DESIGNING A LIVING FOR CULTURAL RESOURCE-BASED REGIONAL REINVIGORATION : Sustainability and Assessment in Isumi City, Chiba Prefecture

Abstract

When designing a living aims to enhance regional values through the employment of cultural resources and local indigenous resources (i.e., the local population, environment etc.), its sustainability should not be assessed in economic terms. Rather, it should be assessed through various social perspectives and reviewed from various macro perspectives as well as from micro design functions, which are closely related to cultural elements. Besides these perspectives, the nature and magnitude of the design goal should be integral criteria in the critical assessment of the rationality of the proposed "designing a living" program. The Integrated Design Engineering Project (IDEP) 2010 implemented by Chiba University in Isumi, Chiba Prefecture intends to show that the living conditions of a particular locale or region can be improved through the activation of positive social linkages and exchanges within the local population. This paper analyzes the sustainability of this idea from three dimensions and lays down specific evaluation guidelines. Evaluation for designing a living is a critical activity and is an integral function of hometown designers in their task of reinvigorating specific places. Learning the various features of evaluation is an indispensable skill that should be nurtured by a hometown designer.