Misato Uehara

6th Reconstruction Design Research Award Best Research Award

Misato Uehara (Shinshu University)

"Application of Design with Nature methodrogy for Continuously Disaster Prediction and Reconstruction Design in the Great East Japan Earthquake"

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Reason for the Award:

This study applies Design with Nature, a major planning theory in American landscape architecture, to disaster prediction and reconstruction design. The research digitized the valuable 1980 environmental classification map and disaster risk scores from the Great East Japan Earthquake and continuously verified the effectiveness of data and processes for proactive disaster prediction and reconstruction planning. It demonstrated the potential for accurately assessing earthquake damage in advance across multiple scales.

In conventional environmental (risk) assessment and reconstruction planning—typically conducted separately—this study academically reevaluated the feasibility of integrating both processes using Design with Nature theory. Furthermore, it made significant efforts to apply this approach to reconstruction planning for unprecedented large-scale disasters. The study was highly regarded for its contribution to reconstruction design.