In order to support the recovery of Ofunato City, Rikuzentakata City, and Sumida Town in Iwate Prefecture, which suffered tremendous damage from the Great East Japan Earthquake, this project proposed the concept of an Environmental Future City based on the two cities and one town in the Kesen area. Index members acted as project managers and led the application and planning process for the Environmental Future City.

Project Issues

In the Great East Japan Earthquake that occurred on March 11, 2011, Ofunato City and Rikuzentakata City in the coastal Sanriku area were severely damaged by the tsunami. In addition to recovery and reconstruction from the damage, the project required a future-oriented concept and implementation plan on how to proceed with urban development to adapt to a declining population with a declining birthrate and aging society.

Index Consulting's Solution

Using the reconstruction from the earthquake as an opportunity to rebuild the region for a new era, we set the goal of creating an environmental future city adapted to a low-carbon era and a society with a declining population, and to disseminate and develop the urban social systems realized in the city both domestically and internationally. Specifically, we proposed five themes: the construction of renewable energy power plants, the development of compact cities, the reconstruction of agriculture, fisheries, and other industries, the spread of wooden houses made of Kesen wood, and the creation of a model for the mutual cooperation of medical care, nursing care, health care, and welfare.

In order to materialize the project, a steering committee consisting of the leaders of the two cities and one town was established, and Index Consulting acted as project manager, forming project teams linked to the five themes. The project team consisted of staff from two cities and one town, companies, universities, and experts, and aimed to realize a project suitable for Kesen's Regional Environmental Future City.

In the end, the project team decided to construct a mega-solar power plant with an energy storage system in Goyasan, build a distributed energy system with micro-grid and other energy storage facilities, introduce area management in the urban development around Ofunato Station (Cassen Ofunato), construct Kesen-style wooden reconstruction housing, and build a community-wide comprehensive care system for the entire Kesen region (Mirai-Kaikan). The construction of Kesen-style wooden reconstruction housing, and the establishment of a comprehensive community care system for all of Kesen (Mirai Kanae Net) have been realized.