Research on landscape as a regional resource
We will research rural landscape as a regional asset by surveying the landscape of rural villages, interviewing local residents, and talking to the local government in Kamiyama-cho, Nasai-gun, Tokushima Prefecture.
As the concept of "cultural landscape" suggests, a landscape is an expression of the overall system that includes the natural environment of the area and the livelihood of its inhabitants, and its preservation requires "dynamic conservation" to maintain and pass on the system that makes the landscape possible. However, the system itself has not been visualized in an easy-to-understand form, nor have methods and value criteria been established to determine what is to be preserved in the local landscape. Careful investigation, analysis, examination, and discussion are necessary to understand the local landscape.
Kamiyama is known for the beauty of its mountainous rural landscape of terraced rice paddies, terraced fields, and farmland along the Ayukuro River, but with plans to attract satellite offices of IT companies and a private technical college, rapid changes in the local landscape are expected. Currently, the town is considering formulating its first landscape plan.
In this project, with the cooperation of the Kamiyama Tsunagu Public Corporation, we will stay in Kamiyama to conduct a landscape survey of the area and prepare basic data for the study of the landscape plan. Through the survey, the participants will also learn fieldwork methods.