Department of Urban Management

TravelBehavior Analysis

Professor

Associate Professor

Assistant Professor

Satoshi FUJII

Yuichiro KAWABATA

Kosuke TANAKA

Pragmatic Social Science Studies for Solving Problems inUrban Planning, Travel Behavior and National Resilience
Social science was originally a field of integrative and pragmatic studies to address various social issues that arose during modernization. However, over 200 years since the dawn of the modern age, the"siloing" (deep specialization) of social sciences has made applying those findings to actual problemsolving difficult. In the real world, social problems exist as multidimensional phenomena and are notsplit to fit a researcher's specialty. Our lab has been working on pragmatic social science research toaddress problems in urban planning, travel behavior management, and building national resiliencebased on the understanding of the multidimensional nature of humans and society.

Comprehensive Approach to Resolve'Social Dilemmas' in Urban & Transportation Contexts
Various social issues, such as environmental pollution,
deterioration of the urban landscape, traffic congestion,and disorderly overdevelopment, are prompted by individual egoistic attitudes. For instance, when everyone drives
their own car for convenience, it results in significant CO2emissions and traffic congestion. Social psychology refers tothis conflict between public and private interests as a 'socialdilemma.' In this lab, we analyze the social and psychological mechanisms causing problems in urban and transportation contexts. Furthermore, we study measures to mitigate or resolve the underlying social dilemmas and propose
solutions to the public. Our methodology incorporates diverse techniques, including psychological surveys, statistical data analysis, fieldwork and case studies, and institutional analysis.

Prescription for SocialDilemmas (Fujii, 2017)

A case study of “resident-led” regional mobility management

Social Psychological Research on theMindset Necessary for the Maintenanceand Development of Civil Society
In tackling problems at the urban, regional, national, andeven global levels, people's 'sound mindsets' is often indispensable. Regardless of well-established legal systems, sufficient funding, or new technologies, desirable outcomesmay not be achieved without citizen's morality, ethics, problem-solving vitality, and a calm sense of balance. Of course,
defining a good mentality, attitude, or sense is not an easytask, nor are the ways to cultivate these mindsets straightforward. Thus, our research focuses on fundamental analyses, using empirical data, to examine whether factors suchas regional attachment orreligious sentiments canfoster problem-solving insociety and to understandthe psychological mechanisms underlying issues
such as political apathy,
excessive pursuit of political correctness, and theA field study on the vitality fornaive acceptance of conmaintaining traditional communityand local landscapespiracy theories.

Macroeconomic Policies and Land Planning Strategies for Enhancing 'National
Resilience'
Enjoying satisfying cultural lives in urban and regionalsocieties largely depends on the overall economic growthand crisis management capabilities of our nation. Especially in the current context, securing "National Resilience"is an urgent task in preparation for large-scale natural disasters, financial crises, geopolitical conflicts, and the declining birthrate and aging population. For this purpose,
this lab focuses on disaster prevention, macroeconomic policies to enhance growth measures to mitigate the "over-concentration in Tokyo" for balanced land use, and the integration of land planning and defense strategy. We are also actively working on proposing policy suggestions to national
and local governments and sharing the key findings
throughjournalism andpublicsymposiums.
An estimation of the economic
damage from an earthquake and Beyond Global Capitalthe recovering process
ism (Fujii, 2015)