Spatial planning for housing recovery after the Great East Japan Earthquake

Devastated by the Great East Japan Earthquake, tsunami, and nuclear meltdown on March 11, 2011, Japan’s Tohoku coast has been in the process of disaster recovery for almost a decade. Several international frameworks for disaster risk reduction and sustainable development have also been established during this time. Sharing a holistic approach to comprehensive development principles linking risk reduction, disaster recovery, and development, these three international frameworks are the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2020, 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development 2015-2030, and the New Urban Agenda. Although each has its own distinct focus, approach, and connection to disaster recovery, the three frameworks share explicit connections and relationships. This paper considers how the first decade of recovery after the GEJE can be evaluated based on the goals and targets from the frameworks in support of people-centered development. After outlining each framework, and exploring the mutual connections between them, aspects relevant to recovery from each are applied to consider issues and progress of housing recovery after the GEJE. Synthesizing multiple aims and goals from the three frameworks relevant to housing recovery creates a more comprehensive tool for evaluation that can identify which goals have been partially or completely achieved. Yet even with the convergence of their respective goals, achieving the overall shared aim of holistic, equitable, and people-centered recovery for all still requires more coordination and consideration of practical applications beyond frameworks. Keywords: housing recovery; Great East Japan Earthquake; Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction; SDGs; New Urban Agenda

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Clustered and Community-Driven Housing Recovery: Lessons Learned from Hurricane Katrina to the Great East Japan Earthquake

Cities and Disasters ◽

10.1201/b18964-17 ◽

2015 ◽

pp. 269-296 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Tamiyo Kondo

Keyword(s):

Hurricane Katrina ◽

Lessons Learned ◽

Great East Japan Earthquake ◽

Housing Recovery

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Re-Increased Male Suicide Rates in the Recovery Phase Following the Great East Japan Earthquake

Crisis ◽

10.1027/0227-5910/a000656 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 41 (6) ◽

pp. 422-428 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Masatsugu Orui

Keyword(s):

Social Connectedness ◽

Recovery Phase ◽

Great East Japan Earthquake ◽

Temporary Housing ◽

Period Analysis ◽

Suicide Rates ◽

Male Suicide ◽

The Social ◽

The Difference

Abstract. Background: Monitoring of suicide rates in the recovery phase following a devastating disaster has been limited. Aim: We report on a 7-year follow-up of the suicide rates in the area affected by the Great East Japan Earthquake, which occurred in March 2011. Method: This descriptive study covered the period from March 2009 to February 2018. Period analysis was used to divide the 108-month study period into nine segments, in which suicide rates were compared with national averages using Poisson distribution. Results: Male suicide rates in the affected area from March 2013 to February 2014 increased to a level higher than the national average. After subsequently dropping, the male rates from March 2016 to February 2018 re-increased and showed a greater difference compared with the national averages. The difference became significant in the period from March 2017 to February 2018 ( p = .047). Limitations: Specific reasons for increasing the rates in the recovery phase were not determined. Conclusion: The termination of the provision of free temporary housing might be influential in this context. Provision of temporary housing was terminated from 2016, which increased economic hardship among needy evacuees. Furthermore, disruption of the social connectedness in the temporary housing may have had an influence. Our findings suggest the necessity of suicide rate monitoring even in the recovery phase.

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