In this special number, we focused Chiba Prefecture as a front door of Kanto block and analyzed the role of the local area which supported the personal exchange, logistics, human lives and economical activities for Kanto block. After analyzed the role of this area from the point of the past, the present, and the future, summarized the role of the local area which has supported the Kanto block and the future direction of it. The special number consists of three sections.
Part I focuses the infrastructure of traffic, logistics and energy related facilities which have been used for 30 years and explores the new directivity of infrastructure of the urban areas with conducting of Ex-post Evaluation of them.
Part II introduces the modern ages civil-engineering structures and those of characteristics in Chiba prefecture about 100 years or 150 years ago in order to understand the characteristics of the land of So-shu, the area from the east part of Tokyo metropolitan area to Chiba prefecture. It becomes possible to understand deeply the originality of the land by seeing irrigation waters, the disaster-prevention technology and new types of countermeasures for human exchange and logistics.
Part III focuses Narashino where 2013 JSCE Annual Meeting will be held. Narashino started as a place for land reclamation in Edo era and developed as the army town from Meiji era to Showa era, and then continued to develop as a town for supporting education after the Second World War. There is a Yu-road Okubo shopping street which is filled with ambience and charm of old history from Keisei Okubo station to the College of Industrial Technology, Nihon University. We will introduce the community planning of it as follows.