Forming a Compact City with Light Rail Transit The case of Toyama City Japan Project Brief Background and Objectives Toyama has developed as one of the main capital cities along the coastal region of the Japan Sea. The city area of 1,242 km2 with about 420,000 residents accounts for approximately 30% of the prefectural land. However, the prefectural capital experienced both a shrinking population, having reached a peak in 2010, and also aging, with a high proportion of elderly residents estimated to reach about 30% by 2020 (Figure 1 and 2). Due to the shrinking and aging population trends within its large municipal boundary, the city marked the lowest urban density among all prefectural capitals in Japan. Similar to many American cities, Toyama’s spacious and flat land market, strong demand for home ownership, and extended road network has accelerated urban sprawl and exacerbated downtown decay over the past decades. Accordingly, Toyama’s lifestyle became heavily car dependent with the second highest private vehicle ownership in the country (1.72 cars per household in 2010 (Figure 3 and 4)). In response to increased social concern over these demographic and urban declining issues, the city planned to produce transit-oriented, compact township by reinvesting in public transit systems and consolidating a wide range of city functions along the modernized transit corridors. 100% UnitUnit:: Thousands000 population of people 16 19 21 25 29 31 32 33 35 500 80% 38 40 400 60% 418 421 422 422 414 404 68 391 376 67 65 62 300 360 342 40% 59 58 58 322 58 56 53 51 200 20% 100 15 14 14 13 12 11 10 0% 9 9 9 9 0 1995 2000 2005 2010 2015 2020 2025 2030 2035 2040 2045 1995 2000 2005 2010 2015 2020 2025 2030 2035 2040 2045 0-14 years old 15-64 yenars old 65 years old Source: Produced by author based on Report on Future Population Forecast in Toyama City, 2010 Unit: Vehicles 1.6 1.65 1.7 1.75 1.8 2009 175,743 79,799 Fukui 1990 127,276 10,826 0 50,000 100,000 150,000 200,000 250,000 300,000 ToyamaToyama Normal Automobile Light Automobile Gunma Gifu Source: Based on statistics in Toyama City, 2010, White Paper 2009, Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism Yamagata Unit: Number of Private Vehicles per Household Source: Automobile Inspection & Registration Information Association (Data as of March 2010) Forming a Compact City with Light Rail Transit Project Overview Toyama has embodied the idea of a transit- oriented compact city on the unique visual Railway, LRT, Bus Servicec Railway Service image of a “skewer & dumpling form” – a Bus Service Urban Center metaphor for public transit corridors and Regional Core nodes (Figure 5). To realize such a visionary plan, both political and organizational actions were critical. Politically, the mayor took on a leadership role in holding a number of open dialogues with citizens for social agreements and arranging a variety of funds for capital- intensive projects. Organizationally, the city set up three policy pillars: reinvestment in Source: Kanda, M. 20 November, 2014. Progress and prospects of public transit; promotion of new township a compact city in the City of Toyama (in Japanese). along the modernized transit corridors; and http://hokuriku.mof.go.jp/content/000101404.pdf city core revitalization. Reinvestment in Public Transit bring wider environmental benefits, such as reduction in noise, air pollution, and CO2 The city introduced Japan’s first light rail emissions, to the whole city. Moreover, a circle transit (LRT), called PORTRAM, by utilizing the line of the existing transit network was former JR Toyama-port line’s right of way completed with the extension of 0.9 km. accompanied by the extension of bullet train Importantly, innovative project finance services to Toyama Station. The PORTRAM schemes were applied to split the roles of system with barrier-free stations and low-floor railway construction and system operation vehicles over the operation length of 7.6 km between public and private partners for the can smoothly carry elderly and disabled Toyama LRT. The public sector covers all the passengers to a variety of city destinations and construction cost of the LRT system, including vehicles, railways, and I. Project Costs II. Fund Resources by depots, and the Entities maintenance cost of these personnel expense, electricity fare revenue etc. Covered by Toya ma cost etc. about JPY million/year facilities, whereas the 0.3 200 Cost Light Rail Co., Ltd. about JPY 200 million/year transit operator founded facility maintenance cost Ci ty of Toyama Operation by several local billion/year about JPY JPY about about JPY 100 million/year about JPY 100 million/year III. Applied Assistant governments and private Programs development of vehicles(about City of Toyama independent fund by City of companies recovers JPY 1.6 billion), guideways, aboutJPY 1.7 billion Toya ma operation costs from fare stations, electric facilities, about JPY 1.0 billion depots, head office, etc. s ubsidy for LRT development revenues. The city filled about JPY billion about JPY billion billion 5.8 0.7 cooperatefund from West the capital funding gap by Cost urban street project by government 5.8 Japan Railway Company about JPY 0.8 billion arranging the national about JPY 1.0 billion Toya ma prefecture grade-separated crossing government’s road Construction project Covered about JPY JPY about about JPY 0.9 billion about JPY 3.3 billion improvement programs Japanesegovernment and contributions from about JPY 2.2 billion transit companies and by saving land acquisition costs with the former JR railway’s right of way (Figure 6). The design of Figure 6: Cost breakdowns and allocation of Toyama LRT project Source: Urban development department, City of Toyama vehicles, stations, road Page | 2 Japan Project Brief spaces, sidewalks, and fare payment systems City Core Revitalization along the public transit lines were well- integrated to create attractive urban places. The city applied a variety of capital improvement projects and urban operation schemes for city core revitalization. A Promotion of New Township centerpiece of the revitalization package is the along the Public Transit development of Grand Plaza – a major social open space equipped with audio-visual Corridors amenities for various events and covered by a The city designated 436 hectares for an urban high-ceiling glass roof under all-weather core district, 19 public transit corridors conditions, in particular to deal with Toyama’s (including both light rail transit and bus lines), heavy snowfall climate (Photo 1). The city also and 3,489 hectares for residential promotion established a 24-hour bicycle-sharing system areas along the corridors, for which special by placing 17 bike stations with a private subsidies became available for qualified home operator in the city core district (Photo 2). As builders, new housing owners, and multi- part of the revitalization package, a central family apartment residents (Figure 7). marketplace was built by the City of Toyama Consequently, the number of new residential and operated by a private commercial properties along the promoted transit lines association to promote product sales in increased 1.32 times for the period of 2004 to Toyama’s agriculture and fishery industries. 20091. Moreover, local community facilities, such as a public library, art museum, and urban laboratory, were jointly constructed and managed by private developers and academic City Core Residential Promotion Areas along the Transit Corridors Source: Kanda, M. 20 November, 2014. Progress and prospects of a compact city in the City of Toyama (in Japanese). http://hokuriku.mof.go.jp/content/000101404.pdf Source: Produced by author based on White paper in fiscal year of 2014 by Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism Source: Kanda, M. 20 November, 2014. Progress and prospects of a compact city in the City of Toyama (in Japanese). http://hokuriku.mof.go.jp/content/000101404.pdf Page | 3 Forming a Compact City with Light Rail Transit partners through unique redevelopment schemes and incentive arrangements. Lessons Learned Population shrinkage and aging, accompanied with auto dependency, urban sprawl, and city Project Impacts center decay, are not limited to Japan but are issues that need serious consideration for small towns and peripheral areas in both Economic Impact: developed and developing countries. The case The city’s local economy was largely revitalized of Toyama presents the application of a by the extended transit access. A number of compact city concept and a set of policy commercial and tourist facilities along the programs to be initiated by municipal corridor attracted more visitors after the LRT governments. Key lessons from Toyama are line started operation (e.g., a national summarized below: important cultural site saw a 3.5 times increase in the number of visitors). Moreover, the average land price in the city and its Visionary Plan: commercial districts increased 0.2% and 0.8% Holding one iconic vision with all citizens is for the period of July 2013 to July 2014, essential to make long-term efforts in respectively, despite the fact that the entire reforming a city structure and synchronizing a prefecture continuously dropped its average variety of individual capital projects and land price over the past two decades2. operation programs delivered by several public-private stakeholders. Social Impact: The reinvested public transit (or light rail Capital Projects with Multiple transit) system resulted in a 2.1 times increase Funding Sources: to its ridership in weekdays and a 3.4 times The vision of forming a compact city inevitably increase at the weekends. In particular, calls for major capital projects, such as public Toyama’s elderly people went out more transit reinvestments and social infrastructure frequently during the daytime.