Toward an Environmentally Harmonious 21st Century
The Basic Concept for Project to Make Kawasaki City Environmentally Harmonious

To develop Kawasaki City's coastal area into an Eco-Town

Kawasaki City's coastal area, on which the Project To Make Kawasaki City Environmentally Harmonious centers, is broadly defined to include almost the entire stretch of the coastal area of Kawasaki City to the south of the JR Tokaido Line. This area is divided into four zones: a Residential Zone, to be located between the railway and Industrial Road; the First Coastal Zone between Industrial Road and the internal canal; the Second Coastal Zone, to encompass Ukishima-cho, Chidori-cho, Mizue-cho, and Ohgi-machi; and the Third Coastal Zone, to consist of the reclaimed land beyond Ohgishima, Higashi-Ohgishima, and Ukishima-Cho. The project concentrates on the area covering the First, Second, and Third Coastal Zones (the narrowly defined coastal area) with due consideration being given to the broadly defined coastal area.

Kawasaki City's coastal area�igif 296k)

With the 21st century soon to begin, the world, including Japan, is at a great turning point. The dangers of global environmental destruction and possible energy-resource shortages-both of which are becoming increasingly serious-along with the rapid change in economic conditions worldwide, require drastic changes not only in national and international social infrastructures, but also in people's attitudes and values regarding environmentally related issues. We are now pressed to redevelop Kawasaki City so that it can better respond to the needs of the time, become a more comfortable place to live in, and continue sustainable development through the 21st century. Under such circumstances, Kawasaki City is promoting its Project for Making Kawasaki City Environmentally Harmonious, based on a new concept-to remodel Kawasaki City into a place where all activities, from people's everyday activities to industrial operations, are conducted in harmony with the environment. The concept for an ideal 21st-century Kawasaki City, where the environment, industry, and culture will harmoniously coexist and vigorously grow-this grand objective is now being materialized step by step.

The Concept of Kawasaki Eco-Town

Kawasaki Eco-Town has been conceived as the plan for the Kawasaki Coastal Industrial Area. This concept envisions that the industrial firms that will be located in the Kawasaki Coastal Industrial Area will minimize their operations' impact on the environment and will jointly take the lead to achieve the common goal of creating a sustainable society in which industrial activities will be conducted in harmony with the environment. More specifically, Kawasaki Eco-Town is being planned as a community:

• in which all industrial firms will strive to reduce all types of impact on the environment throughout the entire spectrum of their activities, from the manufacturing of their products to the eventual disposal of such items as waste;
• in which recycling of resources will be effectively carried out, not only within individual industrial firms themselves but also through cooperation among such firms and through the operation of resource-recycling facilities; and
• hat will make a positive contribution to the betterment of the region, nation, and world, through both local and global dissemination of the information obtained in connection with the community's experience with its newly initiated efforts to create an Eco-Town and other highly advanced measures to conserve the environment.

The Concept of a Zero-Emission Industrial Park

The Kawasaki Eco-Town project aims to create a zero-emission industrial park in which the activities of all those concerned will be coordinated in an environmentally friendly manner. The zero-emission industrial park will be a resource-recycling industrial park. The individual industrial firms within the industrial park not only will reduce their own emissions but also will effectively utilize or recycle into usable resources the emissions from other facilities located there. The firms also will collectively integrate their energy use to improve overall energy efficiency. In connection with all these efforts, the firms will strive to continually reduce their operations' impact on the environment. It is intended that the zero-emission industrial park will serve as the hub of a resource-recycling society from which zero-emission activities will spread across the entire region.

The Development of Environment-Related Industrial Firms

To help achieve the above-mentioned objectives, Kawasaki City will provide existing and new industrial firms with various types of assistance, including necessary information, coordination services, a variety of preferential treatments and subventions, and aid in establishing cooperative ties among firms and industries. In addition, in order to foster companies engaged in resource recycling, Kawasaki City will aid medium- and small-scale firms in achieving the zero-emission goal by providing financial, technological, and human resources, along with various other kinds of assistance.

Concept of eco-town�igif 302K)