2007 Volume 53 Issue 2 Pages 173-197
This study aims to clarify the direction of the renovation of the central commercial street in a small and medium local city using. Imabari City, Ehime Prefecture as a case study. It focuses especially on Imabari shoutengai okamisankai, a women's group comprising female store managers from the central shopping street of Imabari City and the wives of male managers, who are all affected by the decline of the central commercial street in Imabari City. The central commercial street in Imabari City was prosperous during the era of high-speed economic growth due to a boom in the shipbuilding and textile industries. But since the latter half of the 1990s, after deregulation of the large-scale retail store act, it has been in decline due to the opening of large scale commercial accumulations in the suburban area and opening the Shimanami-Kaido Line to traffic. The Imabari Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Imabari City Office and Cooperative Association of the Central Commercial Street of Imabari City had planned a variety of renovations to the central commercial street such as the large-scale redevelopment and effective utilization of vacant stores, but most of them broke down. Planned renovations for the central commercial street of Imabari City went nowhere. Under such circumstances, Imabari shoutengai okamisankai was founded in November of 2000 with support from Imarari City Office, which knew about the planned renovation of the central commercial street by women working in Matsuyama City. Imabari shoutengai okamisankai is independent from any of the existing organizations of the central commercial street. It engages in news-worthy joint ventures such as holding of the event and decoration of the street. Therefore, Imabari shoutengai okamisankai is recognized as an organization that contributes to the renovation of the central commercial street. But the operation of it is difficult because Imabari City Office cut the subsidy and there are fewer and fewer membership stores. From the case of Imabari City, it is clear that it is important for volunteer organizations without existing frameworks to renovate the central commercial street in small and middle sized local cities that are facing a continued and ongoing decline in commercial activities. That sustainable renovation can be based on the premise that commercial activity will be scaled down.
