Formation of Multi-habitat for a Sustainable City1.Introduction-Participatory Process-oriented Planning

Prof. Toshinobu FUJII Faculty of Regional Development Studies

Toyo University

Another way of planning

• Needs of residents → housing →public facilities/infrastructure• In a search for another way of

planning, the lesson on Asian cities is not necessarily unscientific,

• because these cities have possibilities to construct multi-habitat systems as strategic developments.

Mixed Land Use and Multi-habitat• MLU accompanies usually with diversified

livings as one type of multi-habitat

• In Asian Mega-cities, there are mixed land use (MLU) areas expanded mainly in inner city between CBD and residential suburbs.

• MLU areas have been left sustainable without any special planning, or have changed autonomously being influenced by the socio-economic change of a whole city.

Mixed Land Use and Multi-habit• Considering the quality of urban life

formed historically in the MLU area, and realizing these areas are left largely in the built-up areas in Asian-cities, the new concept of multi-habitat have to be established as a strategic planning.

• Since the currency of globalization has made economic growth to Asian Mega-cities, disparities between rich and poor have become widen, subdivided communities has weaken traditional welfare system to leave individual activities.

An Image of Multi-habitat

An image of Multi-habit

Urban Area and Mixed Land Use (MLU)

area • Spatial expansion of urban areas has enlarged to both sides of CBD and suburbs from the MLU areas, which had once occupied most areas in traditional commercial cities.

• Up until now, the MLU area has been left sustainable with a spontaneous improvement that residents have took on their initiatives, usually in cooperation with a historical and cultural code of the district.

Multi-habitat　 expansion of urban areas and mixed land use areas

Two types of urban form

A type of urban form B type of urban form

Mixed land use (interactive) Zoning (division and connection)

Autonomic organization Network organization

Human scale Machine scale

Sustainable environment Segregational environment

Community- based society Associational society

Heterogeneous life style Homogeneous life style

Traditional origin Modern origin

SOHO/Workplace adjacent to home Traffic congestion/long distance commuting

Rebuilding Mixed Land Use (MLU) area • The formation of appropriate MLU area will

be promoted by encouraging the dispersing of business facilities to residential areas especially along roadsides, or constructing housings into CBD, making use of characteristic of the built-in MLU areas.

• Multi-habitat allows residents first to have better opportunities to obtain jobs in nearby areas, and second to keep communities with sustainability based on their cooperative relationship.

Rebuilding Mixed Land Use (MLU) area • It also could make it possible for people to

communicate with each other and get information directly, since it has formed a certain order of urban activities for residents to live together in a long time.

• In other point of view, multi-habit has possibilities also for establishing new urban life styles such as the ways of SOHO in MLU areas.

MLU areas in Tokyo Metropolitan• Between the central area and the residential

suburbs, the most of inner areas of MLU have been left, since the demand for redevelopment has presented in these areas.

• MLU areas have been located usually in a density-inhabited and built-up area, where the condition of physical environment is not as much as a recommended level.

• Living in rather a shabby environment, residents have organized committees for social activities and human relationships among residents have kept on well for they have lived in long time.

MLU areas in Tokyo Metropolitan• These areas are so-called the inner-city areas which has been defined by western sociologists as the transition zone (Burgess 1935) where socio-economic and environmental problems are pointed out intensively and to be changed to specific land use areas by development.

• Looking in Tokyo, these areas seem to be different from the ones of the western cities because many of the residents have jobs in diversified workplaces adjacent to their home, and some autonomous social systems are carried out in the areas, which are the same as of the Asian Mega-cities.

Community Development to Sustainable Multi-habitat• Multi-habitat in communities would be a

key concept for realizing a sustainable living environment.

• Because it has a possibility to absorb in a development impact within its capacity, small-scale industries, people’s incentive and process-oriented ways of living are found in the communities.

Multi-habitat land use of inner city areas

Case of Kyojima

• In Kyojima the eastern areas of inner Tokyo, congestion (300persons/ha), dilapidated housings and shortage of community facilities have been one of subjects to be solved under the pressure of relocation and redevelopment for building business offices or high-rise housings to catch up with the rising land prices owing to economic growth.

• They have wanted to stay home with acceptances of improvements and rehabilitation. The organized committee has started to implement the project how they live safety in the areas.

Multi-habitat housings and a lane in Kyojima

Multi-habitat land use of Kyojima

Multi-habitat transition of mixed land use in Kyojima

Case of Kyojima

• Establishing a healthy and comfortable living environment,

• Keeping a certain balance and closer proximity between workplace and housing,

• Securing a safety environment from disasters.

Multi-habitat congestion of housings in Kyojima

Case of Kyojima

• They carried the strategies supported by the consultant as follows;

• a) Planning the district into 5 zones considering improvement of land use.

• b) Reconstructing community roads based on the former utilization.

• c) Rebuilding dilapidated housings and unifying narrow lots to build cooperative housings.

• d) Building community facilities.

Multi-habitat the plan of Kyojima

Multi-habitat improvement of the project

Multi-habitat extension of road with housing in cooperation

Multi-habitat cooperative housing for rent

Case of Kyojima

• The Kyojima story suggests that the participatory improvement on the partnership between an administration and a community can rebuild their physical environment and keep on their lives with multi-habitat.

Region Type of multi-habitation Development Policies Mega-City Linkage between cities(centers) and

villages to form a discontinuous unity

Decentralization Comprehensive control Conservation of natural sources Utilization of urban stocks

Urban Area Rebuilding MLU areas Networking of communities

Sustainable and endogenous development Socio-economic development involving informal sector Formation of ethnic society

Community Networking of communities Community development

Participatory Process-oriented Planning Community Based Development

Conclusion• the living way of multi-habitat based

on both a community that aims at reconstructing a proximity to diversified workspaces, developing of small scale industries, holding a cultural complexity and securing environment for human development, should be plugged in the layer of built-in urban areas, and able to keep sustainable community lives with their initiatives.

open space in a community Thank you