/remediated.geojson: the same parcels as polygons.
/suburb-remediated.json: the register filed into suburb outlines: per suburb, the parcels, their hectares and how many are verified.
/vulnerability.json, the model’s map: the November 2019 Tonkin & Taylor liquefaction vulnerability study, every assessed area’s class, the deposits it rests on, and the free-face spreading flags (CCC open data). The model’s map as a page →
/vulnerability.geojson: the same assessed areas as polygons.
/suburb-vulnerability.json: the study filed into suburb outlines: per suburb, the dominant class and the share of the outline it covers.
/defences.json, the armour: the engineered rockfall defences of the Port Hills, anchors, cables, mesh, catch fences and the bund, with install dates and the file’s condition ratings (CCC open data). The armour as a page →
/defences.geojson: the same defences as pins, lines and polygons.
/suburb-defences.json: the defences filed into suburb outlines: per suburb, the count, the kinds and how many are still named temporary.
/trees.json, the canopy: the council’s street and park tree register, the living trees, the veterans and protected among them, and the records it keeps of the trees felled (CCC open data). The canopy as a page →
/trees.geojson: the veterans and protected trees as points.
/suburb-trees.json: the canopy filed into suburb outlines: per suburb, the living count, the veterans, the protected and the felled the file remembers.
/zones.json, the plan’s word: the district plan’s zones, every patch of ground filed under what the plan permits it to be (CCC open data). The plan’s word as a page →
/zones.geojson: the zoned areas as polygons.
/suburb-zones.json: the zoning mix by suburb: dominant zone, residential share and the top types, from a sampled join.
/designations.json, the plan’s reservations: every patch of ground a requiring authority holds for a public work, roads, schools, the airport, the pipes, the Frame (CCC open data). The reservations as a page →
/designations.geojson: the designated areas as polygons.
/suburb-designations.json: the reserved ground by suburb: designations touched, reserved share and hectares, from a sampled join.
/matters.json, the plan’s exceptions: every qualifying matter where a listed matter narrows what the zone allows, heritage, the culturally and ecologically significant ground, the coast and the floodways, the utility corridors, plus the named character streetscapes (CCC open data). The exceptions as a page →
/matters.geojson: the qualifying-matter areas as polygons.
/suburb-matters.json: the excepted ground by suburb: matters touched, share of the outline and the top types, from a sampled join.
/heritage.json, the listed city: every item on the plan’s heritage schedule, graded, with its setting drawn and the national-register category where one exists (CCC open data). The listed city as a page →
/heritage.geojson: the scheduled items' settings as polygons.
/suburb-heritage.json: the schedule by suburb: item counts, the highly-significant share, and a few of the names.
/tsunami.json, the sea’s reach: the plan’s mapped tsunami inundation extent, NIWA’s modelled line over the low coast, estuary edges and river mouths, with the ECAN report each area came from (CCC open data). The sea’s reach as a page →
/tsunami.geojson: the inundation extent as polygons.
/suburb-tsunami.json: the reach by suburb: share of each outline the mapped extent covers, from a sampled join.
/slope.json, the ground that moves: the plan’s slope-hazard management areas, rockfall, cliff-collapse and mass-movement bands around the Port Hills, plus the broad remaining-instability overlay, from the post-quake geotech review (CCC open data). The moving ground as a page →
/slope.geojson: the management areas as polygons, by category.
/suburb-slope.json: the bands by suburb: share of each outline under the named bands, with the broad overlay’s share kept separate.
/cultural.json, the remembered ground: the plan’s sites and areas of significance to Ngāi Tahu, Ngā Wai (the waters), Wāhi Tapu and Wāhi Taonga, Ngā Tūranga Tūpuna, and the Mahaanui silent-file precincts whose specific sites are withheld (CCC open data). The remembered ground as a page →
/cultural.geojson: the scheduled areas as polygons, by category.
/suburb-cultural.json: the schedule by suburb: share of each outline inside the named areas, with the silent-file precincts' share kept separate.
/ecology.json, the wild ledger: the plan’s ecological significance schedules, Schedule A sites of ecological significance, and Schedule B sites identified on private land pending collaboration with the landowners (CCC open data). The wild ledger as a page →
/ecology.geojson: the scheduled sites as polygons, by schedule.
/suburb-ecology.json: the schedules by suburb: share of each outline inside the scheduled sites, with the identified-only share kept separate.
/landscape.json, the kept view: the plan’s landscape schedules, outstanding natural landscapes and features, significant features and rural landscapes, coastal natural-character areas, the main ridgelines, and the coastal-environment boundary (CCC open data). The kept view as a page →
/landscape.geojson: the scheduled areas as polygons and the ridgelines as lines, by family.
/suburb-landscape.json: the schedules by suburb: share of each outline inside the graded landscape areas, with the outstanding share, the coastal-environment share, and the ridgeline count kept separate.
/flood-hazard.json, the waiting water: the plan’s flood map, the fourteen named flood-management catchments, the high flood hazard areas and residential overlay, the mapped ponding spots, and Te Waihora’s 2.74 m contour area (CCC open data). Modelled expectation, not a record of floods that happened, that’s /floods. The waiting water as a page →
/flood-hazard.geojson: the flood areas as polygons, by family.
/suburb-floodhazard.json: the flood map by suburb: share of each outline inside the high-hazard areas and the managed catchments, with the ponding count and the Te Waihora flag kept separate.
/noise.json, the quiet lines: the plan’s noise map, the airport’s air-noise contours, the engine-testing hum, Ruapuna’s motor-sport boundaries, the central-city entertainment precincts, the CMUA insulation zones, and the bird-strike buffers (CCC open data). Modelled planning lines, not a meter’s reading. The quiet lines as a page →
/noise.geojson: the noise overlays as polygons, by family.
/suburb-noise.json: the noise map by suburb: share of each outline inside the overlays, with the airport’s contours, the loud precincts, the insulation zones, and the bird-strike flag kept separate.
/water-margin.json: the drawn water: the plan’s water-margin layers, the classified waterway reaches, the setback strips held back from every bank, and the esplanade reserve lines (CCC open data). The plan’s margin, not a survey of the bank. The drawn water as a page →
/water-margin.geojson: the reaches and esplanades as lines, the setback strips as polygons.
/density.json: the allowed shape: the plan’s build-shape layers, the residential overlays from suburban to central-city, the CBD build-height limits, the hill density lines, the numbered bach settlements, the walking catchment, and Akaroa’s heritage character area (CCC open data). The plan’s permission, not a survey of what stands. The allowed shape as a page →
/density.geojson: the overlays, ceilings and character area as polygons, the hill lines as lines, the bach settlements as points.
/suburb-density.json: the allowed shape by suburb: the share of each outline inside the density overlays, the densest standing reached, the height ceiling, and the hill lines and bach settlements within, a sampled join, not a survey of what stands.
/suburb-watermargin.json: the margin by suburb: share of each outline inside the setback strips, with the reach count, the named waterways, the widest strip, and the esplanade flag kept separate.
/rebuild.json: the rebuild’s receipts: 138,797 geolocated SCIRT photographs the earthquake rebuild filed on the ground it was putting back, the wastewater and stormwater networks mostly, 2011–2014 in the bulk (CCC open data). A work log, not a survey of what stands. The receipts as a page →
/rebuild.geojson: every frame as a point with its network, asset and date; /rebuild-sample.geojson is the 1-in-28 spread the web map draws.
/suburb-rebuild.json: the receipts by suburb: the count inside each outline, the suburb’s own year span, and the network the cameras mostly served.
/cycleways.json: the pedal network: 4,918 cycleway segments, about 732 km of lanes, separated paths, shared paths, quiet streets and trails, and the seventeen named Major Cycle Routes, with the equipment layer (stands, barriers, repair stations) counted beside it (CCC open data). The network as the books hold it, not today’s rideability report. The pedal network as a page →
/cycleways.geojson: every segment as a line with its type, category, status and named route; /cycleways-sample.geojson is the spread the web map draws, every named-route segment plus every fourth plain one. Each named route also carries a /cycleway/<slug>.geojson twin beside its page.
/suburb-cycleways.json: the network by suburb: the kilometres of path that cross each outline, the separated share, and the named routes that thread it.
/plaques.json: the remembered names: 1,082 inscribed plaques on the seats, stones, rocks and walls of the public estate, each with the inscription transcribed, 845 with the register’s own photograph, plus the public-art roll beside them (CCC open data). The register’s word, not a promise the plaque still reads clean. The roll as a page →
/plaques.geojson: every plaque as a point with its site, inscription, year and artwork flag.
/suburb-plaques.json: the remembered names by suburb: the count inside each outline and the grounds that carry them.
/rules.json: the rules on the ground: 532 drawn instruments on the council’s regulatory register, alcohol ban areas, dog rules, freedom-camping zones, bottle-store buffers and the rūnanga takiwā, each polygon thinned for display and named as the register names it (CCC open data). The bylaw is the instrument; this is its drawing. The roll as a page →
/rules.geojson: every rule as a polygon with its kind, name and the register’s own wording.
/suburb-rules.json: the rulebook by suburb: the count of drawn instruments touching each outline, split by kind, and the takiwā the suburb stands in.

Community and reference

/maraes.json, the marae directory: names, wharenui, iwi and hapū affiliation, addresses and coordinates, a directory, not a history, as its own note says. The marae as pages →
/worship.json, 188 churches, mosques, temples and halls from OpenStreetMap (ODbL), the council’s heritage schedule marking the scheduled ones. The worship pages →
/school-covers.json, the enrolment-zone polygons the school pages and the map draw. The schools →
/wiki-suburbs.json and /wiki-places.json, the Wikipedia extracts the suburb and place pages quote, with the census the figures come from (CC BY-SA).

The rest of the machine shelffeeds, markdown and the index for readers that aren’t people

Feeds and twins

/power.json, the wholesale price of Christchurch’s electricity at the ISL2201 (Islington) node: the latest published trading day, the week’s half-hours, the year by month, the market operator’s own forecast, and hydro storage as a share of the 20-year mean (EMI / Electricity Authority, CC BY). Wholesale, never what a household pays. The price as a page →
.md on any page, every page on the site answers as Markdown at .md on the same path: this page is /data.md, a suburb is /linwood.md, a business kind /businesses/cafe.md.
/feed.xml, the written-history feed. /api/history/posts.rss and /api/history/reports.rss , the wire and the report stream as RSS, filterable by suburb.
/sitemap.xml, every URL the site serves, in sitemap-index form.

The live API

Behind the files sits api.chch.live, the same record as GET routes, no key, the answers the pages themselves render from. The doors people reach for:

GET	answers
/suburb?name=	one suburb’s record, reports, fixes, rules, rolls
/suburb-list	every suburb with report counts
/address?suburb=&address=	one address, geocoded even where it never reported
/street?suburb=&street=	one street’s record
/report?id=	one council report, with its page doors
/reports-near?lat=&lon=	the reports around a point
/buses/live	the buses, live, `?stops=` next arrivals, `?bbox=` a box
/tracks?q=&suburb=&cap=	the track roll, walk, bike, horse, vehicle lines
/track?id=	one track’s path and every suburb it crosses
/tracks/status?ids=	DOC’s live open/closed for managed tracks
/parks?q=&suburb=&kind=	the parks roll
/facilities?q=&suburb=&kind=	the facilities roll, toilets, playgrounds, pools
/schools?area=&suburb=&rating=	the school roll; `/school?id=` one school
/school-zone?lat=&lon=	which enrolment zones a point falls inside
/place?id=	one register place, claims and leads; `/places?bbox=` a box, `/before?lat=&lon=` what stood at a point
/documents?q=&collection=&paper=	the archive, `/papers` every masthead
/crashes	the injury-crash record in aggregate, NZTA CAS
/cemetery-plots?q=&cemetery=	the burial register by surname, historical only
/posts?limit=&source=&q=	the wire, newest first, `/posts.rss` to subscribe
/day?md=	every record dated a calendar day; `/year?y=`, `/years`, `/day-list`
/search?q=	every register at once, grouped
/photos?limit=	the report-photo wall, keyset-paginated
/quiz/photos?n=	archive-photo quiz rounds with decoys and credits
/power-scorecard	the power forecast marked against settled prices
/biz-reviews-index	cached Google ratings per business, stars, review count, snippets, the "as at" month
/changes?since=	what moved since a time, the bake reads this
/lucky	a 302 to somewhere in the archive, at random

Every route takes and returns JSON; ?suburb= matches the suburb’s slug or its name, case-blind. The exhaustive list, every param, the caveats, is llms.txt, which is the contract this table only introduces.

For readers that aren’t people

/llms.txt, the site’s own index for AI readers: every endpoint, every file, the caveats attached. /llms-full.txt is the whole page list.
/.well-known/agent-card.json , the A2A agent card: the site’s skills in the shape an agent framework expects.
api.chch.live, the live record API behind the feeds and the pages; llms.txt enumerates the routes.

The licences, plainly

Each file names the licence it rides on, and the obligation sits with the upstream source, attribute what the file names:

OpenStreetMap, ODbL. Share-alike applies to what you build on it.
Council datasets, the licensed-premises register, the Find Christchurch directory, the heritage schedule: CC BY 4.0.
Metro GTFS, CC BY 3.0 NZ, Environment Canterbury.
Wikipedia extracts, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Something wrong in a file? The corrections page → is how the record gets fixed, every page it draws names its sources for the same reason.

Questions, answered briefly

Can I take this data and use it?

Yes, every file names the licence it rides on. OpenStreetMap-derived data is ODbL, the council datasets CC BY 4.0, the Wikipedia summaries CC BY-SA, and the Metro shapes CC BY 3.0 NZ. Attribute the upstream source the file names, that is where the obligation sits.

What formats does the record come in?

JSON for the directories, GeoJSON for the lines and shapes, RSS for the live feeds, and every page on the site answers as Markdown at .md on the same path.

How fresh is a file?

The files regenerate with each bake of the site. The business directory carries its own generated stamp, read it before trusting a count.

Is a row in a file a verified fact?

No, the record merges public sources, and a listing is a lead, not proof. Each file’s note and caveat fields say what its rows rest on; the same caveat rides every page that draws from it.

chch.live, the public record of Christchurch, kept readable