The Kobe earthquake crisis offers Japan a unique opportunity to begin implementing a vision of 21st Century economic and environmental re-development. A team of American experts from a variety of disciplines ranging from construction and economic redevelopment to environmental planning are offering their expertise to help with the rebuilding of the Kobe region in the aftermath of the recent tragedy. This American team would work together with local counterparts to develop a vision and series of concrete steps for the sustainable re-development of Kobe. The process of providing this sustainable design assistance could be greatly facilitated by support from our two countries' governments.

The core American team would be comprised of members of the American Institute of Architects (AIA), the Center for Renewable Energy and Sustainable Technology (CREST), Daybreak International, Global Environmental Options (GEO), the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), and the Union of International Architects (UIA). These organizations have consulted with staff in the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Department of Energy (DOE) and Department of State (DOS) on this proposal. The American team is seeking to develop a public/private partnership with both the Japanese and U.S. governments, as well as with private sector parties in both countries. Members of the team have begun to make contact with their counterparts in Japan.

The organizations represented by the American team have carried out "Environmental Design Charrettes" (EDC) of one form or another to kick-off sustainable design programs. Simply stated, an Environmental Design Charrette is a cooperative and integrated approach to design and planning problem solving, which recognizes long-term economic and social development, and environmental responsibility as key components to the realization of a sustainable vision. EDCs succeed in bringing diverse elements of a community together in collaboration to develop a comprehensive view of the interconnection between economic need, community development and long-term environmental sustainability.

Over a several-day period, design professionals and community participants could conduct an EDC to target opportunities to rebuild Kobe, taking into account the community's vision for Kobe in the 21st century. Kobe could become the model environmental city advocated by Madame Wakako Hironaka, former Environment Minister of Japan. A multi-discipline group of experts--experienced in the EDC process--will assist the local participants. In addition, teleconference, Internet, and satellite links can be established to create on-going communication between the project and outside resources. By the end of the Charrette, a successful EDC will have used a multi-faceted group of community participants to identify and address the key sustainability issues for their chosen design problem.

The EDC process has been successfully undertaken in several places in the United States, sometimes in response to natural disasters (Mississippi Floodway Communities), sometimes in response to economic problems (Chattanooga), or an environmental problem (Grand Canyon). Here are some specific examples of EDC's that have successfully merged environmental sustainability considerations and economic viability with building and community design:

• Valmeyer, Illinois & Pattonsburg, Missouri: The EDC process assisted their efforts toward disaster mitigation in rebuilding these communities after the Mississippi River's Great Flood of 1993. The project involved technical design assistance to help the civic leaders and residents to create more environmentally sound community plans.

• The Sustainable Grand Canyon Workshop: At the Grand Canyon--which is threatened by overuse--the EDC team is working to create an on-going regional partnership to address and implement integrated environmental solutions in the areas of: economic development, energy efficiency, land use, wastewater, buildings, and human factors.

The focus and emphasis of each charrette depends on the design problem, but the following sustainability elements should be included:

• Building ecology; materials; indoor air quality.

• Air, water and landscaping: site design; aquifer recharge; surfaces.

• Physical infrastructure: water, utilities, parks, transportation, etc.

• Waste management: pollution prevention; construction and demolition waste; building operations waste; water and waste nutrient recovery.

• Economic development: creation of "green"industries; reducing pollution from existing business.

• Human Factors: cultural issues;, environmental equity; social and community involvement; city scale and liveability.

The number of participants varies according to the needs of each EDC and is determined in conjunction with the host community. Most Charrettes to date have consisted of 30 to 60 people usually working in small groups. An EDC planning team will work to integrate approaches developed by the groups to achieve a comprehensive set of recommendations. Three elements are essential to a comprehensive solution: economic opportunity, social equity and environmental responsibility.

However, the EDC workshop is only a small step toward creating awareness of opportunities and the need for long-standing commitment to environmental and economic development of our communities. Experience has shown that a number of elements are essential for effective and sustained community development that builds upon design assistance initiatives:

1. Multi-disciplinary linkages: link university-based and community-based professions.

2. Impact area methodology: create focus by combining project and programs within "high-impact" areas selected for demonstrable and replicable results.

3. Community participation and initiative: emphasize working with communities in collaborating and participatory partnerships that maximize local initiative, volunteerism and community based leadership.

4. Integrative coordination: link local initiatives (bottom up) to broad networks of programs and policies (top down).

5. Participatory design process: emphasize the skills of group brainstorming, design and decision making, best illustrated by the "charrette" process.

6. Sustainable community development: emphasize the need to combine economic, social and environmentally sustainable practices.

7. Research and documentation: summarize the work including evaluation of EDC process so that others can learn from the process.

The power of the EDC is that the community is given the key role in helping create their vision of the future. The role that the American team of experts would provide is one of facilitation and sharing of experience and knowledge. The process of developing this project results from lessons learned during the process of these Environmental Design Charrettes:

• Another lesson is: do not cause delay in the redevelopment process. Fortunately, experience has shown that the EDC process can take place as quickly as conventional redevelopment planning, while leading to spectacularly improved results.

• The third lesson is that technologies and designs which reduce energy consumption and improve environmental quality often cost the same as or less than conventional approaches, but result in significantly reduced costs and waste produced.

• The final lesson is that by being a leader in implementing forward-looking approaches to re-development results in economic opportunities which were not present before. For example, it is possible that Kobe could become the manufacturing and distribution center for Japanese energy efficient and other "green" products. Their initial market base, of course would be their own rebuilding efforts, but as environmental opportunities continue their explosive growth around the world, there should be a ready market for both the production as well as the implementation expertise developed through this project.

It should be stressed that Environmental Design Charrettes are only the beginning of a process. This process is begun with the EDC and can be sustained through follow-up visits, teleconferencing, Internet links, and the use of digitally-based live/video communications technology, depending upon the interests of the host community. Based on our past experience, a project of this nature is likely to have three basic phases:

(1) Project Development: This phase would involve establishing a constituency in Japan for the services being offered, and assembling bilateral teams of specialists in the U.S. and Japan. During this phase the potential for incorporating sustainable development principles and technologies into the normal rebuilding process will be assessed. The scope and content of the Environmental Design Charrette would be agreed upon by both sides and foundational organization would be undertaken. Because of the urgency of returning Kobe to normal, this phase would need to be accelerated.

(2) Conduct Environmental Design Charrettes: The actual workshops would take place and the working contacts between Japanese and American experts would be formalized. The American expert team would be there in support of Japanese specialists. Plans for future in-situ and electronic follow-ups would be developed as appropriate.

(3) On-going Exchange and Support: Since this process will be a learning experience for both sides, opportunities to apply lessons learned in Kobe to situations in the U.S. should be explored. The "nitty-gritty" work that follows the long-range planning most likely would be conducted by site visits and through various electronic link-ups.

Conclusion

Hope and opportunity often spring from tragedy. We hope that both sides will embrace this opportunity to build an enduring relationship between our two countries in order to create a more sustainable vision for our shared future. Our organizations stand ready to work with our Japanese neighbors to quickly develop an environmental design process to help Kobe rebuild sustainably.

For more information please contact:

Margaret C. Howard
Global Environmental Options
900 Park Avenue, Suite 18E
New York, NY 10021
(212) 439-6042 or
(212) 794-4378 fax
mch@igc.apc.org

Robert Watson,
Natural Resources Defense Council (USA)
1350 New York Ave. NW
Washington, D.C. 20005
(202) 783-7800
(202) 783-5917
nrdcrwatson@igc.apc.org