Reconstruction Plans and Planning Process After the Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami - Post-Tsunami Hazard: Reconstruction and Restoration - page 18

area, where they can relocate with subsidies, is too narrow for those who want to
live outside the area. These cases are observed mainly near or in the city, where
most residents are paid workers, whose economy and lifestyle remotely relate to the
ocean. They are generally afraid to take a risk of a tsunami, no matter how low it is
in theory.
Both confl icts can be ascribed to the gap between objective safety level, which is
defi ned based on scientifi c analyze and subjective safety level, which is requested
by local residents. That nature is deeply connected with the characteristics of the
settlements. It demonstrates the necessity of the fl exible planning of the levee or the
land use, especially in the case of a requested lower levee, which is not a big fi scal
issue (Ubaura 2012 ).

2.3.2 Ideal Relationship Between Spatial Planning

and Disaster Prevention Planning

A crucial issue in the spatial reconstruction planning process is the safety of the city
or village, for the disaster, which triggered the planning, occurred for this very reason.
However, safety is not the only important factor to be considered in the planning
process, and it should not always be prioritized over other interests. For example,
the safety level will increase if a higher levee is constructed. However, the latter will
block the view of coastal landscape, thereby negatively impacting the tourist and
fi shery industry, which needs regular observation of sea conditions. This, in turn,
represents a “risk” of declination for the villages, whose economy is based on these
industrial activities.
The same arguments applied to land use. New settlements often locate on the
hills or inland, where the risk of tsunami is extremely low. However, they will be
sometimes scattered due to the limited availability of hilly land for building con-
struction, with the consequent dispersion of the communities of inhabitants, who
will suffer a great discomfort in their daily life.
These example show how the construction of tsunami protection facilities or the
change in land use and building relocation can bring as many advantages as disad-
vantages in terms of safety, comfort, amenity, effi ciency, and landscape. Therefore,
all these factors should be taken into account during the planning process integrat-
ing the needs of safety with all the other aforementioned aspects within a compre-
hensive relocation plan.
A committee of the national government, “Exploratory Committee of
Countermeasures against Tsunami in the Coastal Area ( kaigan ni okeru tsunami
taisaku kentou iinkai )” takes the similar stands: In the report of the committee, “The
basic concept on reconstruction of coastal levee suffered from the Great East Japan
Earthquake and Tsunami in 2011 ( heisei 23 nen touhoku chihou taiheiyouoki jishin
oyobi tsunami ni yori hisai sita kaigan teibou touno fukkyuu ni kansuru kihonteki na
kangaekata )”, the necessity of comprehensive planning is cited as follows; “The
crown of the levee should be decided on the premise of the water level of planned