Research on Greeen Growth of Fast Growing Asian Cities

A shift from government-initiative-type to resident-initiative-type is assuredly occurring as a major trend, and the importance of the following: the role of NGOs to support such projects; networking among government, NGOs, CBOs, etc., as an institutional system to enable resident-initiative-type projects; and partnership-type organizations independent from administration, has become widely recognized. In urban environment improvement projects, such as water supply, sewage, waste management, flood protection, huge public investment is normally needed for water purification plants, sewage treatment plants, waste disposal facilities, and other treatment facilities and naturally and often not affordable for the urban poor and thus slum areas are not covered. To lead these projects to the improvement of vulnerable space in the true sense, however, progress of community-based approach is believed to be a key.
















Research on Sustainable City Region and Metropolitan Governance

The challenge today is to turn from viewing government or governance as a means for exercising control, and instead to understand the government/governance issue at the city-region scale to be one of accountability. Regional planning can’t succeed unless an environment of mutual accountability has been created and sustained. Ultimately, without some sense of regional citizenship, enforced either by a regional institution or a set of effectively mandatory reciprocal expectations, jurisdictions and interests will never temper local desires according to regional plans and needs.  Fundamentally, the benefits of regional affiliations that make individual interests accountable to the whole must be tangible and compelling. However, regional accountability, though an important cornerstone for regional governance, must be accompanied by the empowerment of citizens and communities if the outcomes are to be equitable and fair. Regional governance, like local government, only works well if affected citizens care and contribute. No citizens will care much about regional outcomes if they feel disempowered and incapable of making changes in their local community.




Research on Regional Planining after the East Japan Earthquake

T

he region damaged by 3.11 tsunami have long been experiencing the decline of population as well as hyper aged society as in other remote rural areas of Japan.  3.11 tsunami disaster will further worsen the situation.  In this sense, the way to reconstruct this region after 3.11 tsunami would be a model for other areas to revitalize.  When the resilience issues mentioned above area considered, the preconditions of national spatial policy should be changed from efficiency-based, conventional hierarchy (tree) structure to the self-reliant yet networked at the multi-scale, regional and national structure (Fig. 11).  This structural change is required not only from resilience, but also from economic and social aspects.  Under globalization, the shift from mass production-based investment-oriented economy to knowledge-based economy becomes increasingly important.  The keyword of the former is ‘efficiency’ but the one of the latter is ‘creativity’.  Hierarchy structure, which often force people to follow standardized, dogmatic ideas, will not be suitable to creative society.  Flexible, multi-scale networked society should be, apparently more suitable to enhance the creativity of the people.

Kidokoro, T. (2012) Reconstruction after the East Japan Earthquake, paoer presented at the International Forum on Future Living, Taipei, Dec. 13, 2012 [PDF]

Tokyo

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