Creating a Sustainable Future Based on the Woodlands School Project: Implementing Commons Design in the Great Earthquake Reconstruction Efforts

Abstract

In the Tohoku region, regional industries have been developed based on the natural environment. However, progress due to modernization has resulted in population concentrations in large cities and few residents in local cities. It was under these circumstances that the Great East Japan Earthquake caused devastating damage to the coastal areas of the Tohoku region. Now that 10 years have passed since the Great East Japan Earthquake, Japan should move beyond reconstruction to create a future for the Tohoku region using “Commons Design.” In this paper, I describe the Commons Design process used in the “Woodlands School Project” in Higashi-Matsushima City, a project which demonstrated respect for nature and a basic concept for designing a sustainable community.