The land readjustment project area in Hokutan Cho Toshima district
Some agricultural villages located in Nishi ward and Kita ward in Kobe city and Awaji Island near the epicenter suffered heavy damages from the earthquake disaster. Especially in Hokudan-cho and Ichinomiya-cho in Awaji Island, more than 50% of houses were either completely or partially destroyed. Most of the damaged areas in Awaji Island retain the forms of the traditional fishing villages. These fishing-villages are often located along a track of an old river or in a landform of an alluvial fan. The size of the villages ranges from 200 to 300 ha. Decreasing population and high ratio of the aged are typical phenomenon in those villages. Houses stores and workshops stand close together along the alleys that connect the roads to the waterfront. The living environment of the village seems to be similar to that of the urban densely built up area. However, unlike the urban inner cities, here in the fishing village, traditional spatial organization based on the community was designed for unified environment. Since the spatial organization of the villages is totally different from those of the urban area, these villages had not been designated for the city planning districts. But Hokudan-cho had been under consideration for the designation of city planning district even before the earthquake. So, after the earthquake Hokudan-cho come to be included in the city planning district as to implement the Land Readjustment project in the Tomishima district (in Hokudan-cho) which is one of the most seriously damaged areas. Tomishima district is also the place where the fishing-village-type spatial organization strongly remains. Houses are standing close together along the narrow allies stretching to the sea. The spatial organization of the village is different from that of the city area. As the Land Readjustment plan, the main road and local streets were first laid out without any consideration to the local traditional spatial organization. Thus, there had been a big conflict among local residents.
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