Urban Design Center（UDC）Shinchi

We understand that the public-private-education partnership, that is a coordination among local residents and municipalities, companies, universities and research institutions relating to local communities, is quite important in terms of community development with local ownership. To make it successful, it could be said from our experiences that it is essential to effectively promote this public-private-education partnership by establishing and operating center facilities firmly rooted in the community. As mentioned above, the Urban Design Center has developed similar activities in several areas inside the country, based on achievements in its leading activities and practical knowledge of UDCK in Kashiwa-no-ha District in Kashiwa City of Chiba Prefecture, where Kashiwa Campus of the University of Tokyo is located. There are 16 centers across the country as of March 2018, promoting practical public-private-education partnership (http://udc-initiative.com/all-udc/). Based on these achievements, the Project Team shall establish “UDC Shinchi” as an activity center to promote “Environmental Energy Community Development” in public-private-education coordination and in cooperation with Shinchi Town and its local people.

This center facility shall function as a platform for smoothly promoting the coordination between the University and the local community in implementing the following education and research project. Every year, around 20 graduate students and foreign students will be kindly accepted by the local community, and this center shall function for the field coordination when field exercises are conducted. In order to maximize learning opportunities for graduate students, young researchers shall be employed to conduct research on themes I - III, to provide instructions in field exercises of the Graduate School, and to assist community development. Operational system of “UDC Shinchi” shall be consolidated by young researchers, in collaboration with UDC Initiative. This center shall be a venue for graduate students and researchers not only to have opportunities to get together in the field, but also to plan and implement interactive projects with local residents, local high schools and junior high school, and so on. It creates opportunities for graduate students to participate in social activities and provide students in high schools and junior high schools in Shinchi Town, especially students in Fukushima Prefecture Shinchi High School, with a learning space regarding energy-related fields and community development as human resources for the local community in the future.

In addition, Shinchi Town has also an issue to create an abounding atmosphere in people by enhancing various facilities as part of reconstruction community development in the vicinity of JR Shinchi Station. The center shall assist planning, conduct measurement, analyses and assessments regarding impacts by those facilities, and provide feedbacks for practical operation and improvement of respective facilities, to enable an increase in the number of their users, visitors, and pedestrians, through the enhancement of facilities after the infrastructure development by land readjustment projects.