Book Launch Event Held on Applying the Land Readjustment Expertise of Japan to Solve Urban Problems Worldwide

On October 18, 2018, JICA Research Institute (JICA-RI) held a seminar to commemorate the publication of the book “Land Readjustment: Solving Urban Problems Through Innovative Approach” which compiles examples of land readjustment practices in Japan and the world.

As the economies of developing countries grow at a rapid pace, problems such as populations concentrating in cities, insufficient infrastructure, more slums, and environmental pollution have been progressing. Land readjustment is gaining attention as a means for solving these problems. For over 35 years, JICA has been conducting training programs on institutions of urban development, particularly land readjustment, in Japan for those in charge of urban planning in developing countries.

For the opening remarks, JICA-RI Director Izumi Ohno spoke about the significance of this publication. She commented that, “This book is an accomplishment that only JICA could offer in terms of introducing Japanese knowledge and many practical cases all over the world through the network built by the training programs of JICA.”

Next was a panel discussion in which four experts gave presentations of the topic of “How land readjustment can be used as an effective tool to solve the world’s urban land issues.”

The first was the author of Chapter 1 and editor of the book, Felipe Francisco de Souza, who was an alumnus of a JICA training course on land readjustment in 2005. In his presentation about the diversity and characteristics of land readjustment efforts carried out in different countries, he stated that the purposes and challenges of land readjustment differ widely from country to country. Understanding these purposes and challenges therefore requires wide perceptions on various aspects of how land readjustment should be, including the degree of stakeholders’ participation, and how all stakeholders including landowners and public institutions will share the benefits of land readjustment.

Hokkaido University Professor Emeritus Hidetsugu Kobayashi, also chairman of the Japan Society of Urban and Regional Planners, then gave a presentation in which he used Medellin, the second largest city in Colombia, as an example of how land readjustment can be utilized to solve poverty issues. As he described revolutionary urban planning in slums illegally settled by the poor, involving urban infrastructure upgrades such as parks and libraries as well as public transportation systems such as cable cars and railroads, he emphasized that it is essential to have the perspective of socially inclusive urban planning in order to solve urban problems.

Yukihisa Tokunaga, deputy director general for Engineering Affairs of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (City Bureau), then shared the characteristics of Japanese land readjustment as well as some practical examples. He pointed out that in order to spread this expertise from Japan to countries around the world, we need to apply the advantages of the Japanese framework according to local circumstances rather than simply exporting the Japanese style as it is.

Finally, another editor of the book, JICA-RI Senior Research Adviser Akio Hosono, came up to deliver the closing remarks. He concluded the seminar by emphasizing that the land readjustment approach is effective towards achieving goal 11 of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), “Sustainable cities and communities.”