Network Cities

A disaster in Matsue.....

Identification of inhabitable/safe zones:

Mountain ranges

 Existing nuclear power plants

 Nuclear power plants in relation to the mountain ranges

 Areas susceptible to tsunamis

Areas susceptible to earthquakes

Safe and danger zones

A network of the 'safe cities'

 A network of the 'danger cities'

 A safe city network and the dangerous city network, the paradox is that there is no such thing as a 'safe zone' because as soon as people move their they bring with them new opportunities for disaster.

 Relationships between cities in both the zones.

 Example relationship, Matsue and Okayama.

 Travel between the two.

Analysis of existing conditions within Okayama, focusing on existing infrastructure and industry.

Example of the intervention into Okayama through the placement of 'mini' pieces of infrastructure.

 The infrastructure:

Examples of how some of the pieces work:

Recreation

Forestry

Industry (Manufacturing)

Livestock

 Aquiculture

Ecotope

Problem: Japan is very susceptible to disasters and due to its reliance on nuclear power the impact of natural disasters can be magnified.

Solution: The creation of new safe zones away from nuclear power stations and away from the areas that are the most susceptible to natural disasters.

Potential: The creation of a new society and an alternative and sustainable way of living.

Paradox: There is no such thing as a safe zone; once you move people there it is no longer safe as new issues emerge ie. safe zones become disaster zones but on a new and higher level.

The proposal has two parts, firstly to carefully identify the areas that are the ‘safe zones,’ (above) and then create a system that ‘plugs in’ to the existing infrastructure within these places so that the function of evacuated areas can be retained when they are moved to these zones.  

Secondly, to rejuvenate the evacuated areas so that they become the safe zones for future evacuations, this would enable the Ecotope system to work in a cyclic manner.

An example of cities that will be evacuated and where they will be evacuated to. 

An example how the cities could be evacuated using the existing rail network.


(Below)
A study of Sendai and Matsui, two cities in the 'danger zone.'

An example of what each 'unit' that is moved to the 'safe zone' will contain- retail, service, manufacturing, housing and agriculture.

How the 'units' will be placed into the 'safe zone.'

A safe zone before the evacuation.

A safe zone after the evacuation when all the portable 'units' have been plugged in.

An example of what a unit would contain/how it would work.

Possible Safe Zones - Factors and Locations

In an attempt to develop possible safe zones for displaced persons during future disasters four main factors have been taken into consideration, tsunami danger zones, terrain, location of major cities, and location/proximity to nuclear power plants. The tsunami danger zones are located along the coast with the highest risk areas being within 3 kilometers of the eastern and southern coastline. Bays and water inlets created by Japans many islands make for areas that are less susceptible to tsunamis. Japans terrain is extremely mountainous making usable land for development and agriculture sparse. 

The majority of Japan's major cities are located along the coast and in lower elevation areas. Larger city developments such as the Tokyo and Osaka metro areas are concentrated in coastal regions at the inner most point of bay areas.

Nuclear power plants are also located along the coast due to the need for water in the nuclear power production process. The disaster at Fukushima Daiichi showed that areas with in 30 kilometers are at high risk of unsafe radiation levels in the event of a nuclear disaster. Zones up to 50 kilometers have a moderate risk to humans, while zones up 100 kilometers present risk of soil and food contamination. 

The combination of these factors presents a view of areas less likely to be effected by disaster, both natural and nuclear. 

Mapping the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Disaster

Following the Tohoku Earthquake and Tsunami was the destruction and subsequent meltdown of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant. The plant, located on the eastern coast of Honshu in the Fukushima prefecture, was devastated by the size and power of the tsunami. The power plant reactors were designed to handle 6 meter high tsunami levels while the Tohoku Tsunami was recorded at levels of up to 10 meters. Between March 15 and 21 the level of radiation emitted from the Fukushima Nuclear Plant was recorded and tracked. The map below charts the movement of radiation due to wind patterns. 

These wind patterns caused nuclear particles to settle in the regions around Fukushima. The radiation levels noted below are the accumulated levels over the course of the week following the explosions at the Fukushima Nuclear Plant.

 This map shows the correlation between wind patterns and radiation levels during this period.