Resident Evaluation of a Waterside Environments

The advance of urbanization has brought rapid and large-scale changes to the landscape. Development has impacted the river basins and water circulation, thereby there are causing various problems due to changes in the volume of water in rivers and water pollution. In Japan, with the greying of society and the expansion of leisure time, people seek “ease of mind” and they are becoming more and more interested in the natural environments close to home. In this research we investigated extensively resident awareness of the waterside environment in City A and studied factors necessary for and important to future improvement of this environment based on analysis of: frequency of waterside utilization; differences in the impact of the waterside environment between those who are satisfied with the current state of the environment and those who are not; and functions people expect from the waterside. As a result, in order to realize a desirable waterside environment, water quality should be improved and rivers should be made cleaner, while facilities to enable residents to safely enjoy riversides should be constructed. To enhance utilization by residents, it is important to publicize those improvement projects that are implemented to make rivers more attractive.