Case Study of Eco-town Project in Kitakyushu: Tension Among Incumbents and the Transition from Industrial City to Green City

Abstract

In the decades following World War II, the city of Kitakyushu in southern Japan gained an international reputation for its steel production and industrial pollution. But in the early 1990s, the city government (hereafter, "City") began to change its industrial structure and pursue a course of sustainability through environmental conservation, the promotion of environmental business, and welfare for local citizens. The Kitakyushu Eco-town Project, an initiative aimed at promoting environmental business such as polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottle recycling and home appliance recycling, was started in 1997 to effectively utilise reclaimed land in Hibikinada, located in the northwestern part of the city. The concept for utilising reclaimed land was discussed within the public sector (Committee for Hibikinada Basic Development Plan), and specific contents were conceived by the private sector (study group and advisory committee). Pressure from incumbent personnel, namely insiders with new ideas in established private and public institutions, was important in facilitating the transition. In a short period of time, the Eco-town has expanded domestically, both geographically and in terms of the scope of sectors represented, and overseas to China. The Kitakyushu Eco-town Project can be viewed as a catalyst of Kitakyushu's transition from an industrial city to a green city. The public-private collaborative networks and individual expertise developed through this project have had a longstanding influence on the design of subsequent projects such as Environmental Model City and Smart Community projects.In this case study, the authors analyse, through document analysis and interview surveys, the transition process Kitakyushu followed from an industrial city with controlled pollution to a green city with a strong focus on the promotion of environmental industry and sustainability with multiple dimensions including environment, healthcare, and economic values.