Introduction

Three years have passed since the Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami, which left devastation in its path the likes of which no one had ever experienced. But rebuilding of the devastated areas is still ongoing. Higashi Matsushima, a seaside city in the middle of Miyagi Prefecture, is one of the places that was terribly devastated. After an earthquake of magnitude 9.0, over 6 on the Japanese scale, a tsunami struck and more than 1,000 people lost their lives. In the city, 5,513 structures were completely destroyed, many were half destroyed, and damaged buildings, including those rated half destroyed, totaled 14,579 (as of December 31, 2013). Sixty-five percent of the downtown area was underwater, and many residences, public buildings, and industrial structures were swept away entirely.

Today, as part of the rebuilding of Higashi Matsushima City, the Higashi Matsushima Reconstruction Town Development Plan is moving ahead. Aiming for a town that can withstand a tsunami, the plan calls for a complete restructuring. Higashi Matsushima and the Urban Renaissance Agency (UR) have joined together and their long-term plan calls for ongoing work for 10 years, from 2011 to 2021.