Atsushi Teratani,
Member of the Japan Association for Promoting
Zero-to-One Community Vitalization

I wonder
who will represent the voices of residents in reconstruction,
and
who will be able to achieve “machizukuri” for the people
that will live in the reconstructed communities?

　On December 15^th, 2011, I served on the panel of the Sanriku Region Machizukuri Symposium, which was open to the public, at Iwate University in Morioka City. What I mean by “machizukuri” is citizen-led participatory community vitalization, although this term tends to be more widely used to mean citizen-involved community vitalization, which is commonly practiced in Japan. Rather confusingly, it is often used by government officials to refer to a government-led approach to community vitalization in which citizens are participants. To my great regret this was exactly what I found most of the speakers from the public sector meant by “machizukuri” at this symposium. On the whole, the symposium made me question who will actually listen to the opinions of residents. My concern became deeper and deeper as the meeting went on.

　The National Government decided to allocate 1.5 trillion yen for reconstruction grants in the third supplementary budget. Among the projects eligible for these grants, three types of projects are core: “Relocation of Communities”, “Land Readjustment” and “Development of Tsunami Recovery Bases.” The reconstruction planning will mainly be carried out combining these three core projects.

　The Iwate Prefectural Government has set up the goal of “Multi-layered Disaster Prevention” in its Basic Reconstruction Plan. The aim is to develop disaster-resistant communities where lives will never be lost to a tsunami again. This would be accomplished by, for example, elevating land surfaces, constructing high-rise evacuation buildings, and offering disaster prevention education. However, the municipalities along the coast face the common problem of staffing shortage. Although reconstruction projects will move into high gear in the next fiscal year, an administration official admitted the expected shortfall of hundreds of personnel with specialized knowledge in community planning as well as of professionals who can provide physical and mental care for the citizens affected by the disaster.

　According to the plan, twelve coastal municipal governments in Iwate Prefecture are supposed to execute the reconstruction plan. Those municipal governments, however, lost 20 percent of their staff in the tsunami, and are currently fully occupied with their routine work. Under such conditions, I could not help but wonder who could implement the reconstruction budget properly, and who will consider the needs of the residents at the same time.

　I believe that local autonomy should be composed of both “government autonomy” and “resident autonomy”; the proactive autonomy of each community could be achieved only by a successful collaboration of the two. After all, it is the residents that will keep on living in the area. Consequently, the residents should play a lead role in the community.

　Let me go back to my initial question about who will promote “machizukuri,” which reflects the views of local people who will continue living in the area. If a “community” is developed leaving every decision to consultants, who are said to be experts in town planning and “machizukuri”, a question arises: Who will feel attached to such a town, and who will be able to feel proud of their town, or feel any sense of ownership? In a few years, these areas may look fully recovered in terms of its appearance and facilities, but will actually suffer the challenges of the time; depopulation, aging, and low birthrate. Taking these factors into consideration, it will be difficult to achieve real reconstruction and redevelopment of communities, if the current approach used by decision-making bodies remains unchanged. I hope that the communities will be redeveloped by the initiative of the residents.

　 Besides attending the symposium, I went to see the disaster-stricken site in Taro District, Miyako City, on the following day. The sight left me speechless. The town was totally devastated. On the hillside, an entire graveyard, where the residents paid respect to their ancestors, remained as it had been. I thought of the residents’ spiritual bond with their ancestors and the long stretch of time over which generations had lived there. I strongly wish that, whatever it takes, these people will build back a town that can be handed down to their descendants for years to come.