Sustainable Community Development - Efforts in Ozu City, Ehime Prefecture -

In 2017, Ozu City was in danger of losing its elegant townscape due to the demolition of the remaining old houses in the castle town as the population declined and aged. Fearing that the town's landscape would be lost if nothing was done, local young people took the lead and began volunteer activities such as cleaning vacant houses and simple maintenance and repair, and also held events using the cleaned old houses.
At the same time, a study group consisting of city hall officials and employees of a regional financial institution was formed, and with the advice of experts, a mechanism for community development in Ozu was created.

In 2018, VALUE MANAGEMENT Co. ltd., NOTE Inc., Iyo Bank, and Ozu City signed a public-private partnership agreement. The roles were then shared to promote tourism town development utilizing historical resources such as townhouses and old private houses. In the same year, Kita Management General Incorporated Association, a regional DMO funded by the city, was formed to take charge of tourism town development in Ozu.

In 2019, the Ozu City Tourism and Town Development Strategy Council formulated the “Ozu City Tourism and Town Development Strategy Vision (Phase 1).” Plans and policies for tourism town development utilizing historical resources such as townhouses and old private houses through public-private partnerships were established.

Between 2019 and 2023, a number of buildings have been revitalized through tourism town planning efforts utilizing historical resources through public-private partnerships. A representative example of such renovation is the “NIPPONIA HOTEL Ozu Castle Town.” The hotel is a “decentralized hotel” project in which old private houses scattered throughout the town are revitalized and utilized as hotels and stores. In addition, the “Ozu Castle Stay,” Japan's first castle stay in a wooden castle keep, has been created, not only to promote the town, but also to preserve and pass on traditional culture in a sustainable manner.
On the other hand, the rapid renovation of the town has led to concerns about the lack of community formation with residents. Therefore, starting in 2022, “Ozu Machizukuri University” is held once a month for businesses in the castle town as a place to learn about the town's initiatives and new learning opportunities. For local residents, “Diego Academia” has been held regularly as a place to discuss community development. And Kita Management conducts “Tourism Education” for local elementary, junior high, and high school students to help them learn the perspective of city planning and to deepen their understanding of tourism and city planning.
In recognition of the above efforts, the city was selected as one of the “Top 100 Sustainable Tourism Destinations” for two consecutive years in 2022 and 2023, and in March 2023, it was ranked first in the world in the cultural and traditional preservation category of “The Green Destinations Story Award.”

In 2024, in addition to the conservation and utilization of traditional culture that Ozu has been working on, Ozu has begun fundamental discussions on nature conservation, social welfare, and climate change countermeasures. And Ozu is/the town working on sustainable city planning efforts, including the study of a new plan to enable the natural environment and local people to live in harmony with tourists, or sustainability training for citizens and local businesspeople.
These efforts were comprehensively evaluated and received the silver award of the Green Destinations Certification programme.
Although there are still many issues that Ozu City needs to address, we will continue to promote sustainable city development initiatives to make our city a better place to live.