This paper studies the contemporary attempts of Japanese
Machizukuri
, Citizens Collaborative Community Improvement and Management, and their socio-cultural meanings in order to shed light on the ...sustainable planning approaches dealing with population ageing and decreasing. In recent years, as response measures for non-physical local issues such as environmental problems and welfare, and with the aim of further enhancing community-centred planning capabilities against a background of decentralisation in various fields and the establishment of civic society, new cooperative/collaborative-style planning theory is being deployed. Through this process, community improvement and management is becoming deeper, in terms of technology, systems, and technique. The study attempts to find out a solution to real-world problems—how to construct a comprehensive planning theory based on spatial and social challenges arising in modern civic communities, with local resources, social capital and systems that have resulted from such issues. It also seeks to show how to achieve a vision for the city as a whole by mutually compiling individual community improvement and management scenarios and programs, based on the autonomous determination and future vision of the organisations and residents that play leading roles in the community.
In the recovery process following massive earthquakes in historical Italian cities, the housing construction and restoration of built heritage proceed with relationships that are established among ...diverse actors. However, much less work has been done on the established processes of governance protocol and research methods have not been accumulated. This study is aimed at determining the characteristics of the established processes of reconstruction governance (RG) in L'Aquila city following the 2009 Abruzzo earthquake in Italy. The research method was adopted from the text analysis and inter‐actor relationship mapping which was obtained in the previous study. Moreover, the mutual relationships between established RG processes and the implemented processes of the reconstruction project (RP) were identified based on the periodization of L’Aquila’s recovery process by combining two initiatives. The results thus obtained revealed that the existence of mutual relationships between the two processes resulted in a diversification of RG and an expansion of the RP domains and types in addition to a centralization of the RP domains. In conclusion, we recommend the diversification and continuous strengthening of RG in the recovery process, early establishment of an intermediary support organization, and public offering projects for expanding civic association participation.
This study aimed to identify the characteristics of the established processes of reconstruction governance (RG) at L’Aquila City following the 2009 Abruzzo Earthquake in Italy. Moreover, the mutual relationships between established RG processes and implemented processes of reconstruction project (RP) were identified.
This study focuses on the Echigo-Tsumari Art Triennial′s occupation of former elementary schools in the area of Tokamachi. This contemporary art festival was launched in 2000 in an attempt to revive ...interest in this remote part of Japan. Through on-site observations, surveys, and interviews, this study first reviews the overall situation of closed educational facilities in the region. Then, a case-by-case description of the festival′s involvement was researched. It was discovered that the festival holds a prominent position in providing new uses for such unused facilities in the region. However, depending on the model of usage agreement, various degrees of occupation can be distinguished. Variations of activity timing, program, spatial occupation, and involved stakeholders, allowed the authors to theorize on the capacity of each model to bring change into these localities, and the region.
The study explores the characteristics of actual conversion of partially surviving agricultural lands using three indexes, namely, plot size, street width, and number of sides facing streets. ...Initially, the uses of plots for 2016 were compared with agricultural lands in 1983. Furthermore, the actual conversion of all agricultural lands through analysis of the uses in 2016 using the three indexes before conversion was investigated. Second, the actual condition of converted plots partially retained as agricultural lands and their characteristics was compared with the actual conversion of all agricultural lands. The study finds 816 plots in 2016 that correspond to 133 plots of partially surviving agricultural lands and identified 17 uses, which is lower than the case of 359 plots of all agricultural lands. Regarding uses after conversion of agricultural lands, the larger the plot size, the higher the ratio of independent housing in 2016 with a dispersion of ratio compared with that in all agricultural lands. In addition, the ratio of office buildings to parking lots is high in terms of agricultural lands connected to area major streets in 1983, whereas the ratios of commercial, warehouse, and transportation-related facilities are low. Moreover, the ratio of streets for partially surviving agricultural lands is lower than that for all agricultural lands in terms of agricultural lands away from streets, which indicates that the ratio of conversion to streets was low. The number of plots in 2016 included in one plot of agricultural land in 1983 for partially surviving agricultural lands is lower than those for all agricultural lands. Conversely, the number of types of uses for partially surviving agricultural lands is higher than those for all agricultural lands, the degree of mix of use after conversion of agricultural lands is considered high for partially surviving agricultural lands. In contrast to all agricultural lands, the larger the street width, the more the number of plots for partially surviving agricultural lands. The findings leads to the following characteristics of actual conversion of partially surviving agricultural lands: i. The ratio of conversion to independent housing is dependent on plot size. ii. The ratio of conversion to commercial, warehouse, and transportation-related facilities is low in terms of agricultural lands connected to area major streets in 1983. iii. The ratio of conversion to streets is low for agricultural lands away from streets in 1983. iv. The number of plots and types of uses in 2016 included in one plot of agricultural land in 1983 is lower and higher, respectively, than those in all agricultural lands.
This study identifies the problems of the current evacuation system and the possibility using Mizuka in flood-prone area. Concretely, the following three categories of items were reviewed. (1) ...whether residents followed a way of life that required them to evacuate to Mizuka, (2) whether the depth of water has increased compared to the past and whether Mizuka can be utilised according to the old standards applied during flooding events, and (3) whether there are still obstacles to wide-area evacuation in villages and whether evacuation shelters in the town need to be strengthened.
This research identifies the roles and processes of a traditional mixed-use inner-urban neighborhood, the South of Market Area district in San Francisco, in providing adaptable physical settings and ...flexible functional mixtures for livable urban communities. Using typo-morphological analyses, it investigates spatial types and functional attributes of elements with regard to how they form physically adaptable and functionally flexible places, and in what way they affect neighborhood evolution. The first part of the research identifies distinct spatial structures and functional patterns of the South of Market Area at an area-wide scale. The second part investigates fundamental components which form diverse neighborhood spaces through an extensive typological study. The third part analyzes evolutionary processes of neighborhoods by means of a morphological analysis for three historical periods beginning in the mid-nineteenth century and continuing into the late 1980s. The fourth part investigates mechanisms of evolutionary patterns which lead to particularly adaptable neighborhood environments. The research concludes that adaptable neighborhoods are formed based on the integration of fine-grained traditional mixed-use neighborhood spaces and individually-planned new small-scale building developments in an incremental and dispersed manner of evolution.
This study deduced the actual state of change in plot size, street width, and number of sides facing streets in the agricultural lands to determine how streets act as buffer space. The effectiveness ...of these indicators as evaluation indexes to describe characteristics of agricultural lands that remain in use was examined. Concretely, the following categories of items were reviewed by comparing agricultural lands in 1983 and 2016. I. Characteristics of plot size, street width, and number of sides facing were reviewed. II. A typology of plot transformations and characteristics of changes in plot size, street width, and number of sides facing streets were reviewed relative to patterns of plot transformations. In general, the 194 agricultural plots that were 1000–5000 m2 in 1983 fell to 95 plots in 2016, but their proportion of absolute number increased from 57.0% to 70.9%. Agricultural lands connected to district streets increased from 69 to 84 plots, with an increase in ratio from 20.3% to 62.7%. Agricultural lands that do not touch streets decreased from 36 to 4 plots between the two time points, and the ratio decreased from 10.6% to 3.0%. That is, the ratio of the agricultural lands connecting to larger streets and the ratio of agricultural lands with more sides facing streets increases, and the buffer space between agricultural lands and urban area was greater in 2016 than in 1983. Moreover, in 2016, the ratio of agricultural lands smaller than 1000 m2 that connected to district streets was higher than the ratio of agricultural lands smaller than 1000 m2 connected to fine streets, and the plot size of agricultural lands tended not to relate to the width of connecting streets relative to agricultural lands in 1983. Eight plot transformation types were found. The number of agricultural lands connecting to a larger street and the number of sides facing streets grew. Moreover, the area of many agricultural lands among the surviving land was 1000–3000 m2 in 1983, and those that faced more than three streets were easy to continue. However, being disconnected was not a direct factor for the dissipation or continuation of agricultural lands. Moreover, 77.6% of agricultural lands continuing in 2016 faced streets larger than district streets, but it was found that many of them were connected to fine streets in 1983. Thus, many agricultural lands in use in 2016 connected to larger streets than district streets without connection to the width of connecting streets in 1983. This leads to the conclusion that the plot size, street width, and number of sides facing streets are valid as evaluation indexes for characteristics of agricultural lands that have continued to be in use.
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