Ota Naotaka

The importance of self-help and mutual aid is growing due to the increasing severity and frequency of large-scale disasters. District disaster prevention plans are a resident-centered institutional mechanism for the purpose of improving local disaster preparedness. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the current status of disaster reduction planning in Kobe City 30 years after the Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake through interviews and a literature review. As a result, it became clear that there are disparities in the current status of disaster reduction planning in Kobe City among regions, depending on whether they have experienced the disaster or not, and on the structure of their residents. Based on these results, it is necessary to create a new mechanism for community-driven disaster reduction and to promote cooperation with other entities, in accordance with the actual conditions of each community.

Recently, the preservation and utilization of cultural properties have been actively discussed, and unique venues (UV) are attracting attention as a new way to utilize cultural properties. In this report, we take up the “UV HIMEJI Plan” as a case study to investigate the concept of the “UV HIMEJI Plan” and its current achievements and issues. As a result, it was found that the current plan is a system that allows the use of the site without damaging the value of the World Cultural Heritage site. However, the number of users is low, and there is a risk that an increase in the number of users will cause a loss of the dignity of the World Cultural Heritage and the special feeling required for UV. So, it is necessary to consider what kind of content to select in the future.

The scope for discretionary judgment by local governments is expanding in urban planning administration, and there is a growing need for unique initiatives and judgment criteria. This paper focuses on the location designation and planning standards for high-rise buildings in Ibaraki City, Osaka Prefecture. Through a comprehensive literature review and interviews conducted in February 2025, the following three points were identified: 1) Ibaraki City's approach is unique and comparable to cases in Germany. 2) Despite the advanced nature of the system, its implementation is minimal. 3) A comparative study with municipalities having similar location characteristics is necessary.