2050 Urban Vision Proposal ver2.0

Three years after the publication of the "Urban+Planning VISION 2020 (Proposal ver1.0)," we have continued our deliberations by expanding the research group members. We have now published the "2050 Urban Vision Proposal version 2.0" on May 29, 2024.

[Abstract]

As the social and economic conditions surrounding our country change more than ever—due to population decline, a super-aging society, the frequent occurrence of large-scale disasters, and the threat of the COVID-19 pandemic—urban development is also required to adapt to a new era.
For this reason, we launched the "2050 Urban Vision Research Group," consisting of urban planning consultants, government officials, and academic experts, with the goal of depicting a desirable future image of cities in our country (assuming the year 2050, about 30 years from now). We also aimed to propose the direction of urban development efforts to realize this vision through a backcasting approach, and to raise issues in society by disseminating information to a wide range of related organizations, including government, academic societies, and the urban planning consultant industry.

This research group was adopted as a research exchange project of the City Planning Institute of Japan, and we conducted activities over three years from fiscal 2021 to 2023. We have now compiled the "2050 Urban Vision Proposal Version 2.0 (Urban+Planning VISION 2050 ver2.0)" (hereinafter referred to as Proposal ver2.0).
Proposal ver2.0 is an upgraded version of Proposal ver1.0, which was compiled in May 2021. In addition to updating the proposals made in ver1.0, we have established three priority themes (daily living sphere, metropolitan area, and mobility) with an eye toward the future urban image. We also made proposals regarding urban planning systems and methods required to realize urban planning and community development that meet the demands of the coming era.

[Key Points of the Proposal]

1.The common philosophy is a "Connected City"
The common philosophy for the future urban image of 2050 inherits from Proposal ver1.0 as"A Connected City: Precisely because it is an era where we are connected even when we are not physically close, we can gain the value of meeting, interacting, and living together, leading to a 'truly connected' city.".

2. Proposals for Priority Themes
In Proposal ver2.0, we established three priority themes (daily living sphere, metropolitan area, and mobility) and made proposals for each.
① Proposal for a "Restorative Neighborhood Unit Theory" to reconstruct daily living spheres adapted to the coming era
Regarding the daily living sphere, we proposed a"Restorative Neighborhood Unit Theory."The neighborhood unit theory in our country has often been applied in situations such as new urban areas, mainly for "creating cities." However, we made this proposal based on the awareness that an applied version of the neighborhood unit theory is needed to help in the "regeneration and restoration" of existing urban areas, which is unavoidable in the future. Specifically, we shifted the perspective of the sphere to be "centered on the home (oneself)" and depicted the restoration of urban functions, spaces, and transportation means required within a 15-minute walk from home. For example, we compiled the proposal with an awareness of steadily increasing the value of the daily living sphere through restoration rather than new development, such as restoring neighborhood functions to accommodate the diversification of work styles and self-expression, such as working and small-scale business, and restoring existing streets, rivers, and tracks as "park connectors" that connect parks and greenery.

② Wide-area Metropolitan Area ManagementAs living spheres expand and the development of wide-area urban infrastructure progresses, cities are planned, developed, and operated by individual municipalities, reaching their limits in terms of realizing compact + network structures and responding to disaster prevention and mitigation.
Looking ahead to a population-declining and super-aging society, we proposed that it is necessary to plan, manage, and operate spheres according to purposes and functions through wide-area administration based on inter-city cooperation, in response to actual living conditions.

③ Mobility Management in the Era of Autonomous DrivingWhile the development of autonomous driving technology is progressing rapidly, the efforts of the creators are ahead, and the examination of how it is desirable for society and cities to utilize it is lagging behind.
We proposed that in order to promote "Neighborhood Unit Theory adapted to the coming era" and "new wide-area metropolitan area cooperation" and to build better cities, it is necessary to have urban traffic management that collects open data of all traffic modes in real time and realizes overall optimization by utilizing autonomous driving technology.

3. Dynamic Visual Creation Process that Follows and Induces Discussion
In Proposal ver2.0, with the cooperation of Mr. Masanori Kinjo (part-time lecturer at Hosei University, part-time lecturer at Tokyo Kasei University, representative of Social Environment Design Office), we did not create visuals for the finally compiled proposals. Instead, we advanced both simultaneously through a process where discussions and visualization using 3D models were carried out in parallel, with visuals changing to follow the discussions, and at times, visuals inducing new discussions. This created a relationship between the two.
In addition, we are working so that visual data is not only incorporated into Proposal ver2.0 (static use) but can also be viewed from perspectives not found in the proposal via the web, and can be experienced as needed (dynamic use).

Click here for the 2050 city experience via VR

4. Proposal for Reviewing Urban Planning Systems and Methods to Meet the Demands of a New Era
In the proposal, we not only present a desirable urban image but also make proposals regarding urban planning systems and realization processes as follows. Proposal ver1.0 went up to Proposal ④, and Proposals ⑤ to ⑦ were added in ver2.0.

Proposal ①: Toward a master plan that combines both a strong skeleton and flexible infill
Proposal ②: From volume bonus to activity bonus
Proposal ③: Toward an urban planning tax system that allows you to commit to the urban planning of your own city
Proposal ④: Toward urban planning consultants who can meet future needs (family doctor type, public-private partnership accompaniment type, project manager type, etc.)
Proposal ⑤: Toward public transportation supported by the region as an urban device
Proposal ⑥: Toward clarification of road composition and road traffic where pedestrians and public transportation play the leading role
Proposal ⑦: Creating a new wide-area metropolitan area mechanism