The New-POD (Research Division for Future Society that Values Life with a Focus on “New Prevention of Disaster”) at the Institute for Open and Transdisciplinary Research Initiative, The University of Osaka, aims to revive the “world of Inochi” by developing technologies to reorganize the physical world and by forming a “virtual world” through ICT, thereby reconnecting the “mental world” with the “real world”.

Originally, community and town development meant that people collaborated to create better places to live, sharing a mental world and manifesting it in society and space.

However, today, even if people wish to realize the mental world, various barriers and constraints make it difficult, and the detachment and indifference toward communities and towns have led to the dilution of the mental world.

Constitution of the “World of Inochi”

As shown in the diagram, the mental world is closely interconnected and integrated with layers of the “social relations world,” the “physical world,” and the “natural/ecological

world” to constitute the “world of Inochi.” These three layers are collectively referred to as the “real world.” The physical world—comprising infrastructures like factories, waterways, and ports—has historically connected the world of social relations with the world of nature and ecosystems by transforming nature to sustain livelihoods. However, in the postwar era, excessive expansion and hardening of infrastructures have severed these connections.

New-POD has collaborated with interdisciplinary researchers and local government officials in Kansai to develop and implement community and town development plans. It has been found that the Hokusetsu and Senshu regions are less susceptible to natural disasters such as earthquakes, tsunamis, and heavy rainfall compared to other Kansai areas, making them suitable bases for wide-area disaster recovery support.

In the Hokusetsu region, New-POD has continued activities such as utilizing vacant stores and creating hazard maps.

In 2024, it introduced a Decentralized Autonomous Organization (DAO) at the Senri Festival to form new community organizations centered on disaster preparedness, aiming to build a virtual world that reconnects the mental world and the real world. In the Senshu region, in addition to urban redevelopment projects like the utilization of public housing and former school sites in Kaizuka City, New-POD has engaged in intermunicipal public facility and infrastructure management since 2024, aiming to reestablish connections with other layers by flexibly reorganizing the overgrown and rigid physical world.

Furthermore, New-POD is engaged in town development that overcomes broad challenges, including conflict and poverty. In Africa, New-POD collaborates with local organizations in impoverished regions of Ghana and Sierra Le- one to conduct town development education programs in elementary schools, fostering multi-generational community pride and attachment.

Going forward, New-POD will further advance these initiatives and, as a core activity, implement disaster-resilient community and campus development in the Hokusetu region. The University of Osaka’s campuses in Suita, Toyonaka, and Minoh are well-located and well-equipped to serve as disaster hubs. New-POD will plan the utilization of university campuses with citizens, NPOs, businesses, and local governments, integrating public and private facilities, open spaces, parking lots, and more to establish systems for broad-based disaster victim acceptance and wide-area support hubs. Through these activities, New-POD aims to rebuild the mental world based on altruism and reconnect people with the real world by encouraging active utilization of community facilities and spaces.

The Inochi Forum will strengthen collaboration with domestic and international partners and promote the regional and town development activities guided by New-POD to revive the “world of Inochi.”

[References]

・New-POD Website:

https://new-pod.otri.osaka-u.ac.jp

・Senri Festival Website:

https://senri-platform.org/senrimatsuri

・Article on Cluster Infrastructure Management: https://xtech.nikkei.com/atcl/nxt/column/18/00142/02215/

[Action Platform]

Urban Development and Disaster Prevention

[SDGs]