Supporters Network for Community Development "Machizukuri"

7. Nagaya(row-house), Mokuchin(low-rise apartment house), and Bunka Jutaku(wooden tow-story multi-family housing)

(Various types of low-quality dilapidated wooden rental housing)
Б@Nagaya, Mokuchin, and Bunka jutaku were constructed to accommodate the population migration into the large cities that accompanied Japan's modernization throughout the Meiji, Taisho, and Showa eras. They were used as short term residential facilities for young people and laborers while they decided on the purchase of a home or until they could move to better quality rental housing in a residential neighborhood.
Б@Current residents are people whose occupations in local industries limited their living options, and who stayed and grew old there even after raising their children. In general, there is an increasing number of people living there who for various reasons are having trouble moving into public housing facilities. These include elderly couples, elderly single adults, and foreign exchange students from other Asian nations. Although these houses are in prime locations near the city center, they are rarely renovated and are becoming increasingly dilapidated, because they have poor external features, such as narrow connecting roads, and the landowners are getting old and poor in finance.
Б@Typically these houses in Kobe are in relatively small units; that is, they are not massive complexes whose real estate is managed by large landowners, but are rental units that are managed on the side by a small landowner. Over time, sales of tenement buildings or land by their owners have created a mosaical pattern of property ownership resulting in extremely complex rights relationships today.

Table-8 Condition of reconstruction by housing type in Kobe (2 years after)
Б@Many of the dilapidated areas that sustained the most damage in the earthquake were areas that were left unharmed by the air raids of World War II, and thus left untouched by postwar restoration land readjustment projects. Many of the dilapidated buildings collapsed, and the narrow roadways caused fires to spread rapidly. Most of those who lost their homes were senior citizens and low-income citizens who have had difficulty securing housing on their own, creating a need for large quantities of low-rent housing facilities. Numerous people have rebuilt their homes independently, but there have also been many who have given up on their reconstruction plans because narrow roads and small plots of land have made it impossible for them to rebuild in compliance with the current Building Standard Law.
Б@Among the areas of the city with high concentrations of old wooden homes, regions like Nagata South, Shiojiri North, Midoro, and Fukae had been targeted by Densely Concentrated Residential Area Improvement Projects managed by the City of Kobe since before the earthquake. A project had been underway in Nagata South since 1990, but real progress had not been made on it without strong legal backing
Б@Land readjustment projects were implemented after earthquake in Misuga and Shin Nagata Station areas, which were among those most densely concentrated city areas that were the hardest hit in the earthquake. In these areas, projects were accompanied by the installation of roads and parks, and some buildings were converted into joint use buildings through the conglomeration of small plots of land. These measures would help prevent a reemergence of the densely concentrated dilapidated areas of the past. Densely Concentrated Residential City Center Improvement Projects have been widely promoted in the remainder of such areas. Construction is once again underway in the Nagata East and Minatogawa-cho East areas which were newly designated as project areas after the earthquake, but noticeable progress is not always evident in the areas in which these projects are being implemented. In fact, the densely populated inner-cities are threatening to reemerge in some areas.

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