Land Use Planning for Depopulating and Aging Society in Japan

This chapter, based on author’s experience as a professor planner who works closely with local governments and consultants in Japan to draft master plans or planning guidelines, introduces several cases of land use planning for depopulating and aging society with various sudden and progressive risks. The cases include urban master plans for Yokosuka City, Shizuoka City and Suzuka City as well as Mie prefecture’s planning guidelines for disaster mitigation. The author emphasizes that there is no universal approach to land use planning for depopulating and aging society. “Networked-Compact City” might be a broad concept to follow, but actual urban master planning practices show diversity of issues and approaches.