Design process
The Mayor of the city, Mr Shin Mori was elected in 1997 stating the manifesto to create a ‘park city’ meaning a city co-existing with the natural environment. At that time a commercial development and a new trunk road had been planned on the former college site. This concerned some citizens because there were many large trees on the site which were important to the city.
Soon after that, Professor Mikiko Ishikawa (a landscape architect) her students and the Mayor started contributing to the project by raising citizens’ awareness about green issues. Professor Ishikawa suggested carrying out a tree census survey among citizens, then as a strategic drive to realise the Mayor’s manifesto, the Green Corridor Plan was formalised. In this plan, three corridors (an urban corridor, river corridor and forest corridor) which connect seven focal points were planned.
In the corridor plan, Manabi-no-Mori was intended to become the central park. At the beginning, some municipal officers and local residents were reluctant to develop a large park, as they worried about the work load and budget for its maintenance. However, presentations by Professor Ishikawa and workshops supported by her students gradually changed peoples’ minds. They showed the visual data of the area’s vegetation and water circulation systems obtained through surveys and historical research to explain how critical their conditions were. They also tried to discuss the characteristics of good public spaces. Then, listening to the residents’ opinions, a series of action plans were proposed which eventually became the Corridor Plan. The citizens supported the final scheme which is influenced by the principles of English garden design, such as emphasizing vista lines, while preserving the existing trees as much as possible.
Manabi-no-Mori Park was opened in 2005, and since then, volunteer groups have been in charge of its maintenance. Furthermore, the park has been a catalyst for realising other green space projects in the city as residents have grown proud of their parks.
Park Rangers, the local volunteer groups of more than five members each, are registered by the city, they do flower bedding, cleaning, maintenance of natural forests, and campaigning for good behaviour in public spaces. In turn, the city provides aprons, other necessary materials and injury insurance for their work. Now, 1,750 local residents are registered as rangers. Such an impressive level of voluntary work is unusual in Japan.
