Ota Naotaka

There is a lot of interest in the way cities plan for high-rise buildings around the world. Using the city of Frankfurt as a case study in western Europa, this paper clarifies the historical development process of the skyscraper city and the mechanisms of the “High-Rise Development Plan 2024 (HHEP2024)”. Based on interview surveys in Frankfurt in 2023 and 2024, as well as comprehensive literature surveys, the following three points were clarified. 1) The path to the skyscraper city was not a straight line, but it was formed in stages. 2) Based on HHEP 2024, the high-rise building district will undergo significant changes based on culture and green spaces. 3) HHEP 2024 clearly positions non-statutory plans as preparatory plans for statutory plans.

In recent years, high-rise residential buildings have been constructed in large cities around the world. This study clarifies the current status and issues of urban planning responses to high-rise residential development projects in Germany. A survey of real estate market trends and interviews with administrative officials in Berlin and Frankfurt in July 2023 revealed the following three points: 1) urban planning plays a major role in high-rise residential development projects; 2) it is not easy to structure projects that maintain social equity in urban centers; 3) in Germany urban residence and high-rise housing are not synonymous. This study is only a preparatory survey, and further detailed research is required.

Compact, mixed-use urban structures are understood to lead to sustainable urban development and they are mainstream in contemporary urban planning both domestically and internationally. This study clarifies this trend in other countries through the revision of the German Land Use Ordinance (BauNVO). A comprehensive literature review revealed the following four points: 1) Even in Germany, there is a gap between the ideal and reality of urban planning, and there is much trial and error and debate in institutional design; 2) Currently, there is steady progress in expanding the permissibility of building uses and relaxing building density; 3) The mix of uses in rural spaces faces different challenges from those in urban spaces; 4) Political leadership is essential to realize the principles of the Leipzig Charter.

The purpose of this study is to clarify the characteristics of districts where the decrease rate of residential households are high and the timing when these rates increase. Therefore, we categorized the districts of Himeji City using statistic data available to the local government. Moreover, we predicted the timing when residential households decrease in each district. As a result of these analysis, the districts in Himeji city are classified into 12 types and the pattens of decreasing residential households are classified into 4 types. In addition, the rate of decreasing residential households in commercial districts and industrial districts tend to be different from the rate in residential districts. Furthermore, the rate of decreasing residential households tend to be relatively slow in districts where vacant houses are likely to be redistributed into the market.

For future city planning incorporating historical and symbolic remains, the former Berlin Wall site is worth investigating. The purpose of this research is to explore the present situation regarding the use of the remains of the Berlin Wall, focusing on Checkpoint Charlie (CpC). Through comprehensive document research on the planning process and consensus building after the fall of the Berlin Wall, we found: 1) Similar to other urban development projects in Berlin, CpC is subject to intensive public participation. 2) Even today, more than 30 years after the fall of the Wall, no specific projects have been realized at CpC. 3) CpC reflects the difficulty of interpreting Berlin’s history and the uncertainty of plan realization. 4) Statutory city planning is instrumental in ensuring publicness and promoting consensus building.

The purpose of this study is to clarify the policy trends in public parks in Berlin after the reunification, using the Park am Gleisdreieck as a case study. A comprehensive literature review, field research and interview surveys revealed the following three points: 1) In Berlin, the quantitative and qualitative enhancement of the public park was planned and implemented in stages. 2) In the Park am Gleisdreieck, continuous public participation and public sector collaboration have led to the environmental protection and multiple uses for diverse generations. 3) Even if it can be understood that the public sector is proactively involved in the development and management of public parks in Berlin, the context and idea is still unclear.

This study looks at Germany as a preparatory investigation for full-fledged international comparative research on urban planners and urban planning education. It analyzes current conditions using data from the Federal Chamber of German Architects and universities, and presents a literature survey. In Germany, urban planners and urban planning education differ from the traditional field of architects (architecture). They are still a minority developing independence, as in Japan. Understanding urban planners, urban planning education, and trends in individual cases in Germany—based on clarification of similarities such as the balance of interdisciplinarity and specialization, and differences such as the qualification system—will likely provide many hints for Japan, and it is expected there will be continuing investigations going forward.

<p>Community gardens are regarded as multifunctional spaces that can mitigate social problems; however, there are difficulties in the stability of their management and municipal support is needed. This study demonstrates how the Social City Programme of Berlin supports community gardens as a tool of residential environment improvement. Interviews with relevant actors revealed that the programme supported community gardens through district management in selected areas with challenges in the social structure. Concretely, the district management offices provide subsidies for initial or intermediate costs to garden projects and collaborate with nonprofit organizations and companies which play a role as garden coordinator. In conclusion, the programme helps both new and existing garden projects in terms of financial support and networking.</p>

This research is designed to shed light on the compatibility of urban planning approaches with inner-city gentrification and on the challenges involved, a common urban planning topic among large cities in Japan in the 21st century. Examination of the Federal Building Code Article 172 (Hamburg, Germany) reveals that 1) negative impacts could be avoided by designing an appropriate system according to urban planning in gentrifying areas, 2) supplemental measures such as housing programs are needed since urban planning alone cannot address gentrification, and 3) preventive measures are effective in addressing gentrification while administrative organization's strategic mindset and cross sectoral organization are needed.

The objective of this research is to elucidate the REGIONALE, which is a limited-time, project-based, informal Regional Development in the German state of NRW, and its current status. Based on literature reviews and interviews, we identified the following. 1) Similarities and differences between REGIONALE and IBA Emscherpark result from the legacy of IBA Emscherpark and strategic thinking of the state government. 2) REGIONALE supplements statutory plans, and actual results show a role of connection between ideas and planning. 3) REGIONALE employs an agency support system that covers everything from project certification to realization based on transparent certification standards and categorization. 4) Although innovative, it faces issues such as difficult long-term continuity and problems involving private sector coordination, evaluation , and the like.

In order to identify effective measures to reduce residential burglary, we conducted exploratory spatial analysis and negative binomial regression analysis using official crime records in five cities, Mito, Tsuchiura, Hitachinaka, Tsukuba and Hitachi in Ibaraki prefecture between 2007 and 2012. We identified relationship between residential burglary and the characteristics of neighborhoods considering the difference of the way of break-in. The important results are as follows; 1) Although the main factors which were identified by our analyses were almost the same from those were pointed out by previous studies conducted in Tokyo, focusing on residential burglary to non-locked houses, some rural areas which contain both urban and rural characteristics had high victim rate of residential burglary.

This study aims to make clear factors promoting the recovery progress in the tourist industry in Oarai Town, Ibaraki where its recovery has been achieved earlier than other suffered areas by the East Japan Earthquake. Accommodation facilities were chosen as representative of the tourist industry of the town. The effectiveness of measures for recovery of the facilities is evaluated based on quantitative data through our questionnaire survey designed according to the result from preliminary interviews to managers of the facilities. We found that three factors contributed to the recovery in accommodation industry: firstly, tourist industry’s participation in pre-earthquake conventional events, sedondly, post-earthquake production of an Anime TV program which made the town a stage, and lastly, measures precisely aiming to regain the number of visiting tourists.

The Great East Japan Earthquake caused widespread liquefaction damage and the Japanese national government established the restoration project for liquefaction damage, as one of the earthquake reconstruction projects in November 2011. The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the performance of the projects. We conducted the interview researches to all the 12 municipalities which consider the implementation of the projects. The results of this paper are as follows; this new project will be meaningful since it enables the solutions to public infrastructure and private land altogether. However, public sectors did not have any experiences to implement the project and then every municipality had difficulties in consensus building. In particular, it is difficult for residents to understand the risk of liquefaction precisely, or to choose the right soft-ground stabilization methods, or to evaluate the cost and benefit of the projects, all of which are unique to the liquefaction issue.

This study aims to identify essential features and issues of small-scale comparative urban monitoring in Germany (German: Stadtmonitoring). The analysis is based on a comprehensive literature review, interviews in four large German cities (Berlin, Hamburg, Munich, and Cologne), and a case study in Hamburg as an advanced case. The main findings are as follows: 1) In the face of growing socio-spatial differentiation and the unequal distribution of some social groups, small-scale comparative urban monitoring is now required in large German cities. 2) An understanding of the methodological constraints and importance of communication in civil society and municipal governments is necessary for effective policies.

In order to evaluate tsunami evacuation risk in Kamisu city, we conducted questionnaire survey on all households belonged to neighborhood associations in the city and spatial analyses using the data of submergences by the level 2 tsunami which was supposed by Ibaraki prefectural authorities. Based on the survey data, the citizens' characteristics of tsunami evacuation action were grasped. And, by using GIS, evacuation routes that might be wholly or partly inundated were identified to measure distances of the sections. Then, we estimated time series transition of a number of evacuees who had not escaped from the submerged area, and examined the effects by improving percentages of evacuation and immediately start and evacuation routes.

In order to comprehensively understand princepal factors to promote activities of voluntary organization for disaster prevention, we condurcted several interviews with leaders of them and officers of fire stations in tokyo metroporitan area. Focused on substantiation and durability of the activities, we extracted important factors from their comments, and structurized them by applying the KJ method. through the consideration, we pointed out that for encouraging the voluntary disaster prevention activities, it was important to cope with the activities as lifelong learning and to let women and the youth participate the organization, and so on.

The purpose of this study is to find essential features and issues of "Urban development grants (German: Städtebauförderung)" for the urban regeneration in Germany after the reunification. The analysis is based on the comprehensive literature review and interviews in Germany. Main findings are as follows. 1) Since 1971 the Federal Government and Federal States have been providing financial support for urban regeneration. This support was to strengthen the function of the cities as living and economic locations in former East Germany. 2) The system of Urban development grants are facing the new challenges. It is difficult to find a balance between total fairness as a part of National Urban Development Policy and the need for continuous comprehensive support in urban area with structural problems.

In order to develop a method to assess tsunami evacuation risk, we conducted questionnaire survey on all households belonged to neighborhood associations in Kamisu city and spatial analyses using the data of submergences by the level 2 tsunami which was supposed by Ibaraki prefectural authorities. Based on the survey data, the citizens' characteristics of tsunami evacuation action were grasped. And, by using GIS, evacuation routes that might be wholly or partly inundated were identified and the distances of the sections were measured. Then, we estimated time series transition of a number of evacuees who had not escaped from the submerged area. Finally, we examined the effects by improving percentages of evacuation and immediately start and evacuation routes.

The purpose of this research is to find knowledge for residents to understand a tsunami hazard map for the selfhelp support by themselves. This research examines relationship between an understanding of the information about a tsunami hazard map and the intention of evacuaton from tsunami. A questionnaire was performed for residents in Kamisu-city, Ibaraki Pref., where there is brittleness to tsunami. As a result, the uncertainty of the disaster is understood, however there is a tendency which the image of the disaster is hard to be understood. Moreover, it urges safe evacuation to an understanding of a tsunami hazard map.

In order to clarify Sea Bathers’ intention of Evacuation Action from Tsunami, we conducted hearing survey on visitors to Oarai Sun Beach, in Oarai town, Ibaraki prefecture. Based on the obtained data, at first, we grasped the respondents’ lead time, direction, means of moving, and routes to evacuate in the case of that Tsunami was coming to the beach, and analyzed correlation between these results and some factors. Next, we estimated passage rates of the evacuees over each road links around the beach. Then, we found that the respondents’ choises of evacuation direction and routes were unevenly, and so on.

The purpose of this paper is to consider the trend of urban planning in Berlin after World War II. Berlin was called the Laboratory of urban planning in the divided time, and many experimental projects were realized for the center-rebuilding. The analysis is based on the historical and comparative approaches between East and West. The main findings are as follows. 1) Modern Planning from postwar days to the first half of the 1970s led to the opening of the city in both areas. 2) Post-modern planning since the latter half of the 1970s was realized as quite different results between East and West in terms of both the background and practices. While the historical urban restructuring was achieved through IBA Berlin in West-Berlin, in the east side only signs of changing began to appear. This historical background must be an important issue in Berlin after reunification.

This paper aims to investigate the characteristics of the "Socially Integrative City" program (So=iale Stadt in German) in Erfurt as a city of former East Germany. Soziale Stadt was established as a joint program of the federation and the states in 1999. Its purpose was to vitalize local community at district level by building partnership among local governments and citizen and fostering citizen's initiatives. The program integrated physical, economic, social and cultural measures.<BR>The paper studies the case of Magdeburger, an inner city district in Erfurt. Interviews to district managers and other key persons, observations of meetings, and reviews of public documents were carried out from October 2004 to March 2005 and September 2005.<BR>The main findings are as follows. 1) There are some basically differences in the precondition (ex. scale of city, social and economical condition) between East and West Germany. 2) The maintenance of the physical environment and the organization of the inhabitant are regarded as one good result. 3) The participation has some problems such as a representation and commission of the citizen association, which was established in this program. However, continuous investigations on the effect and problem of the program are necessary.