Hitomi Nakanishi
Disaster Resilience and Sustainability
Japan’s Urban Development and Social Capital
Routledge, 2024
This book examines urban planning and infrastructure development in Japanese cities after the second world war as a way to mitigate the risks of disasters while pursuing sustainable development. It looks at the benefits of social capital and how communities organise to tackle problems during the recovery phase after a disaster. The book also illustrates with case studies to highlight community attitudes which improve recovery outcomes.
The book underlines challenges such as ageing and depopulation which Japan would face should the next disaster occur. These demographic shifts are causing difficulties among neighbourhood associations at a time when communities need to effectively support each other. Nakanishi explains why overcoming these societal issues is imperative for sustainability and the need for a comprehensive approach which would integrate smart technology.
This book will be of interest to scholars in city development and planning, urban studies and human geography, as well as those interested in building resilient communities.
About the Author
Hitomi Nakanishi is an associate professor in Urban and Regional Planning, course convener of the Master of urban and regional planning and Bachelor of Civil Engineering Technology at University of Canberra. From 2002 to 2005 (October), she was at Kagawa University as a Research Assistant as well as PhD Candidate, before moving to Toyohashi University of Technology in November 2005 where she was Research Associate in Transport Planning (appointed as Assistant Professor in 2007). In 2008, she moved to Australia to join CSIRO as a Research Scientist of Transport Accessibility to lead the transport module of the Urban Systems Program of National Climate Adaptation Flagship. She has been at University of Canberra since 2011 where she was appointed as a course convener of newly established Master of Urban and Regional Planning, which is accredited by the Planning Institute of Australia. She is a member of the academic secretariat of the World Conference on Transport Research Society (WCTRS) Special Interest Group 1 (SIG1) Transport and Spatial Development. She is certified as the Australian Civil-Military Centre Research Multi-Use List participant. She is a member of Planning Institute of Australia ACT Committee. Her work is often highlighted by the media both nationally and internationally, including the ABC, the Sydney Morning Herald and the Japan Times.
