Urban Planning
5 items
The Five-Layer Methodology of Meaning Inversion for Shrinking Assets — A Draft Evaluation Framework for PPP Projects
This note proposes a method for reading shrinking assets — decommissioned gas stations, closed schools, idle public facilities — not as liabilities but as raw material for rewriting the city's memory, organized across five layers: materiality, directionality, responsibility structure, temporality, and collectivization. The note examines whether this methodology can be applied as an initial evaluation framework for PPP (Public-Private Partnership / Private Finance Initiative) projects, with an implementation sketch drawn from decommissioned gas stations.
Adaptive Reuse of Decommissioned Oil Terminals and Refineries — Comparing Ten Domestic Cases and Three International Precedents
Japan's decommissioned refineries and oil terminals have come one after another: Cosmo Sakaide in 2013, JX Muroran in 2014, ENEOS Osaka in 2020, ENEOS Wakayama in 2023, Seibu Oil Yamaguchi in 2024. Most sites have been repurposed as logistics hubs, petrochemical bases, or Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) production facilities — cultural and architectural adaptive reuse remains virtually absent domestically. Internationally, three landmark precedents exist: TANK Shanghai, Gasholders London, and the Vienna Gasometers. This note compares ten domestic cases and three international cases to examine the prospects for architectural adaptive reuse in Japan.
27,000 Defunct Gas Stations and Subsurface Tank Legacies: A Typology of Shrinking Assets
Japan's gas stations peaked at 60,421 stations at the end of fiscal 1994 and fell to 27,009 stations by the end of fiscal 2024 — roughly 33,000 closures over thirty years. Under Fire Prevention Notice No. 78 (消防危第78号), underground tank disposal after closure follows the principle of removal first, with in-place filling permitted only when unavoidable. In practice, the cost burden has made in-place filling the common choice. This note classifies the 'subsurface infrastructure legacy' subtype within the larger category of shrinking assets, reading both the legal framework and on-the-ground reality.
Kyoto's Vacant House Tax and Its National Ripple Effect — Can Tax Policy Reduce Empty Homes?
Kyoto City will introduce Japan's first vacant house tax (Non-Resident Housing Utilization Promotion Tax) starting FY2030. The residential land tax exemption has incentivized vacancy retention for 30 years. This column compares the Kyoto model with the 2023 Special Measures Act amendment, the UK's progressive Council Tax Premium, and France's TLV to structurally analyze the potential and limits of tax-based approaches to the vacancy crisis.
Those Living Along Arterial Roads Bear the Greatest Noise Burden — An Environmental Justice Hypothesis for Japan
Low-income households and persons with disabilities tend to concentrate in affordable housing along arterial roads, and the severity of noise exposure is inversely proportional to income. While international theoretical frameworks are well established, empirical evidence in Japan is nonexistent. This note examines the structure in which the regulatory framework itself reserves more lenient standards and longer grace periods for arterial roadsides.