A worldwide introduction of renewable energy has been required to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Concomitantly, this has caused conflict between renewable energy development and local communities over landscape changes. This study aims to clarify the factors of conflict and find a way of conflict management. A case study on Japan is used, where a solar rush occurred due to the feed-in tariff (FIT) system. We analyze the public reasons to worry about renewable energy and the spatial characteristics of its locations. A socio-spatial approach is used by first utilizing a qualitative survey based on questionnaires and interviews with the local governments to understand the awareness regarding the issues, and then utilizing a quantitative survey on the location changes to solar power by using GIS. The results suggest that there were links between local governments’ concerns and the location of solar power concentration. These results show that conflicts over renewable energy are not unavoidable and may be managed by local governments that can act as intermediaries with sufficient knowledge of the local communities.

Allotment gardens (AGs) are widely used in metropolitan areas around the world to offer agricultural opportunities to urban residents. However, there are not enough individual plots for residents to rent for urban gardening, and research on AGs from a city-wide perspective is ongoing. In addition, AGs have a long history in Tokyo, yet few international studies on the current situation of AGs have addressed Asian cities. Thus, this study intends to analyze the provision of AGs and its influencing factors in Tokyo. Using ArcGIS combined the 472-points dataset created by geo-coordinate mapping with urban GIS data to reveal spatial characteristics in four dimensions. Results demonstrate that most AGs are in the urbanization promotion area; most municipalities have AGs; AGs are concentrated within 20 to 30 km from the center of Tokyo; the AGs’ clusters are located at the municipal boundaries. We conducted multiple regressions to determine the influencing factors at the municipal level, with the provision that AGs are related to population density, land price, and the ratio of productive green space. The policy implication of this study is that policymakers need to consider the siting strategy of AGs based on spatial characteristics of AGs.

Many local governments that were damaged by the tsunami caused by the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake designated disaster hazard areas based on Article 39 of the Building Standards Act in coastal areas and restricted the construction of residential buildings. Residents who lived in the disaster hazard area were forced to move to their place of residence. In this study, we targeted households who lived in the Ogatsu district of Ishinomaki City before the earthquake and moved with the group relocation project. We selected two cases: the households that selected the Futago housing complex outside the Ogatsu and the Ogatsu Central housing complex inside the Ogatsu. The purpose of this study is to clarify the effects of differences in the relocation destinations and living environments of residents on their satisfaction and the feeling of reconstruction. In particular, we focused on the following three points and proceeded with the analysis; (1)the effect of convenience on satisfaction, (2)the living environment factor that affects satisfaction, (3)the effect of the distance from the sea to the choice of residence. The population of the Ogatsu district has declined the most among all the affected areas. Although there were 1,142 households in the disaster hazard area, only 192 new housing units were built. In particular, households in the former central area, which are not fishing villages, had two primary options for the group relocation project: the housing complex in the former central area or outside the Ogatsu district. Futago is the largest housing complex in the peninsula area. It is located in the city planning area, has high mobility, and is close to shops, schools, and hospitals. Ogatsu Central is located outside the city planning area, and there are no public transportation or shops. We revealed the following points; (1) living environment affects satisfaction The factor for choosing the area of residence for households living in the Futago was that it was far from the sea and convenient to move. However, the evaluation after living was influenced by the living environment rather than convenience. Ogatsu central is inconvenient. However, since the satisfaction level was almost the same as that of the Futago, convenience does not necessarily affect the satisfaction of living. (2) Distance from the sea affects the choice of place of residence The factors for choosing a place of residence for households living in the Ogatsu Chuo were an attachment to the place and proximity to the sea, and the "landscape" significantly affected the feeling of reconstruction and satisfaction. It is presumed that the choice of place of residence had a preference for the sea. "Distance from the sea" had the most significant influence on the selection factors of the residences living in both housing complexes, and the feeling of reconstruction and satisfaction after residence were similar. Also, there was an extreme difference in the convenience of the two housing estates, but this did not necessarily affect the choice of place of residence and satisfaction. As a result, residents who chose a location close to the sea were not much different from the highly convenient housing complex, even though it was less convenient. Residences living on a hill with a view of the sea were satisfied with the landscape, and residences inland were satisfied with the living environment.

This study aimed to clarify changes in intention from the immediate aftermath of the Great East Japan Earthquake occurred 2011 to the decision to reside in District A, Area U of Kamaishi City, Iwate Prefecture, where a land readjustment project to assist in the restoration of the city's urban areas was introduced after the disaster. This study analyzed data from interviews conducted with residents in 2012 and 2017 using text mining. The analysis revealed that “money,” “family,” “land,” “surroundings,” and “community” were important factors in residents’ decision to rebuild. In particular, residents in their 60s and 70s exhibited a strong co-occurrence of the word “everyone,” indicating that they chose their place of residence based on their surroundings. The word “neighborhood association” appeared in 2017 and indicated the importance of “community” in the residents’ decision to rebuild. Because neighborhood association in District A was active even before the earthquake. The results showed that the activities of the neighborhood association, which was the center of the community before the earthquake, once again served as a cordon and tether, and functioned as a mechanism to incorporate the opinions of households that had left the district.