Networking Work

Nevertheless, changes to the urban planning system such as the introduction of district plans, the introduction of special structural reform zones and special urban regeneration zones in response to global inter-city competition, new perspectives on the public such as NPOs, and efforts in urban development to form distinctive cities and regions have continued unabated. However, it seems that various signs and preparations have been discussed mainly in terms of socio-economy, such as social security and fiscal reconstruction. It has been said for a long time that there is no longer a "grand narrative" as a social trend, and in Kazuo Mizuno's book "The End of Capitalism and the Crisis of History," he calls out the need for a way to make a soft landing for the current capitalism, as peripheral areas that were thought to be vast in the midst of globalization are disappearing faster than expected due to the rapid progress of information technology and urbanization.

In this context, the findings of the Japan Policy Council's Subcommittee on Population Decline (chaired by Masuda Hiroya) were published in Chuokoron magazine as "The Arrival of a Polar Society" (December 2013 issue) and "The Shock of the Complete List of 896 Cities at Risk of Vanishing" (June 2014 issue). This sounded the alarm about the declining population in Japan, and the sense of crisis became widely recognized. In the "National Land Grand Design 2050," the rapid population decline and low birth rate are listed as the number one issue of the era, and the significance and necessity of compactness and networks are strongly emphasized. The government has also launched a "Town, People, and Job Creation Headquarters" as a regional revitalization initiative, with the goal of maintaining a population of 100 million in 2050, and has begun unprecedented policies. This is a major issue that Japan needs to look at more closely.

Looking back at my work, when I first joined the company, I was engaged as a civil engineer in urban development such as the development of new housing complexes amid a slow social trend, but in the Heisei era, competition between cities became fiercer, and I have been working on the formation of underground facilities, especially underground networks, in urban redevelopment projects in large cities. It has been an unexpected joy to connect the core train station concourse with buildings with various uses and functions, allowing people to move around, and creating a win-win relationship for each building.

The Revitalization Headquarters is involved in both hard and soft aspects, and the point that should be focused on in future urban development in Japan is the networking of both aspects. And unless a city is reborn as one that people can be proud of, it will not become a compact city, which is what we should aim for in the face of population decline. What supports the pride of a city at its core is its content, regardless of the size of the city, and the original beauty and culture of the city are the basis. To that end, it is necessary to network beautiful scenery, culture, and social infrastructure including information infrastructure, and to focus on improving the quality stock of the city. I would like to take a firm look at phenomena that I, organizations, and individuals have not been able to see because they are in a different dimension, or rather, that we have chosen not to see, through the field of urban development.