Katayamazu, a spa town in Japan, has been revitalised by an innovative piece of public space. Designed by Professor Yu Nakai and EAU.
Throughout Japan, the economic decline of many small towns has been compounded by the loss of rich natural environments and the beautiful scenery that has supported their traditional onsen industries. Many regeneration approaches have been tried, with mixed results, but good public space design has made a strong contribution.
Katayamazu Onsen is located in Ishikawa prefecture on the north coast of mainland Japan. In the 1980s, it attracted around 1.5 million people a year, supporting several large resort hotels at the town’s focus, the Shibayama-gata Lagoon. Since then, visitor numbers have dropped to around 400,000 per year.
The town’s economic fortune have followed the environmental decline of the Lagoon. In the 1950s and 60s, over half the lagoon was reclaimed for agricultural use. Runoff from this industry caused environmental damage leading to a loss of habitats. Water quality in the lagoon had so seriously deteriorated that the beautiful scenery originally drawing people in had effectively been lost. Without the lagoon, its highlight, Katayamazu Onsen faced a difficult challenge as to how to restore its economic base.
