Land Use Transformation and Place-Making after Resettlement in the Disaster Hazard Area of the Great East Japan Earthquake

Abstract

This study clarified the process of land use transformation and post-disaster placemaking in the disaster hazardous zones and the factors that contribute to placemaking. In the Arahama area of Sendai City, where the case study was conducted, we found that diverse stakeholders gave new meaning to the former residential area and involved the surrounding community through various activities and innovations, resulting in the revitalization of the area as a "place. The study pointed out that former residential areas can be revitalized as new "places" not only through the process of conventional reconstruction planning but also through the process in which each party creates a "place" and the area is composed of a bundle of meanings added by various entities.