Incorporation of citizens' opinions into the process of earthquake ruins maintenance: A case study of the Great East Japan earthquake ruins in Miyagi Prefecture

Abstract

The Great East Japan Earthquake struck in March 2011, causing a huge tsunami on the northeastern coast of Japan. In the disaster area, there has been a movement to preserve the damaged structures as earthquake ruins. In this study, the characteristics of establishing consensus were investigated by clarifying how the earthquake ruins have been preserved and removed, and how the opinions of citizens were accounted for in the process of maintaining these sites. The study focused on 21 earthquake ruins in Miyagi Prefecture, which were the closest to the epicenter. We extracted 30 elements from the earthquake ruins maintenance process and created labels for them. From these, we prepared time‐series charts and flowcharts and discussed the relation between entities and citizens' opinions regarding the maintenance process. We clarified four stages pertaining to the preserved ruins and found four types of relationships between the major opinions and treatment decisions. Furthermore, the periods following the earthquake were divided into three phases: pioneering, deliberation, and implementation. Consequently, we suggested that citizens' opinions, coupled with expert advice, could be used to help establish consensus in an incremental manner when making administrative decisions.