ENDO Genichiro (Shinhama Neighborhood Association, General Affairs Section)
Beginning immediately after the disaster, the neighborhood association in Shinhama played a central role in holding active discussions about reconstruction and town planning. We invited various experts to act as advisers, and drew up plans such as the Shinhama Area Reconstruction and Town Planning Master Plan (2013) and New Beach Plan to Utilize the Beach of Shinhama (2016). Backed by various support and subsidies that we have been receiving, we have been expanding our activities toward creating vibrancy as Sendai’s “village closest to the sea.”
We always benefit from the new perspectives of people who have come from other places. In particular, Mr. Kawamata has expressed advice and solutions in a dynamic way that goes beyond everyday thinking. With regard to plans for 2019, I must admit that at first I was a little doubtful about the idea of a wooden path, but now that I’ve actually walked along it, I can say that I really felt its appeal.
There are seven coastal communities along Sendai’s Teizan Canal. In the past, they were connected by land or waterways, and extended families enjoyed a lot of interaction between themselves over a wide area. So in the future, we should not settle for just having things OK in Shinhama. Instead, my hope is that all the local communities will work together as we tackle the rehabilitation of the areas along the Teizan Canal.
（Source: Quarterly Machiryoku, vol. 36 , published by Sendai Cultural Foundation, 2019）