It brings together council reports, notices, data and other public information in a live feed, with an archive that visitors can search to explore the city’s history and current activity. The site refreshes Christchurch City Council records every ten minutes and also draws live information from Environment Canterbury and GeoNet.

Visitors can follow reported neighbourhood problems, water shutoffs, earthquakes, weather warnings, resource consents, and other council activity. Search tools let people look up streets, addresses and suburbs, compare neighbourhoods, and explore public records dating back to 2015. The site also provides maps and guides covering ground conditions and hazards, including flood paths, liquefaction, faults, old landfills and tsunami reach. For exploring the city, it features information about parks, tracks, beaches, waterways, buses and heritage walks, alongside historical photographs, papers and records. Plain-English guides explain topics such as rates, local government, consents and the District Plan. chch.live presents these varied resources as a searchable, regularly updated picture of Christchurch and its public life.