Junko Kunihiro: Accumulating Experience in Regional Collaboration

Ome City, Tokyo, is a town of 134,000 people that combines elements of both urban and rural life. This year marks my 10th year since arriving as the town manager for the central city area. It is a town blessed with a natural environment where mountains and rivers are within walking distance of the train station, while still retaining the framework of a former post station. At the time of my arrival, it showed typical signs of decline. It had fallen off the map as a destination for starting businesses, and the number of vacant stores not put up for rent was increasing. Major urban functions were dispersed to the east, and given the topography of narrow hills pressed between mountains and rivers, recreating a compact city did not seem appropriate. How could we build a new economy suitable for this place and conceptualize the urban space? My mind was racing.

Initially, the local government and Chamber of Commerce staff were skeptical about the potential of the city center. As someone unfamiliar with the area, I proposed repeatedly conducting demonstration projects to supplement functions lacking in the current city center and accumulating visitor analysis to demonstrate potential. I had the members share information on what trends were appearing at visitor hotspots from the many events in the city, and we continued to collect data by launching various projects such as beer gardens and movie screenings. Gradually, we strengthened our sense that the city center could be transformed into something meaningful through our own hands.

In January 2015, just as we were beginning to see the light, the only supermarket in front of the station closed due to a building dispute. The administration approached several businesses behind the scenes about providing alternative land or setting up a temporary supermarket, but there were no positive responses. In April, "Machitsukuri Ome Co., Ltd." was established. The marche, which we had planned as a last resort, became a regular event starting in September. The number of regular customers grew steadily. Meanwhile, the difficult vacant store surveys and negotiations with property owners gradually progressed, and the "Akitempo Real Estate" tours started in February of the following year. Fifty people participated in the first tour, and everyone was surprised by the number of rental applications, which exceeded the six properties we had worked so hard to develop up to that point. Since then, we have continued to reach out to owners and hold regular tours; the number of businesses opened through this project has reached 30, and the total number of openings in the central city area, including those induced by our efforts, is approaching 120.

For many people, town planning has diverse meanings. Today, we receive various consultations not only regarding city center living and business openings, but also education and cultural promotion. Collaborative projects in the central city area are tough initiatives that involve many conflicts of interest, but I am now convinced that the regional collaborative experience gained through public-private partnerships will serve as the foundation for future town planning.