[Research Trends]
[New Research Project: General Subsidized Research (B)]
Regional Revitalization towards Improving Creativity
| Research Institute | : | Hokkaido Institute for the Future Advancement |
| Research Institute for Regional Planning & Development | ||
| Tottori Research Center | ||
| Research Period | : | December 2005 - February 2007 |
| Research Area | : | Regional Revitalization/Recreation and Civil Society |
The topic of this subsidized research project is to consider the "creativity" possessed by individual regions while acknowledging that ideas and measures different from the traditional, development type are required in moving towards sustainable regional revitalization. How to increase the "creativity" by utilizing region-specific resources, including the natural environment, culture, citizens' vitality and abilities, is an important issue to make cities/regions attractive. Based on this recognition, this research project analyzes a random collection of cities qualitatively and quantitatively. Based on the results, the project intends to make policy proposals concerning requirements and mechanisms to increase regions' creativity.
In line with this task, this research project will use various kinds of statistics to enrich indexes for grasping the creativity displayed by pioneering research and grasp quantitatively the current creative industries and classes at the different organizational levels of Japanese society. At the same time, this project will clarify the features of Japan's creative industries and classes and their regional structure by comparing with the seminal research results in Britain and the U.S.
The cities to be surveyed are selected from the following perspectives: (1) Clusters of creative industries (the area around Shibuya-ku, Tokyo, Kitaku-ku, Sapporo, and Yokohama); (2) Area revitalizing traditional industries (Kanazawa, Nagoya, Higashiosaka, and Kyotango); (3) Areas working to promote cultural tourism by utilizing the region's creativity (Moerenuma Park in Higashi-ku, Sapporo, Asahiyama Zoo in Asahiyama, Kyoto, Shirakawa-go in Gifu Prefecture, Tottori-sakyu (sand dune) in Tottori, Asahi-machi, Nishimurayama-gun, Yamagata Prefecture); (4) Areas whose creative problems have been solved by NPOs (Tatsuno, Nagano Prefecture, and Minamata); (5) Areas in which regional finance (currency) is practiced (Kuriyama Town, Yubari-gun, Hokkaido, and Joetsu, Niigata Prefecture); (6) Foreign case studies (Austin, Texas, Bologna, Italy, and Amsterdam, Netherlands). This project will grasp these areas in a quantitative manner and analyze them qualitatively through hearing investigation.
In implementing this research project, we plan to establish an examination committee, exchange information with foreign research institutes and participate in international symposiums.
In making final policy proposals, this project will bring into view people-centered creative cities that value highly the edification of human abilities and sustainable cities that develop natural, cultural and social capital and pass them down to future generations in the form of revitalized cities and this project will pay special attention to cultural and social capital. At the same time, the project will also keep in mind the possibility that social capital may produce factors that impede the formation of creative cities. In addition, this project will also consider proposals to overcome the inevitability of income shortage (Baumol's Cost Disease) associated with creativity activities.
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