Abstract
This paper introduces a long-term recovery process of Kizawa village hard hit by the 2004 Niigata-Chuetsu earthquake by paying special attention to local autonomy evidenced by survivors’ evaluations. We classify the 15-year disaster recovery process into four periods named as “livelihood rehabilitation”, “empowerment”, “problem-solving” and “reorganization” and describe how the survivors tried to work collaboratively with outside supporters. We also show results of a process evaluation method for community life improvement and illustrate how the local people of the Kizawa village evaluated their recovery processes from their perspectives. Finally, we discuss the importance of tracing a long-term disaster recovery process and evaluating if endogenous initiatives were formulated and how these could change local community.
