2016 Volume 3 Pages 203-221
This study is aimed at clarifying how Kobe City, Japan’s pioneering city in the field of disaster preparedness, has worked to establish water and greenery networks in an advanced approach. It examines how the function of water and greenery networks has changed over time depending on the needs of the times and what strategies have been taken to improve certain areas. The study covers the “Master Plan for Parks and Open Spaces” that was drawn up in 1985, the “Green Basic Plan 2000” that was formulated after the Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake in 1995, and the recently-revised “Green Basic Plan 2011”.
The result showed that at the regional level, only the 2000 plan drawn up after the 1995 disaster dealt with water and greenery networks from a wide perspective covering the entire region. At the area level, the urban area has grown into a densely populated area, despite having undergone the natural disasters. The urban area was devastated by the 1995 Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake that occurred directly underneath. In each plan, therefore, concrete planning and strategies were described regarding networking elements, their locations, and connecting methods. The 2000 plan was the first to have indicated the disaster prevention green axes systematically from the viewpoint of urban disaster prevention for the urban area and its vicinities. The 2011 plan provided concrete strategies for the disaster prevention green axes that were systematized in the 2000 plan, in consideration of their unique features.
