Ota Naotaka

Public spaces in Japanese urban policy have traditionally been understood as places for promoting community interaction. However, there is likely a certain level of demand for places without assuming being with others, as reflected in the popularity of terms such as “solo activities”. This study conducted behavioral observations of solo users in KOBE EAST PARK and revealed that the spatial distribution and behavior of “Solo Use”. The results showed that solo users tended to stay longer and behave in a wider variety of activities when using furniture that allowed for social distancing and staying in shaded areas.

Urban forestry (UF), which manages urban trees and green spaces as part of an integrated ecosystem with surrounding forests, has been widely implemented in response to diverse urban policy challenges. However, no Japanese cities have yet adopted UF as a core urban planning strategy, making its implementation increasingly urgent. This study evaluates Kobe City’s “Kobe: The Future Forest City” initiative from a UF perspective, based on a literature review and interviews. The results show that while two investigated projects reflect UF perspectives especially in multi-sector participations, they do not function as an integrated framework among diverse sectors and regions. Therefore, Kobe should adopt UF as a guiding concept to promote cross-sectoral coordination and gradual functional integration.

In recent years, while floods and landslides have become more frequent due to climate change and urbanization, regional vulnerability has increased due to population decline and aging. Against this backdrop, the importance of “disaster-resilient community development”—which comprehensively improves living environments from a disaster prevention perspective—has grown.This paper aims to propose scenarios for creating safe and secure urban spaces by examining Kitakyushu City, which integrates disaster prevention with urban restructuring, through literature review and interview research. The findings suggest that district disaster prevention plans should be positioned as a process for accumulating local risk awareness. By gradually connecting this process to land use conversion through urban planning, safe and secure urban spaces can be created.