IDEAS FOR GOODWhat is your impression of Chiba city? At Chiba city, one can find an abundance of nature and bustling places. For example, the Makuhari Messe and ZOZO Marine Stadium are located a stone’s throw away from the city center. In the upcoming 2020 Tokyo Olympics, Chiba city will host a total of 7 games including wrestling, fencing, and Paralympics goalball.
However, just like the rest of the country, Chiba city is also experiencing depopulation, declining birthrates and an aging population. There is also an increasing outflow of young people. With the Olympics and Paralympics just around the corner, the city is discussing solutions to prevailing issues. This especially in preparation for the international limelight it is expected to receive as it welcomes visitors from all around the world.
Chiba city becomes certified as a Sharing City
One of the measures taken by the city is declaring herself a Sharing City. Chiba city was able to fulfil a list of requirements, thus earning certification as a Sharing City by the Sharing Economy Association Japan in 2017.
A Sharing City refers to a new way of living that incorporates the concept of sharing. It is implemented through the sharing of spaces such as homes and offices, as well as goods, skills and time. These sharings contribute to the city’s overall infrastructure for positive economic effects.
In this article, we’ll discover the initiatives taken by Chiba city to becoming a Sharing City. We’ll also learn of the opinions shared at the Chiba City’s Sharing Economy Workshop held early this February at Makuhari BASE located in Chiba city’s Mihama ward.
Chiba city’s milestones to becoming a Sharing City
Firstly, let’s take a look at 3 initiatives taken by Chiba city to promote a sharing economy.
Attracting visitors to “Special Zones” for tourism and accommodation
The Wakaba ward and Midori ward are natural areas with attractions such as Kasori Midden and nature parks. Citizens can also enjoy activities such as strawberry picking and rice harvesting here.
Areas such as Wakaba ward and Midori ward are designated as “Special Zones” to promote regional economic revitalization. This allows the wards to join the ranks of popular sites like Makuhari Messe and Mihama ward. By the way, 3 keywords – “Midori” (Greenery), “Sato” (Village) and “Nou” (Farming) – promote these wards for tourism and agricultural experience.
The first facility allocated as a “Special Zone” for private accommodation is ZOO HOUSE. This guesthouse opened in April 2018 and has been patronized by over 500 guests in a short span of 6 months.
ShareCycle as a new transportation infrastructure
Chiba city has plans for a new transport infrastructure. So to facilitate its implementation, a test run was conducted from March 2018 to inspect its effectiveness and any problems it may encounter.
The test run began with approximately 110 bicycles allocated within a 2km radius from Chiba station and JR Kaihim Makuhari station. ShareCycle continued to expand and achieved a monthly usage of over 15,000 by the end of 2018. The city aims to increase the number of bicycles to 1000 by March 2019.
Citizens using Chiba Report to improve Chiba city
Chiba-Repo is a citizen-reporting system that allows citizens to report locally found problems such as road, park or playground defects through the utilization of ICT (Information Communication Technology). Through this framework, issues are shared between the municipal administration and the community. This subsequently encourages rationality and effectiveness in solving problems in the city.
As of February 2019, Chiba-Repo has seen 5,500 users and over 6,000 reports. Over 90% of these issues have already been resolved.
Exciting ideas from Sharing Economy Workshop
The Chiba City Sharing Economy Workshop was held in February 2019 to promote a sharing economy. Pasona Inc. took charge of the promotional business for Chiba city’s sharing economy. Under the facilitation of their employees, The participants comprised of people of all ages and background such as local entrepreneurs, accommodation companies, banks, insurance companies, housewives and students.
A discussion between different stakeholders covered various perspectives regarding the city’s appeal, challenges, and solutions. The following were some of the ideas discussed in the workshop.
1. Chiba Rock, a music event unique to Chiba city
The first idea proposed was a music event titled Chiba Rock. There are plenty of agricultural lands, old-style Japanese houses and idle farmland spanning across the 6 wards of Chiba city. Special zones like these, including Wakaba and Midori wards, were ideal venues for a rock festival. This event could achieve its goal to unite the power of Chiba as a city.
Once the rice harvesting season is over, the paddy fields in Wakaba ward and Midori ward are suitable as venues to host the rock festival. The festival would specifically include a performance by a band consisting of Chiba city’s mayor as the main vocalist. The rest of the band would then include the chief administrators of the 6 different wards. This would attract visitors to Mihama ward, where Makuhari Messe is located.
Chiba Rock is ultimately an event for visitors to listen to rock music, savour drinks, or enjoy a stroll along with nature. This festival could eventually grow into a popular music event exclusive to Chiba city.
2. Sharing Economy Center
The second idea proposed was the introduction of a sharing economy. It would gather people of different backgrounds. They could include young people proficient in social media, bilingual students with translation abilities, elderly people with an abundance of life wisdom to share, and farmers with additional crops they would like to donate. The sharing economy aimed to create a hub for citizens to connect, share and discuss their problems with each other. This would also serve as an alternative source of assistance apart from the municipal administration.
Technology facilitates communication in our lives, such as social media and video calls. Certainly it can enable citizens living in the outskirts of Chiba city to access the information. It will be especially useful when they want to resolve certain issues, but are not severe enough for the administration’s attention. The enriched lifestyle of citizens would eventually draw positive attention to the city.
We spoke to Mr. Murata, the owner of a guesthouse in Chiba city and Mr. Namioka from Chiba City, General Policy Bureau after the workshop.
Q: How was the event?
Mr. Murata: The concept of a sharing economy will not only help Chiba city, but also connect Japan with the rest of the world, especially in preparation for 2020. Rather than promoting progressive areas such as Chiba Shintoshin, we want to tell international tourists that that are in-depth, Japanese ancient places of history and culture to experience. It is not uncommon for visitors to navigate towards visiting Mihama ward for Makuhari Messe. Areas such as Wakaba and Midori wards are located in rural Chiba, making it doubly vital for their information to be accessible through the internet.
Q：What are your thoughts on participating in this workshop?
Mr. Namioka: The lack of connectivity is a prevalent problem in rural areas. Because of that, the internet and ICT serve as a bridge to the rest of the world.
The concept of a sharing economy is a contemporary approach to the traditional thinking of making do with what you have. It is important that our city effectively utilizes idle resources. We explored many interesting ideas at this workshop at this workshop, and it is our job as professionals to turn them into reality. We will continue to work hard through everyone’s continuous support.
Author’s Notes
The active discussion by men and women of all ages at the workshop left a deep impression. They were optimistic in contributing their unique opinions to the city’s development. The people of Chiba city are an important resource to be utilized wisely in the future. If we improve the links between city officials and citizens, then it would increase the municipal administration’s reliability.
The growing practice of remote work beckons to the raising popularity of areas away from city centers. With its proximity to both city and nature, Chiba is on its way to discover new developments for the city.
This article was originally published on IDEAS FOR GOOD.
Translated by Amanda Wee.
