March 12-16, 2018, Tokyo, Sendai, Kobe, Japan- Every year, earthquakes push more than 4 million people on average into extreme poverty. To take on this challenge, Japan’s approach of sustained investment in quality infrastructure and buildings, coupled with the preparedness of local authorities and residents, offers World Bank client countries new ideas and solutions to strengthen their own seismic resilience.

The World Bank’s Tokyo Development Learning Center (TDLC) and Tokyo Disaster Risk Management (DRM) Hub jointly organized a 5-day Technical Deep Dive (TDD) on Seismic Risk and Resilience with the collaboration of the Government of Japan and the Building Regulation for Resilience, Climate Change Mitigation and Development KSB to support World Bank clients and teams to:

・　Understand the economic and practical feasibility of investing in seismic resilience;
・　Examine new investment options to plan and integrate into their expenditures in disaster risk management and seismic resilience; and
・　Connect to technical expertise and solutions that can support and enhance action and investments from the private and public sector.

Practitioners and decisionmakers from Bangladesh, Ecuador, India, Indonesia, Kenya, Malawi, Myanmar, Nepal, Peru, and the Philippines – which together with Japan see an average of 1.2 million people exposed to earthquakes every year – joined the TDD to share knowledge and expertise on seismic risk identification, monitoring and alert systems, preparedness, and risk reduction in infrastructure and the built environment. The TDD included interactive sessions with leading experts, peer-peer learning and site visits to Sendai and Kobe -  two Japanese cities which experienced devastating earthquakes and tsunami.

THE TRIPLE CHALLENGE OF TAKING ON SEISMIC RISK

On March 11, Japan marked the 7th Anniversary of the Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami, the most powerful earthquake ever recorded in Japan, which killed over 19,000 people. Such earthquakes and tsunamis occur infrequently, but causes tremendous impacts on society. This poses three inter-related challenges for countries trying to take on their seismic risk:

・Public Awareness and Preparedness: because governments and residents do not regularly face earthquakes, they often forget about these risks and fail to adequately prepare；
・Collective Action and Investment: because of the lack of awareness and urgency, it is often difficult to spur action and investment to manage and reduce the underlying seismic risks;
・Technical Expertise: since there is often little investment to address key seismic risks, the needed expertise to take on these challenges must be developed.

Speaking at the TDD, Mr. Go Mukai, Senior Deputy Director of Japan’s Ministry of Finance, noted that, Japan’s approach to disaster risk management (DRM) is underpinned by:

    (i) a rigorous and up-to-date scientific understanding of the country’s seismic risk;
    (ii) a comprehensive legal and institutional framework; and,
    (iii) systematically integrating lessons learned from previous disasters into their DRM planning and investment, as well as the country’s culture of preparedness.

This helps Japan ensure that it will not forget and not put its people or its economy at undue risk.

CONNECTING EXPERTISE AND INFORMING ACTION

The TDD connected teams with Japan’s leading DRM institutions, including the Cabinet Office; Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT); Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA); Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA); Sendai City; Kobe City; International Research Institute of Disaster Science (IRIDeS) (Tohoku University); and the National Research Institute for Earth Science and Disaster Resilience (NIED).

Sendai City demonstrated the structural and non-structural measures the City has taken to prepare for earthquakes and tsunamis, including enhancing the disaster resilience of its infrastructure asset management. City officials highlighted the importance of strengthening community resilience, Mr. Tomoki Suzuki, Director of the Disaster Prevention Planning Section, Crisis Management Department, City of Sendai, noted that, “Self-help and cooperation are critical, as there is a limit to administration responses even though we try our best. Disaster prevention awareness of residents and regional cooperation are important.” Among other initiatives, they introduced “Community Disaster Prevention Leaders,” who direct information dissemination, evacuation guidance, and shelter management at the time of disaster.

Kobe City, which was hit by the Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake in January 1995, saw 120,000 buildings destroyed or damaged, and more than 4,500 people lose their lives -  over 70 percent of whom died due to building collapse. In Kobe, city officials showed TDD participants how the City enhanced the resilience of the building stock through (i) increasing local capacity to enforce building codes and (ii) a comprehensive retrofitting program – promoted through local awareness raising and a nation-wide retrofit subsidy program.

On the last day of the program, participants presented practical action plans containing key takeaways, approaches, and next steps to plan and implement effective seismic risk management in their countries. Among other action items, many clients outlined their plans to conduct and operationalize risk assessments, strengthen their building regulatory framework, and enhance their emergency preparedness, including through education campaigns. TDLC and DRM Hub are following up on requests for additional information and further operational support.

March 12-16, 2018, Tokyo, Sendai, and Kobe, Japan- Earthquakes push more than 4 million people into extreme poverty on average every year. Building the quality of development investments coupled with preparedness of local authorities and residents can help tackle these challenges.

World Bank’s TDLC and the Tokyo Disaster Risk Management (DRM) Hub are jointly organizing a Technical Deep Dive (TDD) on Seismic Risk and Resilience with a collaboration of Government of Japan and World Bank’s Building Regulation for Resilience, Climate Change Mitigation and Development KSB. Approximately 50 practitioners and decision makers from 10 World Bank client countries will gather together to discuss seismic risk identification, risk monitoring, risk communication for preparedness, risk management applications in infrastructure management, and risk reduction in built environment.

Japan has been exposed to earthquakes throughout its history and has shown that effective disaster risk management is possible. Participants will visit Sendai City and Kobe City to learn about their experiences and their measures by observing the facilities. 

February 13-17, 2018, Tokyo, Kawasaki, Yokohama, Japan: TDLC held a Technical Deep Dive (TDD) on Urban Regeneration. More than 50 practitioners and decision makers from 11 World Bank client countries participated and discussed urban revitalization with a focus on applicable business models for implementation that can also fulfil the government economic goal. This TDD was delivered in collaboration with Japanese Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT), Yokohama, and Tokyu Corporation.

At the Opening, Kazuko Ishigaki, Director in Charge of International Planning for Construction Industry, Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT) expressed welcome and showed future expectations for collaboration in Urban Regeneration area which Japan has rich experiences going through reconstruction and revitalization of cities. David Sislen, Practice Manager of GSURR at the World Bank, pointed out key issues that cities are facing to push urban regeneration- how to finance it, what the social benefits are, and how to implement those projects. 

Legislation and methods of Japan’s urban planning were introduced to the participants to show what benefits and constraints they may expect. Japan took special measures and spatial policies/regulations for urban planning to correspond to its rapid population growth and urban expansion. Three types of urban regeneration- Government-led, private-led and community-led urban regeneration were showcased. One of the key approaches taken for success in private-led urban regeneration was that the cost of preserving a war-damaged station building was financed by transferring Floor Area Ratio (FAR) from the building to the neighboring new towers. 

Seoul’s urban regeneration case provided participants the perspective of urban waterfront and brownfield areas. The key lessons shared with the participants through developing World Cup Park and restoring Cheonggyecheon areas include having creative envisioning along with each city’s characteristics, utilizing ecological urban regeneration as an effective tool for environmental and economic benefits, and securing public support.

The discussion also covered the financing of urban regeneration projects where most participating cities hold challenges with. Cities are facing growing demand of enhancing infrastructure and services with scarce resources. They need to obtain more value from existing resources and increase returns. Land-Based Financing (LBF), the use of land value to finance urban infrastructure and/or services, was raised in order to provide cities more options. Various international cases of Land Value Capture (LVC) were introduced during the sessions including Japan, Brazil and US. Although the size and progress that have been made vary from city to city, there is an encouraging comment that came out from Jim O’gara, Managing Director of Deloitte Financial Advisory Services LLP, “These projects may seem too large-scale and unrealistic, but the approaches and principles are the same. That’s where we have to learn from.”

Participants visited Kawasaki Musashikosugi area, Yokohama Totsuka Station area, and Yokohama Minatomirai Red Brick District area. Kawasaki Musashikosugi Station was first opened in the 1920’s and now it offers convenient access to most major centers in the Tokyo Metropolitan Area, while the station area itself has improved greatly due to recent urban regeneration effort. Fumitaka Inoue, Manager of Strategy Headquarters Urban Development Business Unit of Tokyu Corporation stressed, “integrating old and new residents together is a challenge but is key to urban regeneration.” Yokohama Minatomirai 21 area which represents waterfront development took a unique path in regeneration. According to Mr. Katsura, Urban Designer of City of Yokohama, mentioned that Yokohama prioritized urban design at the city scale rather than building scale for competitive advantage. 

The participants developed practical action plans on the last day of the workshop containing key takeaways, approaches, and next steps to plan and implement effective urban regeneration. Among other key takeaways, finding Public-Private-Partnership (PPP) and potential LVC, the use of LBF to fund public projects, a clear vision of urban regeneration, and a strong political commitment with multi-stakeholder approach were the characteristic findings.  Participants also developed short, mid, and long-term action plans to take back to their countries. Improving and applying effective legislation, engaging private markets, and effective coordination with other stakeholders were raised as common key actions to be taken.

February 13-17, 2018, Tokyo, Yokohama and Kawasaki- Virtually every city has neighborhoods and sites that have become disinvested or otherwise underutilized. Such areas can contribute to blight, reduce a city’s attractiveness and livability, and detract from its economic base and competitiveness, sometime even result in marginalization of certain residents.  A key challenge facing city leaders is how to revitalize blighted and underutilized areas and to unlock these sites’ potential to generate economic impact and contribute to the city’s fiscal, social and environmental sustainability.

In collaboration with Japanese Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT), Yokohama, and Tokyu Corporation, TDLC is organizing this Technical Deep Dive (TDD) on Urban Regeneration to bring together more than 50 practitioners and decision makers from 11 World Bank client countries to offer opportunities to exchange experiences on planning, financing, and implementation of urban regeneration projects, focusing on revitalization of urban waterfront areas and brownfield sites. Various Japanese and international experts in the field will also be invited and will explore several global case study examples of governments’ strategies to spur regeneration and identify most critical elements that have contributed to the outcome of those strategies.

Participants will visit Kawasaki Musashikosugi area, Yokohama Totsuka Station area, and Yokohama Minatomirai Red Brick District area to observe the sites and learn brownfield and downtown regeneration, public-driven land-based financing mechanism, and port area regeneration.

February 5-6, 2018, Kitakyushu- TDLC provided a lecture on World Bank’s project operation including procurement procedures at “Kitakyushu Environment Industry Promotion Conference” for approximately 180 people widely gathered from the business sector. TDLC also held a Program Awareness Seminar which targets international organizations and environment-related businesses, and introduced “Kitakyushu Model Subsector: Interplay between Solid Waste and Urban Flood Risk” report which was jointly prepared with Kitakyushu in March of last year. World Bank and Kitakyushu’s private businesses will promote global business deployment.

TDLC’s Structured Learning and Research Activities February 2018

TDLC is delivering various knowledge products in collaboration with Japanese and global partners as well as relevant teams and Global Practices in the World Bank. The materials document Japanese development approaches in specific thematic areas with the ultimate goal of applying them to Bank operations in developing countries.

CASE STUDY: YOKOHAMA REINVENTING THE FUTURE OF A CITY

Yokohama is the second largest and one of the youngest of Japan’s big cities.1 One of Japan’s first open ports, it was founded in the last years of the Shogunate (1859) as a concession to the European powers: close to the largest city and heart of power in Tokyo (then Edo), but not in that city itself. Since then its fate has been intertwined with Tokyo, even as it evolved its own identity. Japan’s railway net¬work began with the Tokyo-Yokohama line, financed by the only foreign loan taken out by the Meiji government. From the late 19th century through the 1930s, Yokohama grew into Japan’s largest port. Along with Kobe, it became a center of shipbuilding and heavy industry, as well as one of the first cities in Japan to invest in modern public goods, such as gas-lit street lights and suburban railways. Yokohama_CC_Report.pdf

Kitakyushu Model Subsector: Interplay between Solid Waste and Urban Flood Risk

We are living in the era of rapid urbanization. Population influx into urban areas has exacerbated city capacities and services around the globe. Of its many challenges are urban flooding and solid waste management. Adequate capacity is often lacking in each sector, and the two interplay as solid waste accumulates and blocks existing drainage channels, resulting in inundation, damages, and public health concerns. The World Bank and the City of Kitakyushu (Kitakyushu), Japan has partnered to develop this model, which focuses on this interplay of solid waste and urban flood risk.Kitakyushu_Model_ENG.pdf

January 18, 2018, Kobe- Japan has a number of unique experiences and knowledge which are crucial to developing countries. TDLC has been putting in efforts in order to more efficiently and effectively share this knowledge to the developing countries. One of the initiatives is providing Art of Knowledge Workshop for World Bank’s counterparts. TDLC organized this workshop in Kobe City for the first time. Kobe City staffs from various related departments actively participated in the training.

January 17, 2018, Kitakyushu, Japan- TDLC organized a training course “Urban Management for Sustainable Development” for 8 countries (Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Nicaragua, Paraguay, and Peru) at Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) in Kitakyushu. TDLC introduced their Technical Deep Dives on Urban management, research work and WB’s financing projects. This workshop was organized in response to a high-level dialogue between World Bank and JICA conducted in July of last year where they agreed on a stronger collaboration. TDLC and JICA will jointly organize workshops, draft technical notes and further collaborate through World Bank’s City Partnership Program.

December 11-16, 2017, Tokyo, Japan and Seoul, Korea- Today, over 50% of the population lives in urban areas, and by 2045, the world’s urban population will increase by 1.5 times to 6 billion. City leaders must move quickly to plan for growth and provide the basic services, infrastructure, and affordable housing.  These metropolitan areas with one or more cities along with their surrounding areas are now facing a common challenge of coordinating planning, infrastructure development and service delivery across multiple jurisdictions.

TDLC organized Technical Deep Dive (TDD) on Managing Urban Expansion in Mega-Metropolitan Areas in collaboration with the Tokyo Metropolitan Government (TMG) and the Korea Research Institute on Human Resettlements (KRHIS), and Seoul Metropolitan Government (SMG). A total of 60 participants including practitioners and decision-makers from 10 World Bank client countries, Task Team Leaders (TTLs) and senior project team members joined this TDD. The uniqueness of this TDD is that experts from Japan and Korea showcased Tokyo and Seoul’s distinctive experiences on metropolitan development especially on the management of urban expansion, density and livability in a manner that takes advantage of the benefits of productive agglomerations, while mitigating the disadvantages of congestion pressures, such as traffic, land use, and mass transit.

“The challenge of the metropolitan development is how you organize the city to be able to manage its growth,” said Ming Zang, Urban Practice Manager of the World Bank, emphasizing the important role of cities, “the solution is that each city needs to find their solution to deal with the issues.”

Dr. Tim Moonen, Managing Director of Research and Advice of the Business Cities Ltd, pointed out that metropolitan areas provide scale, clout, productivity, visibility, diversity, and coherence but only if they are organized well. He introduced an “Equation of Success: FUNDAMENTALS+ EXECUTION+ MOMENTUM” for successful mega-metropolitan area development.

Tokyo Metropolitan Government (TMG) presented how the special wards and TMG share their role and cooperate with each other to administer the metropolitan, how financial resources are allocated, and how autonomous and systematic operations of the special wards are ensured. Participants visited Shibuya and Shinjuku to learn their redevelopment projects. Shinjuku is now planning its redevelopment aiming to complete it in the 2040s, and TMG introduced their “Grand Design for Urban Development” which was released in September 2017. The Grand Design demonstrates its strategies including creating vital hub areas, development of transport and road network, and creating livability and a sustainable environment by effective coordination and budget allocation among TMG and the Shinjuku Ward. The strategy underlines that each hub and region use its individuality and potential, and compete with each other to create new values. Therefore, it stresses the importance of participation of residents, municipalities, and private developers. Participants were impressed by the continuous redevelopment of the plan and strategy to meet city’s needs changing over time.

This was the first TDD offered in two countries, Japan and Korea. The delegation learned the Seoul Metropolitan area redevelopment from planning to implementation. Traditionally, a development has been centrally oriented, but it has gradually moved towards decentralization. The most common redevelopment method has been done by owners’ association jointly with developers under the supervision of the government. Several unique New Town development cases were introduced by Seoul Metropolitan Government (SMG). An interesting feature of their redevelopment is that the New Towns are first planned followed by infrastructure and transportation development. SMG also introduced a case of ecological restoration of a landfill site, transforming it into a park. Here again, the importance of continuous rigorous effort to keep up with people’s demands was pointed out.
   
The participants developed practical action plans on the last day of the course containing key takeaways, approaches, and next steps to plan and implement effective metropolitan development in their countries. Among other key takeaways, involving private sector for financial sources, an effective land organization with land redevelopment, an adaptation of simple evidence-based monitoring and evaluation were the characteristic findings.

Participants also developed short, mid, and long-term action plans to take back to their countries. Effective coordination among related agencies, regulatory reforms, and capacity building were raised as common key actions to be taken.

December 11- 16, 2017, Tokyo, Japan and Seoul, Korea- Mega metropolitan regions which are the clusters of large, densely populated urban areas spread across multiple local administrative jurisdictions linked by transportation networks, have emerged within countries as effective organizing units producing a sizeable bulk of the world’s wealth, attracting a large share of the global talent and commanding an increasing share of the global economy.

TDLC is organizing Technical Deep Dive (TDD) on Managing Urban Expansion in Mega-Metropolitan Areas in collaboration with the Tokyo Metropolitan Government (TMG) and the Korea Research Institute on Human Resettlements (KRHIS), and Seoul Metropolitan Government (SMG). This TDD will bring together representatives from large metropolitan regions from emerging economies to exchange experiences and knowledge with a view to gain a better understanding of the dynamics and development trends of MMAs across the world. The overall focus will be on a major challenge facing these cities and regions; namely that of managing urban expansion, density and livability in a manner that takes advantage of the benefits of productive agglomerations, while mitigating the disadvantages of congestion pressures, such traffic, land use, mass transit, etc. 

The program will take place in two cities, Tokyo and Seoul, that have successfully managed the challenge of expansion, employing quite different strategies and approaches.  Total 60 participants including practitioners and decision-makers from 10 World Bank client countries, Task Team Leaders (TTLs) and senior project team members will join and discuss with experts from Japan and Korea who will showcase approaches and experiences related to managing urban expansion in a multi-jurisdictional context.  In addition to experts and practitioners from the two host cities, experts from the OECD and other organizations will be invited to contribute to the discussions, including global resource persons.