ABSTRACT
This concluding chapter points out that Japan’s challenges are: the state of the economy, the ageing of the population, the low birth rate and the imbalanced concentration of population and business in metropolitan areas. The author suggests that the core values of urban development should be a) disaster resilience as an essential element of society, and b) quality of life. Social capital strongly influences disaster resilience. She concludes that the current urban development that only seeks short-term economic profits is not producing resilient cities. Both urban planners and residents need to trial new and different approaches. The author emphasises that collaborative urban development which focuses on quality of life will enhance disaster resilience.
