Topic > The concept and evolution of Machizukuri from a social movement to a city-wide "soft infrastructure" of Local Shopping ArcadeMachizukuri's loss of motivation from local residentsCommunication and coordinationWhat has changed since the Kobe earthquake?Remaining limitationsPossible improvements/opportunities and future engagement.Civil society engagement is important in urban planning as its role is intended to understand and fill the gap in society's needs. Since the aim of urban planning is the sustainability of society, the idea of ​​a participatory approach could answer the challenge of what should be provided and how. Community-based activities are deeply rooted in the social commitments of culture and tradition, allowing them to deliberately express their needs and preferences on a social level. Their activities reflect their ability to understand problems and with their experience some ideas are addressed and demonstrated to bring solutions. Therefore, this experience is also reflected and applied in disaster management where being a victim of the disaster increases awareness about participation in the reconstruction of the territory. The abandonment of community involvement in this case appears to increase vulnerability. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay The concept of community-led planning has been ingrained in Japanese society since post-World War II. After the war, the country's approach to increasing its dignity was massively transforming a devastated country into a country full of hope through rapid and intense development. Industries in urban areas had made most of the more polluted cities where they lived. The impacts on society have led to societal commitments and movements to assert their concerns with respect to environmental and health issues. Therefore, the community organization was created or called "Machizukuri". Following the situation, machizukuri has evolved as the most influential actor particularly in urban planning, aiming to prevent unwanted changes and promote desired changes. Subsequently, the power of civil society in terms of machizukuri has played a significant role in disaster management. In this article, the concept and evolution of machizukuri from a social movement to a city-level “soft infrastructure” in meeting and maintaining community needs in the post-war period. the phases of the disaster are discussed. First, the introduction or context of the creation of machizukuri as a community protest movement due to the massive impacts of industrial activities. In the second section, the case study of the great Hanshin-Awaji earthquake in Kobe in 1995 is chosen to review the role and process of machizukuri in disaster management in the context of urban renewal and land development. Next, machizukuri challenges in the urban planning process are presented that draw lessons learned from community-based activities in participatory planning, particularly in disaster relief and reduction. The lesson related to machizukuri's success in identifying their own problems and needs leads to the deliberation of collective actions that become highly experiences for other communities in other regions in the subsequent disaster after the Kobe earthquake. This application is presented to see what changes andWhat are the remaining limitations within machizukuri's activities and processes addressing their innovation in disaster risk reduction. Finally, possible improvements or opportunities to establish a sustainable mechanism for civil society engagement in disaster management are proposed. In order to identify the role and lessons learned from community-based activities for building sustainable mechanisms in disaster risk management, the Japanese concept of machizukuri is explored vividly. The characteristic of civil society in Japanese culture emphasizes strong emotional bonding at the community or neighborhood level which results in strong social networks. The form of community activities is mainly the action of different actors who have shared interests by voluntarily expressing their idea through any means or resources with a set of time, skills and no less with their capital resources. Many of them are in different professions, from ordinary civil society to businessman and skills. Even if a gap can be realized, the ingrained connection and emotion between them can reduce and even diminish the barrier where their shared goals are considered the most important to achieve. Machizukuri is not a new concept that in the 1970s was highly promoted as a new approach as a key player in addressing industrial age problems in Kobe. The advent of groups of residents in realizing their collective actions ultimately requires a legitimate organization to organize their aspirations. In 1978, the establishment of the machizukuri council in Mano district was seen as a means of preventing population shrinkage by attracting young families to live. Together with municipal governments, they have developed ideas and practices in more subtle ways in existing developed regions. This results in the development of the area into an integrated settlement with other public facilities that promote the livelihood of the community. In the subsequent time, the grassroots innovation of civil society has been used to shape the livelihood of the community where in disaster risk management, it helps to alleviate the condition. The process of civil society in post-disaster land reconstruction began when the devastating earthquake hit Kobe in 1995. Disaster Profile On January 17, 1995, a devastating earthquake with a seismic magnitude of 7.3 struck the city of Kobe, Hyogo Prefecture , in Japan. The great Hanshin-Awaji earthquake occurred in the city of Kobe, built on a narrow coastal plain 2-3 kilometers long, surrounded by the Rokko Mountains and Osaka Bay. As a result, there were 6,000 casualties and over 30,000 injuries. It also demolished over 200,000 buildings and damaged approximately 180,000 buildings, followed by fires. As a result, approximately 300,000 people were left homeless and the estimated economic losses were approximately $200 billion. The characteristics of the disaster increased the intensity of the impacts. The earthquake's peak vertical motion exceeded the horizontal acceleration and resulted in the expulsion of the liquefied layer onto Port Island, one of the reclaimed islands on the edge of Osaka Bay. Noda Hokubu and Matsumoto districts in West Kobe's Nagata neighborhood were the hardest hit by the fires. This was caused by the poor quality of houses, exemplified by many old wooden houses with narrow streets, which triggered and increased the extent of fires immediately after the earthquake. As a result, it prevented firefighters from accessing the affected areas, where many modern buildings with concrete columns also collapsed into the narrow streets. The earthquake also damaged several networkscrucial infrastructure. According to the report of The Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake Statistics and Restoration Progress in 2012, traffic networks were also disrupted by the collapse of Hanshin Expressway Route 3 (Kobe Route) and Route 5 (Wangan Route) on the road below. The railway or high-speed train also suffered damage. Healey (2009) argued that this is a result of the neglect of city center development, while the main development has been concentrated in reclaimed land in the coastal area. However, the reclaimed lands were also affected by the combination of vertical and horizontal seismic movements. Liquefaction occurred in the reclamation layer of 2-4 sections of the eastern areas of Port Island. Overall, the high intensity of the Kobe earthquake contributed to the extent of the damage which sensitized civil society to collective action. Here, community engagement has become a turning point of the old machizukuri concept that focused on post-World War II environmental issues in disaster reduction in accordance with participation in urban planning. Stakeholders involved and civil society engagement In the context of disaster management, urban engagement Renewal or saikaihatsu and urban rehabilitation or kukakuseiri in the post-great Kobe prefecture earthquake in 1995 were initially dominated by a top-down approach the bass focused on the overall physical structure and layout. However, later in the implementation process, some shortcomings were found which led to community movements as a bottom-up approach to balance urban planning. Therefore, in this case, there were three key actors who played a central role in both saikaihatsu and kukakuseiri, namely municipal administrations, civil society and consultants or specialists. It is important to note that the part of civil society engagement has contributed to the outcome of urban planning in disaster risk management. The rapid and large-scale land reconstruction in Kobe after the disaster shows the role of the city administration in using decentralization as a means to support the “build back better” principle in disaster management for their territory. One of the quick measures taken by the local government was the creation of umbrellas for the reconstruction of the territory. In the short period after the earthquake, they issued some policies in Saikaihatsu and Kukakuseiri for promotion areas to gain recognition of decentralization as long-term planning Hein (2002). Furthermore, the local government published a building restriction policy for six areas on February 1, followed by the Law on Special Measures for the Reconstruction of Destroyed Areas on February 26. However, the concept of decentralization in disaster risk management cannot be overlooked and the importance of the role of other actors such as civil society and experts in finding a balance between the needs gap of what should build and how to build for achieve a sustainable neighborhood after the disaster. As a result, the reconstruction promotion area south of Kobe encountered opposition from citizens as the location was far from the home neighborhood and they were also not informed of the plan. The role of civil society in post-disaster urban planning exemplified by rooted -Japanese strong emotional relationship understood the design or plan involved by many groups of different social status. Society's involvement in machizukuri has risen significantly to 100 groups, particularly after the Kobe earthquake that destroyed their cities and neighborhoods. Most of the groups consisted oflocal land and property owners and residents with small businesses and focused on areas of urban redevelopment or rehabilitation. These machizukuri organizations were licensed under the Kobe City Machizukuri Ordinance, established by the city government in 1982, long before the disaster occurred. Kobayashi (2007) summarized that residents could play an important role as they were accustomed to the urban planning process, but there was a network of supporters. Process and innovation The concept of Machizukuri becomes an excellent example of civil society participation in urban planning, especially post-urban planning. urban redevelopment planning in the event of a disaster. Their role included shared values ​​and lifestyles presented constructively through regular meetings and consultations between community members and local planners or specialist groups. The Machizukuri process in post-disaster urban planning achieved an echo and support in the interim of the Great Hiashin Earthquake in Kobe, but was contested. The Machizukuri process of gaining recognition and authorization in post-disaster land reconstruction was not only initiated with fine-grained movements but also pressure. The initial absence of local machizukuri in the land redevelopment in the area south of Rokko-michi Station, one of the most affected areas, led the social movement to file a lawsuit against the city Planning Office. Local residents relocated at that time were shocked by the administration's original plan as harmful to their cultural and social life. As a result, a revised plan of the initial high-rise condominium redevelopment plan with large parkland was issued with specific terms. As a prerequisite, the establishment of the Machizukuri Council was required to accommodate community aspirations, which the Council subsequently became an embryo of a legitimized approach to participatory planning. This became a basis for the magnification and connection between local Machizukuri and city officials in the reconstruction plan. It aimed to improve liveability by working with local government more seamlessly within the still temporarily stuck top-down technocratic bureaucracy. In the area south of Rokko-michi station, the proposal to set aside small parks for local residents barely passed because it reduced the area-to-site ratio for tall buildings and hindered the 75 percent central subsidy. However, the machizukuri council has demonstrated its essential role in supporting community development networks through effective communication and organizing activities. Another case of Mano district, local residents, shopkeepers and local businesses were also involved in the review of the district plan. The presence of support networks was also seen as one of the factors contributing to the local Machizukuri process of providing their own innovations or ideas through intensive assistance. Collaborations with other groups and cities have led to the creation of social activities. The planners, architects, academic researchers and other specialists played the role of a bridge between machizukuri to work on an agreement with the local government with better understanding and as a catalyst to produce good material for the reconstruction plan. Specialists assisted from the creation of the basic plan to the implementation of the redevelopment, rehabilitation and revitalization project of the territory. This enabled their proposal to rebuild housing cooperatively with improved urban design and environment, to provide more housingcooperatives for low-income residents and to maintain small parks around the neighborhood for social interaction. Therefore, some improvements were made in the urban planning to maintain the characteristics of the residents and to realize the desired future disaster relief neighborhood. In Noda Hokubu district, the community was willing to reconcile with the urban planning by donating a small part of their land to 50 cm setbacks and 5 m road widening which can still be an intermediate public-private space for residents to socialize. Some urban elements were installed in public spaces that also served as safety features, such as small parks scattered in the neighborhood, a small meandering stream along the main street to increase livability and eco-neighborhood in Matsumoto District, and a community center integrated into Rokko Park. , machizukuri's process of providing their own ideas as an innovation in the post-earthquake reconstruction plan apparently contributed at a different pace, although the final plan ultimately justified their proposal. The contribution of machizukuri in Mano district has been gradual and slow in order to increase the environment and healthiness of the neighborhood as an attraction for newcomers facing the problem of population decline in the area. In comparison, the process in the area south of Rokko-michi station was more radical as the evacuated residents wanted to return to their community with a seemingly closed environment before the earthquake destroyed their neighborhood. This reflects that the urban regime in terms of Machizukuri's role in the post-disaster reconstruction plan may provide a different approach depending on the characteristics of the residents, the neighborhood and the leadership style itself. Ultimately, post-disaster long-term planning was led by the government in terms of infrastructure and infrastructure modernization. The Machizukuri group does not have enough legitimacy and power to urge local governments to develop development planning. It should be difficult to explain, from the perspective of the state-builder, the main reason why civil society groups took power at the beginning of their mandate, due to the aim of gaining the support of residents. So, from the other point of view, other political and economic actors need to obtain particular incentives to maintain their priorities in urban management. However, as a social organization, the Machizukuri group has advantages to acquire resources and support mobilization based on their specific professionalization. But conversely, it also means that social disorganization is likely to arise, due to the lack of community organizations, which could prevent individuals from conducting collective action. Even the sudden collapse of the government movement can provide a sense of community with social ties and networks, as a result, the Machizukuri group cannot maintain sufficient efforts to process the development of sustainable mechanisms for civil society-led innovation. For example, after the Kobe Earthquake, the city administration's "toshikekaku" planning responded to the disaster very quickly, as major decisions and actions for post-disaster reconnection were made quickly within a matter of weeks . At the same time, local residents of Machizukuri would advance their mobilization at a very slow pace that could take months (Bosman, 2007). Therefore, in order to establish an institutional arrangement to cooperate especially with local government institutions, the urban renewal activity would be relatively challenging for the groupMachizukuri due to this institutional constraint. Aging problem Furthermore, Kobe's declining population is one of the most challenging problems facing the region currently, which could also become one of the key challenges for developing sustainable mechanisms for civil society-led innovation in Japan. To explain, the concept of Machizukuri is a concept focused on neighborhood construction in Japan, which requires the support and participation of local residents. However, due to the decreasing local population, young families could hardly be attracted to the Machizukuri group. Therefore, the process and innovation would be difficult to process smoothly, due to the lack of technological sensitivity and acceptance among older generations. For example, urban redevelopment and urban adjustments in Kobe must meet the needs of local residents, including the Machizukuri Group. As the share of older generations is growing in Japan, new technologies and innovation implemented in urban planning are unlikely to adapt to local residents, which may lead to additional obstacles for target residents to ensure a sustainable and enjoyable life. . Therefore, considering the issue of aging, urban renewal activity would also be challenging for the Machizukuri group in civil society. Financial Constraints Lack of Budget Firstly, considering the limited government and public sector investments, Machizukuri's credibility would be reduced. To explain, in addition to traditional urban planning such as road and traffic development, Machizukuri also contains the elements of livable and sustainable developments. To achieve this goal, normal financial budgets cannot meet the expectations of Machizukuri urban planning, because sustainable urban planning would cost more than normal infrastructure development, due to the use of renewable and recyclable resources and materials. Therefore, considering the additional expenditures in urban renewal, local governments would have limited financial resources to support this urban development activity, thus leading to urban innovation that is difficult to achieve. The decline of the local economy and the shrinking of local business centers also , the decline of the local economy can represent another challenge for urban renewal activity. In detail, the contraction of "shoutenngai" in Kobe becomes critical, due to the greater influx of population in Tokyo and Osaka. Due to the reduction of local business activities, the local economy is in decline, which could result in less revenue for local businesses in the region. Therefore, the shrinking economy will result in fewer financial resources for local governments to establish the Machizukuri Group to ensure urban renewal. Furthermore, due to the limited financial resources each family possesses, it will be difficult to effectively establish the base and operate. Therefore, this problem could lead to the consequence of lack of local culture. Since the Machizukuri group relies heavily on the sustainable culture of the small urban region by its residents, less effective grassroots management would reduce the effectiveness of urban renewal. Therefore, considering the limited achievements of the government and the potential of the lack of regional cultures, the Machizukuri Group will face enormous challenges when developing urban renewal. Machizukuri's loss of motivation from local residents Finally, Machizukuri is not just about urban planning in construction. Instead, it is also strongly linked to the soft aspects ofurban development, which go beyond the development of physical infrastructure. In other words, to successfully achieve the development of Machizukuri, local residents' continuous motivations and interests in urban renewal should also be achieved, which requires their passion for volunteer activities and monetary donations. Based on this problem, the improvement of the particular area should involve the emotions and appreciations of local residents during the process, which supports the characteristic modeling activity of the Machizukuri group. Therefore, it is concluded that during the innovation process of urban renewal there is not only the physical financial constraint, but also the soft financial constraint. Communication and coordination This section will discuss the communication and coordination challenges by examining the community experience, integrated approach, community network and urban design. Experience is considered an important aspect in disaster risk reduction. Previous experience in the community of Mano, Kobe, dealing with pollution issues makes them more recognized on the machizukuri board. Meanwhile, the less experienced community is not recognized as having a good perception of urban planning. Therefore, flexibility and reliability are essential in machizukuri practice. Furthermore, neighborhood or local community initiatives do not always lead to more integrated approaches within local administration or government because some of them may be ignored. The balance between respect and responsibility between community and government should be maintained. If not, the community may seek another way to improve the liveability of their local environment through courts or informal mechanisms. Therefore, it is crucial to maintain good communication and coordination in a community. Regarding the availability of the community network, communication and coordination also play an essential role. Through machizukuri activity most residents knew where to seek immediate advice or help at the time of disaster compared to another area that did not incorporate machizukuri activity. Furthermore, the lessons of the Mano community also reinforce the importance of an active civil society. There is evidence that employing democratic, bottom-up and collective knowledge-based approaches could increase social cohesion, responsiveness and networking through good communication. If the community network is not well established, it may hinder disaster mitigation. It is therefore crucial to promote the integration of a machizukuri-like approach into the neighborhood to reduce disaster risk. The community where they have wide streets and divided neighborhoods can result in limited communication at the time of disaster. In relation to these problems, Mamula-seadon, Kobayashi, and Maki (2015) mention some cases of machizukuri that to recreate the lifestyle where neighbors meet easily, citizens propose small parks scattered in the neighborhood rather than single large parks. This case reinforces the potential of an interconnected society where neighbors can quickly meet in parks and improve social cohesion which is very important in the event of a disaster. What has changed since the Kobe earthquake? In the case of The Great East After the earthquake in Japan, the top-down approach was still dominated, but here the role of local government was sought to understand and strongly embrace community involvement in disaster relief. catastrophe. Therefore, the local government signed an agreement with the universities as a community facilitator. The application of Machizukuri following the Kobe earthquake has become a model,.