Development and Sustainability of Civic Activities in Rural Areas Under Crises: A Case Study on a Village of Sendai, Japan

• In Event: Rural civil society response to challenge and crises

Abstract

[Empirical Concern] This study tries to describe and analyze the current state of recovery in a rural area that has been damaged by the giant Tsunami of 2011. Focusing on the villagers’ endeavor to continue their farming and living there, as well as the activities of civic movements that have arisen to support the disaster areas, a set of research has revealed the recovery process as a complex of network of actions and relationships and the need of community.
To illustrate those points, I take an extreme case - Rokugo East Area in Northeastern Sendai– immediately after the COVID-19 pandemic. With a 400-year history, the area used to consist of about 500 households. However, after the Great East Japan Earthquake in 2011, parts of the village were designated as disaster risk areas and uninhabitable. By 1 April 2023, the number of households had decreased to about 300, and 43.5% of inhabitants were aged 65. Problems faced are not just caused by the catastrophe. After 12 years, government budgets are shrinking, the number of volunteers is decreasing, and academic attention is diminishing. But for residents "The recovery from the earthquake may not be completed even after a hundred years".
[Literature Review] Hirota (2021) argued that the failure of collective relocation of village units was fatal to the survival of the community. Although agriculture was rebuilt through subsidies, rural communities could not be rebuilt. Miyama (2023) also argued that participation in collaborative efforts to manage community resources decreased post-disaster, while participation in community activities increased. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, residents are unable to gather as they used to, leading to the weakening of local communities because of self-restraint in local activities (Tazawa 2023).
[Methodology] This research adopts a monographic method that combines observation, questionnaire, and interviews, focusing on people's daily lives and their social relations, to reveal the detailed changes in this village and try to illustrate how they keep the sustainability of this rural community through civic activities.
[Findings] From a five-months observation and documentation, I found that in 2023, civic activities are gradually resurging. However, a significant overlap of organizers among numerous events, not only Traditional Japanese community organizations such as Neighborhood Association and The Agricultural Cooperative Association, which seems detrimental to the sustainability of the activities contrarily.
To address the issues of succession and insufficient organizational personnel post-pandemic, they actively collaborate with external individuals and groups, related to Rokugo because of the earthquake: customers, researchers, self-organized groups both post-disaster NPOs and NGOs, and even administrative agencies. Observed activities were: festivals, Evacuation/Disaster Prevention Training, community joint resource management activities, citizens' farm activities, and Marché activities.
[Implications]Rural communities, even under crises, showcase remarkable resilience and innovation in sustaining their civic activities. Monograph of a small village holds significant relevance considering the alarming social conditions and rising climate change concerns. A thorough case study not only advances academia but also offers practical insights for anticipated challenges in NPO/NGO management and community development.

References

[1] Hirota, J. Damage and reconstruction of villages in the Great East Japan Earthquake: focusing on their sustainability, Journal of Rural Planning Society, 2021, Vol. 39, No. 4: 350-357.
[2] Miyama, E. Regional Agriculture and Social Capital after Massive Natural Disasters: The Case of Miyagi Prefecture after the Great East Japan Earthquake Sustainability 2023, 15(15), 11725; https://doi.org/10.3390/su151511725
[3] Tazawa, H.; Morinaga, R. Continuity Factors of Common Space Management in Rural Communities by The Great East Japan Earthquake: Focusing on the Coastal Area of Sendai City, Journal of Architecture and Planning (Transactions of AIJ), Vol. 88, No. 808, 1915-1926, 2023. DOI https://doi.org/10.3130/aija.88.1915.

Author

• ZHOU YUQIN, Tohoku University