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A Study of Community-Centered Social Infrastructure Improvement
summary
Japan's population is expected to peak soon and decline
thereafter. Japanese society is entering an era of fewer children and
more aged people. We need to prepare our economic systems to match a more
mature society of the future. We will not be able to invest so much in
public works projects and will therefore need to find more efficient and
effective ways of social infrastructure improvement.
This study focuses on four bridges that have been in use for over 70 years,
have been designated civil engineering heritage, and are local symbols
and integral components of the local landscape. These bridges (the Eitai-bashi
and Kiyosu-bashi over Tokyo's Sumida River and the Oe-bashi and Yodoya-bashi
across Nakanoshima Island in Osaka) offer us valuable lessons for future
community-centered social infrastructure improvement when we examine how
they were planned and how they were built.
Eitai-bashi and Kiyosu-bashi were built after the catastrophic Great Kanto
Earthquake of 1923 based on Tokyo's capital recovery plan. Oe-bashi and
Yodoya-bashi were built in the early 1930s by Osaka's first city planning
project as the city rapidly urbanized. They were all built during a period
of great social and economic changes which triggered new and bold city
planning.
Both projects were initiated by strong leaders: Shinpei Goto (a cabinet
minister of the Department of the Interior) and Enzo Ota (the head of
the Civil Engineering Department, Tokyo Municipal Government) in Tokyo,
and Hajime Seki (the Mayor of Osaka City) and Goichi Takeda(an architect
and professor of Kyoto University). The building of the bridges was given
priority within the overall context of the recovery (Tokyo) and development
(Osaka) project. Eitai-bashi and Kiyosu-bashi were given priority as symbols
of the recovering capital and the nation's advancement in bridge-building
technology. Oe-bashi and Yodoya-bashi were expected to represent the "water
city" of Osaka.
Based on clear principles and decisive decisions, the design of the bridges
progressed by exceptional planning teams. It is particularly noteworthy
that the planners paid attention to multiple functions of social infrastructure
at a time when society was in difficulty, both financially and socially,
and considered bridges important elements of urban beauty.
The bridges are still functioning as they were originally designed 70
years onwards. They are valued not only by artists and scholars, but by
ordinary people for their good design, harmony with the surrounding environment,
history, accessibility and familiarity and are regarded as important urban
landmarks.
The findings of this survey demonstrate that clear principles and decisions
should be reached, and exceptional planning teams who are both accountable
and responsible for project execution should be ensured.
The article also notes that future social infrastructure improvement should
take into account not only the buildings or structures or projects themselves,
but also the surrounding environment. We should pay more attention to
both historical and spatial aspects <too vague> of social infrastructure
so that it can offer more diversified and advanced services.
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