Lost Landscapes: Children’s Outdoor Environments in the Post Disaster Tohoku Area of Japan

The existence and condition of children’s outdoor environments in the post disaster Tohoku area of Japan was the focus of Helen Woolley’s recent visit to Japan in April 2012. Helen is a Chartered Landscape Architect and Reader in Landscape Architecture and Society in The Department of Landscape at The University of Sheffield. She has researched children’s outdoor environments and policy and practice issues relating to open spaces for twenty years.

Helen’s visit to Japan came about as a result of discussions with Professor Isami Kinoshita of Chiba University to explore working together. After the triple disaster Helen applied for a Small Grant from the Daiwa Foundation. Helen and Isami visited the disaster area for ten days and then Helen gave the keynote speech at The Japanese Association of Children’s Environments (ACE) conference about Children’s Participation in the Restoration of the Disaster Area. Isami will visit Sheffield in July where they will give a joint presentation about their initial findings at a conference held by the Centre for the Study of Childhood and Youth at The University of Sheffield.

Helen found that the extent of the destruction as a result of the triple disaster was far greater than she had anticipated. Across the Miyagi and Iwate Prefecture coastline Helen found that the physical area of devastation was extensive. The devastation covers swathes of the coastline and goes inland for large areas where rivers run into the sea. The amount of buildings destroyed was extensive with homes, schools, community facilities, shops and prefecture and town offices being casualties. The physical damage is accompanied by much social, familial and individual loss.

Many buildings associated with children’s outdoor environments have been lost or damaged. Although some of the temporary housing is predominantly occupied by older people many of the temporary housing sites provide for children as well. None of these have a purpose built play space and children are making the most of what they can by playing in the small space between individual rows of temporary housing or in areas associated with a community building. Opportunities for play are being supported by play workers and where they can they are using outdoor spaces but they are also using indoor community spaces. There is a play bus in the Sendai area and also in the Ishinomaki area. These are taken to different areas of temporary housing by the play workers.

In Fukushima Prefecture, where much housing has been evacuated because of the radiation levels, the issue for parents, teachers, community groups and officials is whether children should play outside or not. Because the radiation levels are greater on the ground than in the air one nursery is providing a big area of sand play indoors and on the day we visited some of the newly arrived children were really enjoying themselves.

So there are various concerns about the provision of and use of outdoor spaces for children’s outdoor play in the temporary situation, which is likely to last for at least another two years. Beyond that there is a need to consider provision for children to play and be outdoors in the planning and design of the reconstruction process.

Photos by Helen Woolley