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Revitalizing Local Communities through
e-Community Associations on the Web[1]Okayama City, Okayama Prefecture
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Okayama
City launched the first e-Community Associations in fiscal 2002. The
city not only came under the public spotlight for creating such an
association the year following the commencement of the e-Japan project
but also for attempting its first trial run nationwide. Considering
changes to lifestyle patterns and new housing developments, the use of
the internet was thought of in response to dealing with concerns in
regard to what methods could be used for residents to easily
participate in local associations. Furthermore, the internet was seen
to be a useful tool for residents to efficiently exchange opinions
among themselves and exchange information with City Hall.
Okayama City
| - Location : | Okayama City is located in the center of the Okayama Plain and spans from the fertile plains in the north to Kibi Heights. It faces the warm waters of the Seto Inland Sea, has many clear and sunny days in spring and fall and sustains relatively few effects of typhoons due to the protection offered by the Shikoku ranges. Okayama is also a meeting point between the Kansai, Chugoku and Shikoku regions and is growing in importance as a transport and logistics hub owing to infrastructure such as the Honshu-Shikoku Bridge. |
|---|---|
| - Area : | 789.9 sq. km. |
| - Population: | 693,439 people and 275,242 households (as of February, 2007) |
| - History : | Since the commencement of the municipal system in 1889, mergers and incorporations have been carried out in a number of surrounding cities, towns and villages on 12 occasions. More specifically, such mergers and incorporations took place in Saidaiji City in 1969, Ichinomiya Town, Tsudaka Town, Takamatsu Town, Kibi Town, Seno Town, Fukuda Village, Joutou Village, Koujo Village and Ashimori Town in 1971 and Fujita Village in 1975. Furthermore, as a part of the great Heisei merger, Mitsu Town and Nadasaki Town were merged in March 2005 and Takebe Town and Seto Town were merged in January 2007. |
Utilizing the Structure of Community Associations for the Purpose of Exchanging and Sharing Information between City Hall and Local Residents
A new "Okayama City" was born when Takebe Town and Seto Town were merged with the city in January 2007. Consequently, the population exceeded 690,000, bringing Okayama City just one step away from 700,000, the target required in order to be raised to an ordinance-designated city. Mr. Toshinao Tanaka, head of the Okayama City Local Residents Bureau General Planning Affairs Department Co-operation Network Promotion Section, remarked in an interview, "With the increase of population into our new housing developments, Okayama City will meet the conditions required for an ordinance-designated city in the near future. However, the intended purpose of the e-Community Association is not necessarily the achievement of being granting this status."
In fact, the e-Community Association system began operation five years ago, the year following the commencement of the e-Japan project.
"Ultimately, e-Community Associations have become a base for achieving ordinance-designated city status. However, in the beginning, the theme was to enable the smooth and efficient exchange of information between City Hall and the local residents." commented Mr. Hidetoshi Minematsu, supervisor of the above department.
The foundation of the e-Community Association is the internet. Each of the city's community associations creates a homepage to be stored on the city's main server. In other words, an intranet that connects each of the associations is established with City Hall at its center.
Two functions are made available. The first function is a member's service that allows members of community associations to exchange information via email and message boards, and the second is a sharing service that allows information to be shared with other community associations and City Hall. The purpose of sharing information in this manner is to realize the concept of "Co-operation".
The system does not make use of any particular technology or applications.
"The issue of these functions was firstly brought up within the Local Residents Bureau in 2001, immediately after the e-Japan concept was announced" (Head of Department Tanaka).
Mr. Minematsu further noted that "Okayama City has always had a strong communitiy association structure that is active on a daily basis. Therefore, notices from the local government have been circulated and documents distributed through these community associations. However, this method inevitably produces a time lag."
There is a possibility that these local government notices may not reach families that have gone away on holidays or are not at home for other reasons. In addition, more and more residential areas are appearing outside the city due to advances in the public transport system such as the bullet train, the Honshu-Shikoku Bridge and Chugoku Expressway. Many new residents in Okayama City who do not have any local connections wish to participate in local events and voice opinions but they are unsure what steps to take.
Of course, "local government notices" are displayed in city publications and on the city's homepage but these can be overlooked at times. Furthermore, it is necessary to conduct surveys in order to promptly reflect the desires of residents in local government policy.
"Since
Okayama City already has a structure where information can be exchanged
and shared through community associations, we were of the opinion that
such information can be more efficiently conveyed via the internet."
(Head of Department Tanaka)
A variety of information is contained on the City's homepage but a large proportion is related to areas not necessarily relevant to the individual residents who are accessing the information. However, information made available through community associations is more applicable to residents living in the area. Therefore, by using the internet and the City's homepage, only the required information from the vast amount of information can be effectively communicated to residents in each region while also simultaneously obtaining their opinion.
"There has been an increase in the number of elderly people who have become accustomed to using PCs and the internet and many new residents now live in houses with broadband connections." (Supervisor Minematsu)
Seji Hagiwara, the Mayor at the time this idea was proposed, is now the current member of the House of Representatives. He is known for his efforts to develop the information industry and information technology while positioned at the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry.
Upon being asked what Mr. Hagiwara thought of the idea of e-Associations, he responded "What a good idea. Please make the necessary arrangements".
With this, the decision to apply for the "e-Town Grant" offered by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications was made.
"No particular technology would be required and there would be no economic burden placed on the members of the community associations since the system uses the City's server. As long as the resident has a PC or a cell phone, information relating to the area in which the resident lives can be obtained anywhere anytime." (Head of Department Tanaka)
Along with displaying "local government notices" on the homepages of community associations, electronic message board facilities will be expanded so that a survey function known as "e-Opinions" and an electronic message board known as "e-Interaction" would be available for residents who participate in the community associations.
"Having the homepages made for each community association and creating operational rules and structure was difficult. In order to promote information technology in co-operation with local residents, the Co-operation Network Promotion Section of the Local Residents Bureau, as opposed to the Information Technology Department, would be placed in charge." (Head of Department Tanaka)
The name "Co-operation Network Promotion Section" includes the meaning "Community associations = Sharing local government information in co-operation with residents". So exactly how were the "difficulties" in building homepages overcome?
