A Study on Social Possibility of "Assembly Method of Community Building" for Revitalizing Local Communities

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This paper reports on a case study of the assembly method of community building as a tool for revitalizing local communities. The Nodahokubu district in Kobe-City was heavily damaged by the Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake of 1995. After the Earthquake, a part of the district was planned to reconstruct by a land readjustment project implemented by the City of Kobe. In the rest of the district, the City helped the residents to reconstruct their neighborhoods through housing environmental improvement projects. The residents also decided to introduce district planning into these areas. In all neighborhoods of the district, the reconstruction plans were implemented by neighborhood assembly consisting of local residents. In this paper, we will examine how this assembly performed.The inhabitants are asked to agree and must build consensus. In general, it is difficult. However, in Nodahokubu, they agreed smoothly. The inhabitants derived various ideas from their activities and carried out them in a local park and alleys. We define these activities as "program practice". The inhabitants come to think that a park and alleys belong to themselves. They realize such space as "Commons". The inhabitants reinforce mutual bonds. A base making to reach an agreement is done in this way. This agreement was not something like a Social Contract. It is rightly "Local Governance". This assembly accumulates a negotiating power that makes them able to bargain with the authorities. A boundary line of "practical closed sphere" appears here.In this district, the assembly continues community building after the reconstruction. This assembly of community building make comprehensive network between various area organizations. It is going to undertake the trifling local problem in this area. We call this network a "community alliance".