Blank-Slate City Rebuilding in Japan

Recovery is slowly progressing in Japan, where large swaths of coastal areas are still grappling with the destruction wrought by a massive tsunami in March. It’s estimated that 217 square miles of land were flooded, more than 125,000 buildings have been badly damaged or destroyed, and more than 320,000 people had to be evacuated from coastal homes. As the country tries to recover, government officials are increasingly considering whether towns should be redeveloped right in their destructive paths. A new plan is trying to make it easier for cities to move themselves out of harm’s way.

It’s an effort aimed at developing tsunami-resistant communities that would enable cities to buy up large blocks of land for redevelopment. The plan is part of a new bill proposed by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism. As Nikkei reports, the new blocks of land would be sited in areas deemed safe from tsunami damage, and planned to essentially replace damaged parts of town.