2021 Volume 16 Issue 1 Pages 15-32
This study examined the role of public-private partnerships (PPPs) for city center revitalization in provincial cities, especially from the viewpoint of fiscal resources and policy goals of local government. In Japan, provincial cities have rarely implemented PPP schemes for city center revitalization because of their low profitability and the lack of participating firms. However, the city of Fujieda in Shizuoka prefecture has adopted a pioneering PPP scheme using idle publicly-owned land to build a composite facility consisting of a municipal library and shopping mall. The composite facility has played a key role in rejuvenating the city center. In this context, the municipal government played important roles in three areas: (1) following a consistent local policy in utilizing publicly-owned land; (2) intensive national policy information gathering through vertical intergovernmental relations such as subsidies and support measures; and (3) policy development and implementation promoting private investment and the public interests. On the other hand, the results also suggest that the facilities developed under through PPPs may be excessive in provincial cities in light of vacancies in them and additional cost burdens on municipal governments.
