The use and maintenance of canals by urban residents in Kanazawa

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to analyze the actual use of canals and to investigate the awareness of and practices in canal maintenance by urban residents in Kanazawa, where there are many historical canals within the urbanized area. How canals in the urbanized area are utilized and managed through urban governance and community activities is discussed. The study areas in this survey are Nagamachi koka (elementary school district) and Kodatsuno koka, both near the civic center of Kanazawa. Nagamachi koka has two historical canals called Ohnosyo Yosui and Kuratsuki Yosui, while Kodatsuno koka has one canal called Tatsumi Yosui. The results of this study are summarized as follows. First, until the 1960s the canals in the urbanized area had multiple functions to sustain the daily life of community residents. Today, however, the roles are limited only to such functions as attractive landscape creation and disaster prevention in the case of fire or heavy snow. Second, the attributes of canal users differ between Nagamachi koka and Kodatsuno koka. The canals in Nagamachi koka are widely used by various residents. However, those in Kodatsuno koka are used only by elderly residents who have lived there for a long time. Canal users gradually decrease as their residences become more distant from the canals. Third, according to the survey questionnaire, the attributes and the distribution of residents with experience in cleaning canals coincide with those in participants in community cleaning activities. It was clarified that participation in regional organizations is important for the management and preservation of the canals by urban residents. Finally, on the whole, the residents in Nagamachi koka utilize the canals better and have higher awareness of canal maintenance than those in Kodatsuno koka. Moreover, the use and maintenance of the canals by regional organizations are more positive in Nagamachi koka. An attractive environment created by local governance raises the consciousness of the need for a better environment of residents and promotes the vitality of the community. At the same time, this vitality brings results in the preservation and effective use of the environment. In Nagamachi koka, a snowball effect exists in terms of the interaction between the "environment" and "society.".