Recent revision of laws related to urban green space and city planning enabled more active use of green space. The trigger of this revision was the close deadline of right-to-sell of productive green land. The role of green space in urbanization promotion areas (except for urban parks) was revised, shifting from “what is left waiting for urbanization” to “what should be maintained”. The recent revision makes it possible to maintain the green space and actively use the space for public purposes. But further reform should be made to strengthen urban planning tool to readjust location of vacant space and establish more concrete ideal image of suburbs. Introduction of dynamic planning tools is recommended to deal with urban space management.

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Under the free trade land market with no regulation of land use conversion, there would be not so much difference between land prices of residential lots and agricultural lots, so as to real estate property tax. This is impartial, however, farmland cannot be maintained if the property tax payment, which is same amount as housing lots, exceeds the agricultural income. This paper reveals the fact that the regulation of land use conversion on farmland must be needed in order to separate the land market between residential lots and agricultural lots in the same area and to reduce the property tax of farmland, if we intend to maintain the mingled land use situation with housing and farmland in urbanized location, which is the purpose of newly established “Garden Residential Zone”.

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The times have changed. Farmland in urbanization becomes to be an indispensable and necessary element on city planning system in population declining era although it used to be a land that should be diverted to residential land under high economic growth period. The essence of land use behavior of urban farm household is to perpetuate as farming family and hold farmland to the descendants from a long-term perspective. They have not sold and developed their farmland to maximize profit for their own from a short-term point of view. It is the reason why farmland has persisted in city even though under heavy taxes especially inheritance tax. Such a behavioral principle of urban farm household has changed too. They have inheritor of property but cannot keep successor who engage farming, which will induce them to divert farmland to residential land, they cannot but accept request for farmland division from other hires based on civil code and loose farmland rapidly. It must be hard to maintain farmland in urbanization area in future. Local governments will have to buy farmland in city to keep green spaces with much public functions nevertheless budget constraints.

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At the current status, decrease of farmers and increase of abandoned fields are the major issues of agricultural industry in Japan. Under the situation, the important thing is finding new ways of utilizing lands. One of them is the commercially using non-farmland for agricultural purpose in urban areas, not only to maintain and preserve limited farmlands in urban areas. This paper introduces cases of a private enterprise, creating innovative agricultural services based on the needs of urban citizens and farmland holders.

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In the Kawasaki Port Plan revised in November 2014, as an environment exchange function where Kawasaki Port is responsible, in order to create a pleasant harbor environment, we have set out a policy to create an open hydrophilic space where citizens and others can familiarize the sea. Based on this policy, as future guidelines for the green area of harbor aiming to provide a place to rest and relief for citizens and people working at the port, we formulated the “Kawasaki Port Greening Basic Plan” in 2016 September.

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This paper explains the process of introducing the Green Zoning System in Nagoya city. Next , we report the regulation contents and results of the Green Zoning System. Finally, I will report the response to Law Revision.

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