Since the Japanese government spent $300 billion rebuilding Okushiri after a 1993 tsunami, things have taken a grim, ironic turn: with high-paying construction jobs leaving, so are young people who no longer wish to be part of a fishing economy.
"'We didn't use more of that reconstruction money to invest in new industries to keep young people,' said Takami Shinmura, 58, the mayor of Okushiri's sole township, which bears the same name. 'We regret this now.'
Since the tsunami in March, hundreds of officials from local governments in the affected areas, as well as the national news media, have descended on Okushiri, an island about twice the size of Manhattan, to seek lessons from its reconstruction."
FULL STORY: In Japan, a Rebuilt Island Serves as a Cautionary Tale
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Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
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Smith Gee Studio
Alamo Area Metropolitan Planning Organization
City of Santa Clarita
Institute for Housing and Urban Development Studies (IHS)
City of Grandview
Harvard GSD Executive Education
Toledo-Lucas County Plan Commissions
Salt Lake City
NYU Wagner Graduate School of Public Service