Evaluation
Before the construction of the park, it was not obvious to the first-time visitor that Katayamazu Onsen had a significant natural resource, Shibayama-gata Lagoon, on its doorstep. Rather than building new open space at the lagoon’s edge, which would have been too distant from many current activity patterns, the new park creates a valuable new public space at the heart of the town. It brings the lagoon into the heart of Katayamazu Onsen and in so doing, promotes the concept of water from the most public location in the town.
Of course, there are bigger issues. In Japan’s high growth era, where people enjoyed economic success, few were aware of the preciousness of local natural resources. Damaged environments have taken the edge off the economic competitiveness of the larger towns and cities. In this sense, Shibayama-gata and Katayamazu Onsen may be exemplary of the change now taking place to revive, at least in part, the natural beauty of rural habitats. Bringing back such places in their entirety is a much harder task, since it will require the wide scale restructuring of the water system, including entire rivers courses and their basins.
A key to step forward is to raise awareness and widen the debate about the state of the environment. The Suna-wase Park project has created a place in which people can see and touch the local water while at the same time interacting with other people. This is seen as a key step in focusing people’s minds on the larger task at hand. Although the project has only been open since April 2006, the process of its creation and continuing maintenance are viewed as a model for effective community involvement and sustainable design.
As planned, Suna-wase Park has attracted both visitors and local people of various ages from nursery school children to elderly people in the town. Many people note that the footbath attracts more people than it has room to accommodate; also, that footbathing, being a shared activity, is a prompt for social interaction between strangers.
As well as the park itself, the aquatic plants are managed by local community groups, led by a local expert. This would not have been possible had these people not been involved at the planning phase of the project. In addition, children from the nearby elementary school occasionally help with cleaning and planting, and in return, gain a hands-on education. For example, as a measure designed to prevent algae bloom in the ponds, certain species of fish and shellfish have been introduced by the children. The experience of the children and community members is seen as part of the overall aim to raise awareness and discussion about the environment.
It would also appear that the general environmental and social objectives of the design have been achieved: water quality in the ponds has improved and the numbers of people using the park are high.
If the park has shortcomings, these would appear to relate to a lack of space to sit and rest other than at the footbath, with too much of the remaining space devoted to the gardens and too little to sitting. The relationship with the lagoon itself could also be stronger, and might be so in the future were a direct visual link provided. This would only be achieved under a long-term masterplan of the area, which might include the redevelopment of buildings that stand between the park and the lagoon, at which point the conceptual connection between the park and the lagoon would become a literal one.
