Evaluation of Urban Recovery Policy in a Coastal City after the East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami in 2011

The magnitude 9.0 earthquake with Tsunami occurred in East Japan on 11_th March, 2011 causing catastrophic damage and loss of human lives. The Rikuzentakada city is one of the regions with the highest number of deaths and destruction. Especially, more than 80% urban area in Rikuzentakada were destroyed as the most severe area hit by the tsunami. The government complement the recovery plan for City Rehabilitation since 2012. In the pass six years, the reconstruction of Rikuzentakada has achieved certain effects, such as the relocation and reconstruction of residential areas, and the urban function has basically recovered. However, there are still many problems in the implementation of the reconstruction plan, waiting to be improved.

This research is about the evaluation of urban reconstruction policy after the east Japan earthquake and tsunami in Rikuzentakada city. This research mainly conducts empirical investigations on the decision-making, public participation and economic benefits of recovery plan, and residents` satisfaction with, ecological environment and urban recovery policies.

In particular, attention is placed on the construction of high coastal levee which was built by transferring soil from the local mountain. It exams the public consensus on the construction of levee, its cost-benefit ratio and impact on coastal landscape.

The research employs the mixed-methods approaches combining quantitative and qualitative analysis and the benefit-cost analysis to evaluation the implementation condition and economic benefit of recovery plan after the east Japan earthquake and tsunami in Rikuzentakada city. The research mainly relies on the method of econometrics to evaluate the economic benefit combine with political factor of recovery plan. This study is aimed to contribute to an optimization plan for recovery in Rikuzentakada city and to provide the references for the prevention and recovery of policy in coastal cities at high risk of tsunami.