Stay Activities on Carfree Neighborhood Shopping Streets

This paper evaluates the occurrence of stay activities such as sitting and children’s play in two neighborhood shopping streets in the Tokyo Metropolitan area through direct observation and mapping. Results reveal the dominance of mobility on weekdays with cars, the rarity of stay activities on ordinary car-free Sundays, and the upsurge of stay activities during organized street events. Finally, the study discusses the key trends in the occurrence of stay activities, the significance of organized activities such as playstreet and music performances, innovative use of street elements, and the influence of adjacent stores on the liveliness of the streets.Keywords: Car-free, Streets, Neighborhood, Stay ActivitieseISSN: 2398-4287 © 2018. The Authors. Published for AMER ABRA cE-Bs by e-International Publishing House, Ltd., UK. This is an open access article under the CC BYNC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/). Peer–review under responsibility of AMER (Association of Malaysian Environment-Behaviour Researchers), ABRA (Association of Behavioural Researchers on Asians) and cE-Bs (Centre for Environment-Behaviour Studies), Faculty of Architecture, Planning & Surveying, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Malaysia.https://doi.org/10.21834/e-bpj.v3i9.152

Effects of Participation in Community Activities on Self-Efficacy of Japanese Junior High School Students

Evaluating how participating in various experiences affects young people is important to promote further participation in community practices. We examined the effects of participation on junior-high school students’ self-efficacy and motivation towards community-improvement activities: of 114 students from a junior high school (Study 1) and 10 voluntarily participated in a park-design project (Study 2).  The experience of participation even in small-scaled contributed to increasing the self-efficacy of the participants and especially enhancing their motivation with regard to community empowerment

Effects of Participation in Community Activities on Self-Efficacy of Japanese Junior High School Students

Evaluating how participating in various experiences affects young people is important to promote further participation in community practices. We examined the effects of participation on junior-high school students’ self-efficacy and motivation towards community-improvement activities: of 114 students from a junior high school (Study 1) and 10 voluntarily participated in a park-design project (Study 2).  The experience of participation even in small-scaled contributed to increasing the self-efficacy of the participants and especially enhancing their motivation with regard to community empowerment

Visual Impact Evaluation of Wind Farms: a Case Study of Choshi City, Japan

Visual impact is considered as one of the main impacts of wind farms, and a leading cause of public opposition. In Japan, attention has been paid to wind farms’ visual impact in high scenic value areas such as National Parks, but no attention paid to local levels. There is also lack of integrated visual impact evaluation method at both city and community levels. To solve these problems, this study focused on local areas and proposed a GIS-based integrated methodology for visual impact evaluation of wind farms at both city and community levels. At the city level, we carried out an evaluation by quantifying change of wind turbine visible area (Zone of Visual Influence) of wind farms using GIS Viewshed Analysis. At the community level, we evaluated the visual impact of wind farms using the Spanish Method, combined with a questionnaire survey. Although wind energy is developing at a quick pace in some Asia countries, visual impact related research has been lacking. In Japan, Wind energy may become a popular energy source for local use in the coming few decades and play a vital role in the post-earthquake reconstruction. For this reason, we verified the above methodology with Choshi City in Japan as the case study, thus providing empirical evidence of applying the Spanish Method in an Asian country. This methodology facilitates understanding of the visibility conditions of wind farms’ infrastructure to planners, investors, and policy makers, hoping to contribute to expansion of knowledge on visual impact evaluation of wind power facilities that might become important in the future cities. Keywords: Visual impact evaluation, GIS, viewshed analysis, wind farm, Japan

Visual Effect of Modern Buildings on a Traditional Japanese Garden

Even though heritage gardens have been preserved successfully in Japan, these gardens, especially the ones in Tokyo, have been surrounded by modern high-rise buildings that have entered the scenery of the gardens dramatically. This situation has become an issue from the perspective of cultural heritage preservation. This paper aimed to define the effect of modern buildings on a Japanese heritage garden called Hama-rikyu Gardens in the context of user perception by a questionnaire on site. Results indicated that the modern buildings should be eliminated from the scenery of the garden in the future since the participants preferred unspoiled views. eISSN: 2398-4287 © 2018. The Authors. Published for AMER ABRA cE-Bs by e-International Publishing House, Ltd., UK. This is an open access article under the CC BYNC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/). Peer–review under responsibility of AMER (Association of Malaysian Environment-Behaviour Researchers), ABRA (Association of Behavioural Researchers on Asians) and cE-Bs (Centre for Environment-Behaviour Studies), Faculty of Architecture, Planning & Surveying, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Malaysia.DOI: https://doi.org/10.21834/e-bpj.v3i8.139

The Psychological Ownership of Ethnobotanicals through Education

A qualitative research case study was conducted over two summers with caretakers and children. The aim was studying how ethnobotanical content-based environmental education (EE) in English classes can impact psychological ownership (PO) of plants. The objectives were to study reactions to classroom scenarios. Subjects were selected through purposive sampling, and data through notes, observation, and recording. The second summer, a questionnaire was integrated into the lesson. Results showed that caretakers hinder children’s enthusiasm about disliked plants. However, they also change their perspectives with EE. Impact on PO increased from traditional teacher-centered lessons, more with crafts, and the most with ingestion. eISSN: 2398-4287 © 2018. The Authors. Published for AMER ABRA cE-Bs by e-International Publishing House, Ltd., UK. This is an open access article under the CC BYNC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/). Peer–review under responsibility of AMER (Association of Malaysian Environment-Behaviour Researchers), ABRA (Association of Behavioural Researchers on Asians) and cE-Bs (Centre for Environment-Behaviour Studies), Faculty of Architecture, Planning & Surveying, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Malaysia.DOI: https://doi.org/10.21834/e-bpj.v3i8.141

People’s Activities Related on Physical Environment of Public Plazas in China and the United States

China’s fast development during the last several decades make public plazas in China considerably changed, much more people are using public plazas. This study focused on public plazas in Chongqing China and Boston United States, and analyses the research sites in neighborhood scale and spatial scale. Through field observations based on William H. Whyte’s research, data was collected regarding people’s activities in public plazas, and a discussion of how spatial factors affect people’s activities was down. The result demonstrated that Whyte’s elements are partly applied to China and some different ways using public space in China.eISSN: 2398-4287 © 2018. The Authors. Published for AMER ABRA cE-Bs by e-International Publishing House, Ltd., UK. This is an open access article under the CC BYNC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/). Peer–review under responsibility of AMER (Association of Malaysian Environment-Behaviour Researchers), ABRA (Association of Behavioural Researchers on Asians) and cE-Bs (Centre for Environment-Behaviour Studies), Faculty of Architecture, Planning & Surveying, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Malaysia.DOI: https://doi.org/10.21834/e-bpj.v3i8.139