Green growth strategies in a shrinking city: Tackling urban revitalization through environmental justice in Kitakyushu City, Japan

《Green growth strategies in a shrinking city: Tackling urban revitalization through environmental justice in Kitakyushu City, Japan》

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作者: Fernando Ortiz-Moya

来源: JOURNAL OF URBAN AFFAIRS,Vol.42,Issue3,P.312-332

语言: 英文

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作者单位: University of Nottingham Ningbo China

摘要: Shrinking cities are places characterized by long-term population decline, property abandonment, social inequality, and environmental degradation. Urban scholarship, however, has not yet addressed the challenges of promoting social and environmental justice in shrinking cities. Focusing on Kitakyushu City, Japan, this article explores the manner in which grassroots movements can push forward environmental justice and how that can lead to policies coping with urban shrinkage and environmental degradation. Kitakyushu City was Japan’s major iron and steel center during the rapid industrialization years, which culminated in severe environmental degradation. The need for environmental justice pushed grassroots movements and, in particular, women’s associations to initiate different campaigns aimed at raising awareness of the city’s environmental hazards and to trigger governmental response. Since then, environmental policies are driving Kitakyushu City’s fight against the negative consequences that shrinkage brings about in Japanese cities. Using case study methodology and critically assessing the implemented policies, this article argues that seeking environmental justice presents an opportunity to tackle long-term decline. Hence, the article explores the theoretical implications and empirical factors behind environmental justice as the basis for a new urban revitalization model.Additional informationAuthor informationFernando Ortiz-MoyaFernando Ortiz-Moya is an Assistant Professor in Architecture and Built Environment at the University of Nottingham Ningbo China. His teaching interests revolve around architectural and urban design and the different ways in which our physical environment can promote social integration and equality. His research has focused on global transformations of our urban systems, particularly on shrinking cities, exploring the responses given in different countries to the problems generated by urban decay. At the same time, Fernando studies cities from a cinematic perspective, analyzing how the film media portrays the ongoing changes in our built environment.AcknowledgmentsI am grateful to Maria Elena Indelicato, Malia Mullen, Rosangela Tenorio, and Nieves Moreno for their support. I thank the anonymous reviewers for their thoughtful comments.