A Study of the process of Community Participation in the Initial Stage of Reconstruction from Disaster

A case Study of Recovery Process from Tsunami Disaster in Ishinomaki City

Abstract

On March 11th, 2012, an earthquake of magnitude Mw 9.0 (the Great East Japan Earthquake) occurred off the Pacific coast of Tohoku region, Japan, and resulted in unprecedented damage to the coastal areas around Tohoku region. This paper aims to clarify the process which the residents participate the public decision-making of their own accord in the initial stage of reconstruction. As conclusions, the authors point out that the presence of "Sprout of Community Development" in the disaster at the time and parallel operating of both the field of information sharing and consensus building lead Community Participation. It means that it is important to form Sprout of Community Development in normal period supposing a large-scale disaster. Furthermore, it cleared that the roles of each actor in this process.