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.

Kait Workshop

Dadaab Refugee Camps - Project

QUARTZSITE-ARIZONA

Function Zones

 

Surrounding Area

 

National Parks

 

Skylines

Logistics in the surrounding area

A very good video- documentation about refugees

http://www.prosieben.at/tv/galileo/videos/ganze-folge/248926-galileo-spezial-die-unsichtbare-mauer-1.2999585/

Haiti - Port au Prince

comparison of the different kind of camps

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.