As one of the most urbanised, unequal and disaster-prone nations in the world, this country is often seen as a global laboratory. Ōtautahi Christchurch is important here. The 2010 earthquake gave the city’s poorest suburbs the equivalent of half a century of sea-level rise in a single hit. The future has already arrived. Managed retreat has taken place. We look at the Residential Red Zone that was created by it as a space of hope. Drawing on critical futures perspectives we ask: Whose futures will win out here?