Kyushu University – Faculty of Design – Environmental Design TAKATORI Chika Laboratory

The TAKATORI Chika Laboratory at Kyushu University is engaged in research and practical activities from the perspective of landscape ecology for the purpose of creating prosperous communities through sustainability and the symbiosis between people and nature.

Currently, immense losses have occurred across the world due to rising sea levels and increasingly abnormal weather caused by climate change, in addition to natural disasters such as earthquakes. Meanwhile, Japan’s declining population has led to the abandonment of management of urban, agricultural and mountainous zones, increasing vulnerabilities to natural disasters and causing the deterioration of local ecologies and livelihoods. These developments highlight the need for green infrastructure—i.e., common social capital derived from the natural environment—and to utilize its multifaceted functions of community revitalization, water management, disaster prevention and reduction, biodiversity promotion, landscape improvement, and health promotion. The TAKATORI Chika Laboratory undertakes research for the creation of green infrastructure by analyzing the unique structural, functional, and dynamic natural and social factors within individual regions and evaluating future risks within those regions using highly advanced simulation techniques. The Laboratory also engages with communities to create a vision for the future of their regions, providing urban and environmental planning and design which is both resilient and provides a harmonious and healthy environment to live in.

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