Creating a town where people gather

Putting aside the debate over whether the strength of the Japanese economy is genuine, we are now seeing positive news and vibrant movements emerging in various places. It is gratifying to see such positive news being reported, including the rise in momentum for urban tourism and city sales in the run-up to the Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games in 2020, events being held in various areas along the Hokuriku Shinkansen line following its opening between Tokyo and Kanazawa, growing inbound demand due to an increase in foreign tourists, and improved hotel occupancy rates.

In any era, land and urban development has been based on people, and has been promoted from the perspective of "gathering people," "how to gather people," and "what policies are needed for people to live comfortably." In response to population decline and an ultra-aging society, it will be necessary to consolidate expanded urban areas in an efficient and comfortable manner, while making use of the history and individuality of the region, and in a way that is also rich in terms of the environment and scenery.

In urban planning, the expansion and expansion of city planning areas and urbanized areas that was in line with postwar national land development, population growth, and the expansion of urban functions has come to an end, and in order to address the issues of population decline, vacant houses, and marginal villages, there has been a shift towards urban development that utilizes the location optimization planning system, aiming to form multi-polar network-type compact cities.

So, how should we aim for urban development with an intensive urban structure? There are various patterns, depending on the history of urban formation in each prefecture and city. For example, the following examples are given in the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism's materials. 1) Multi-polar network type (Shimane Prefecture, urban development that uses the center of the former town and village before the merger as a regional base and connects it with the core base through a network), 2) Skewer and dumpling type (Toyama City, urban development centered on public transportation, with the walking distance as the dumpling and public transportation with a certain level of service as the skewer that connects the dumplings), and 3) Hydrangea type (Kitakami City, Iwate Prefecture, urban development that links the core of the city, which is a transportation hub and has many base functions, with each area (living area) within the city). These are the images of urban structures that regional cities should aim for. And it is not just about what kind of urban structure will be, but about creating attractive towns that will attract people and make them think, "This town is nice," "I want to come again," and "I want to live here." Residents and tourists come to the city for a variety of reasons, including strolling around the city, eating delicious food, shopping, receiving medical treatment, and enjoying the beautiful scenery. In order to meet such diverse needs, not only urban planning but also the integration of urban and private facilities with the power to attract people is necessary. In order to achieve this kind of sustainable urban development, we hope to see the creation of methods and systems to induce the location of private facilities and investment.

As an organization that plays a part in developing land and cities that are suitable for the future of Japan, we would like to consciously work on our work from the upstream of system creation, while looking at the big picture in actual projects. It goes without saying that it is important to develop cities that attract people by enhancing social capital related to daily life, as well as to expand and effectively utilize high-quality and effective infrastructure stock.