Research Trends and Results

Survey Results on Area Management in Densely
Built-up Areas
KATSUMATA Wataru (Dr. Eng.), Senior Researcher
Urban Development Division, Urban Planning Department
KIUCHI Nozomu (Dr. Eng.), Head,Urban Disaster Mitigation Division, Urban Planning Department
TAKEYA Shuici (Dr. Eng.), Head,
Construction Economics Division, Research Center for Land and Construction Management(Key words)

Area management, Densely Built-up Areas, Physical improvement, Enhancement of fascination andvitality
1.
Foreword
In order to improve the disaster prevention
performance in densely built-up areas, it is crucial tocarry out improvements in view of hardware aiming fornon-combustibility and flame resistance, such as
rebuilding of decrepit houses, improvement of road
networks and of parks and open spaces. It is also
important to enhance the vitality of local inhabitants andcommunities (regional vitality) in view of the promotion
for the consensus formation toward improvement tomake this possible and ensuring initial firefighting at thetime a disaster occurs. For this purpose, it is necessary to
make living space attractive by improving a receptive
environment (child rearing environment) for the young
child-rearing generation of which the influx shall beaccelerated and the living environment for the increasing
numbers of the elderly. Meanwhile, under the situationsof local governments with fiscal predicaments in recentyears, the town development for disaster prevention andthe improvement/management for living spaces/facilities
shall not be carried out by governments unilaterally, but
the introduction of “area management,” in which local
inhabitants, business operators, landowners and leaseholders or the like independently will perform their parts,
is considered to boost its significance.
In this regard, NILIM carried out a detailed survey for
actual states of operations relevant to management
examples/methods, in which local inhabitants, business
operators, landowners and lease holders or the likeindependently carry out improvement/management forliving spaces/facilities, aiming at the enhancement oflocal
fascination/vitality along
withphysicalimprovements (disaster prevention performance andliving environments), implemented arrangements withrespect to the points for applications in densely built-up
areas from the aspects of organization management andimprovements/maintenance/management/utilizationsof facilities. This paper reports part of the survey results.

of2. Actual condition survey for advanced examples
area management along with physicalimprovement
Concerning advanced examples of area management
which enhances local fascination and vitality along withphysical improvements (disaster prevention performanceand living environments), we have surveyed actual
operational states centering on the momentum andprocess of introduction and profitability of development
and business in detail by hearing surveys and datacollections or the like and prepared a collection of cases.
As measures to be aimed for, we selected improvementsfor parks/open spaces, community roads/evacuationroutes, inhabitants’ interaction/living supporting facilities,
disaster prevention facilities such as rain water preservingtanks and rebuilding/relocation mediation.
Characteristic examples are those cases in which local
inhabitants conclude an agreement with the government
to carry out maintenance/management/utilization foropen spaces and vegetable gardens for which thegovernment receives a lease and donation to improvethem (in Setagaya Ward, Sumida Ward, Kobe City,
Nagasaki City etc.: Photo 1); land owners and leaseholders at the back of blind roads and the government
contract an agreement to secure urgent evacuation routes(in Itabashi Ward etc.); local inhabitants with 3neighborhood as minimum unit and the government
contract an agreement to promote landscape creation (inToda City: Photo 2); a private consultant established in acommunity café in the densely built-up areas (in Kobe
City: Photo 2); the government is operating a subsidy
program by which inhabitants propose and carry out
hardware improvement independently for the sake of
their familiar town (in Yokohama City).
3. Conclusion
The report1) of this survey has been made public by
NILIM, with much information on measures in reference
to local governments, NPO, town development
consultants, neighborhood community associations andthe like. We invite you to make use of this information
for your reference.

[Reference]
1) NILIM (2013) “Survey report on area
management methods in densely built-upareas”
http://www.nilim.go.jp/lab/jeg/erimane_201309
27.pdf (in Urban Development Division)

Photo 1: Open space andPhoto 2: Improvement ofvegetable garden bylandscape by planting baseddisaster prevention open
on Sangen (3 neighborhood)space development project Agreement (in Toda City)(in Kobe City)