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 Background of creating "amenity" in Europe

　Finally, I would like to conclude this article by summarizing the points that should be utilized in creating Japanese townscapes. What impressed me strongly on this trip was the appearance of the government and the people living there working together to create a cityscape full of flowers, as I saw at Yvoire. I felt that this bond between the government and the residents who share the same purpose was the source of a "lively" and "comfortable" city.
　"Creating a cityscape of flowers" is not a temporary action like creating a work of art, but an act that requires cooperation and continuation. For that purpose, people's communication is indispensable, and it is a movement that will never succeed without cooperation. Although it requires a lot of energy, by expanding the environment creation from individual homes to the city and taking action, the awareness of all residents to participate in the cityscape development will increase, and as a result, they created a high level of "amenity".

　As the scale of the other towns increased, the direct participation of the residents became a little weaker, but the government created a warm and humane townscape everywhere. It was unbelievable that the flower cityscape movement was developing in Europe only 31 years ago.
　Originally, the movement started as a goal of building a new land after getting out of the turmoil of World War II, but some cities have already entered the second stage. I would like to introduce the comments of the mayors who met in this official city visit.

• The stage of blooming is over. It is a consciousness that it is natural that the flowers are already blooming. Now I'm interested in how to match the building into the flowers. (France: Borm Remimosa)
• Landscaping is an art. Gardening has entered the civilian life and has reached the realm of creativity. The city is currently promoting planned greening with the theme of improving the environment of the second factory area. (France: Macon)

　Why did the creation of the flower cityscape develop so rapidly? In France, I felt that the main reasons were the following four points.

1.There is a clear goal for creating a cityscape of flowers

The “Flower Cityscape Contest” and “Four Flowers” system in France provide people with an opportunity to think about their own cityscape and are a strong motivation to raise their awareness of the landscape. The competition is held in three stages, each prefecture level and each city / town level, including a national level contest that selects cities for international entry, and commends the creation of a beautiful environment in the two categories of individual housing and the area. A city with an excellent track record in the competition is rated as "four flowers". "Four flowers" is the highest goal of creating a flower cityscape, and it is a great pride of the city and residents who have acquired it.

2.The government is actively working to create a flower cityscape

In France, the great success of the government is driving the creation of flower cityscapes. Even in a city with a population of 580,000, it has a large-scale greening staff of 88,220 and spends 15% to 25% of the city budget to grow and conserve flowers and greenery. (Annecy, Créteil)
It can be said that the maintenance system for public flower beds, flowers and greenery in the park is perfect. The city also arranges flower containers (planters) for individuals and sometimes cares for trees and flowers facing the street. (Macon)
In addition, there was a chief landscaping designer in every city, paying attention to the coordination of flowers and the cityscape, and planned and high-level cityscape design was done.

3.Residents also have the conditions to work on creating a flower cityscape

Many people have gardening dexterity and a lot of free time (37 working hours a week), and as a national character, they are willing to create a garden and decorate flowers. Some people even build their own homes. There are also many garden shops for making flowers, which are lined up along the road. In addition, the landscaping designers on the administrative side are also helping to create an environment for the residents.

4.By decorating the flowers, it becomes a very wonderful cityscape

Obviously, great results can be motivating. The cityscape itself, which is the base, is very simple, and by decorating the flowers, it transforms into a surprisingly beautiful city. Utility poles, electric wires, signboards, neon lights, etc. are suppressed, and even road signals are neatly housed in a small pole in a vertical shape. It's a cityscape with no obstructive obstacles.
In addition, the number of floors, shape, color, etc. of the building itself are regulated, and as a result, the brightly colored flower coordination is very shining in the beige masonry cityscape. In terms of life, the city ask for cooperation not to dry laundry and bedding outdoors, and maintain a beautiful cityscape. It may also be helped by the climate where the humidity is low and the laundry dries in the bathroom.

　Against the background of the above, today's flower cityscape has been realized and established. In such an environment, people are relaxing with a table on the street corner. It is a national character that surrounds the dining table with the family in the bright evening and enjoys meals and conversations slowly for about two hours. "Relaxing the mind" to enjoy life is probably the source of promoting the creation of these cityscapes. Compared to Japan, which has found values in economic growth and has achieved high results, it is not easy to determine the superiority or inferiority, but it seems that enjoying the life seen in France and Belgium is very important.

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 Creating “Amenity” in Japan

　In Japan, the effects of mini-development and overdevelopment due to the recent progress of urbanization and soaring land prices are appearing everywhere as distortions of the living environment and road maintenance. Under these circumstances, the desire of people who want to obtain a good environment can be realized in individual houses, but the result is an unattractive cityscape because there is no coordinator for the entire cityscape.

The Japanese administration only defines the framework for land use, and it is difficult both in terms of authority and technology to expect leadership in cityscape development. In addition, it is negative whether the policy of creating a large-scale greening department like France and allocating a large amount of budget will be accepted for the current Japanese urban development. As a breakthrough in the creation of "amenity" in Japan, it can be said that the responsibility of developers and housing manufacturers who are directly involved in the design of actual cityscapes is great. Its duty is to increase the environmental value and realize an ecological cityscape.

　Under these circumstances, I saw the European flower cityscape, I felt that I would like to realize the following ideas and technical aspects.

1.Creating a cityscape that encourages the participation of residents

An environment that can be called an "amenity" is not created by the designer's one-sided proposal, but only by the understanding and actions of the residents. This way of thinking has important value in Japan as well, and it is necessary to recognize and act as the basis of cityscape development.
　It is important not only to propose a cityscape and have people understand its purpose, but also to promote communication between residents in order to maintain the cityscape.

　Various methods can be considered for communication. If a Japanese version of a cityscape competition like in France can be made, it will be a good goal for all residents. Even as a private developer, it is possible to create opportunities for residents to raise their awareness of maintaining the cityscape environment and promote communication by continuing to call for housing contests. As a realistic hypothesis, the guidance method of "creating a good cityscape can increase the asset value of land and homes, so let's decorate the flowers together and make them beautiful" may be effective depending on the location. By thinking about the approach, it is an important issue in the future to raise the residents' awareness of the cityscape, elicit action, and enhance the sense of solidarity in the region. And I believe that such actions will lead to the realization of "amenity" that residents are proud of, lively and comfortable.

2.Creating a cityscape using flowers and greenery

Various technologies and know-how about "flowers", which is the main theme of this visit, are also items that I would like to incorporate into Japan. The vividness of the flowers and the emotional excitement I experienced in the cities of central France such as Yvoire, Annecy and Chatillon were intense. Flowers and trees are basically the same as those in Japan. Although the buildings are different, the beauty of nature should surely suit the Japanese city. It has a history of just over 30 years in Europe. There is also a tradition of gardens and flower arrangement from ancient times, and it may be possible to build high-level things unique to Japan even now. The points that impressed me during the trip are as follows.

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◆The process of decorating the windows with flowers is very good. Ivy-type voluminous flowers, etc., have a good combination of flower color and leaf color.

Flowers on the windowsill

Ivy geranium (red, pink)	Fukushiya
Ageratum (blue, purple)	Fuji
Impatiens	Begoniya
Campsis (vine without flowers)	Marigold (yellow)
Salvia	Roberiya (blue)
Geranium	etc.

◆Various expressions of flower beds. The flowers and greenery (trees, shrubs, lawns) are well arranged and complemented. In particular, the impatiens, which are strong against the shade under the trees, were densely planted with the same types of pink, red, and white mixed in color, and were very beautiful. The geometric pattern planting using not only the flowers but also the colors of the leaves was wonderful. The flowerbed I saw at Macon was a work of art. (In Japan, like a flowerbed of Mickey Mouse at Disneyland)

Flowers in the flowerbed

Hydrangea	Rose
Impatiens (especially recommended!)	Fukushiya
Plane	Petinya
Chrysanthemum	Margaret
Cleome (pink)	Marigold
Silver ragwort	Regal Vegonia
Dahlia	etc.

◆The design of the planter matches the flowers, using mainly natural materials. Chicly designed plants were combined with flowers, such as a planter designed to look like a hollowed out log on the side of a road, a wooden planter attached to the railing of a bridge, and a round copper planter attached to a window. There was nothing that made me feel artificially cheap, and I felt the attention to design. The white plastic planters commonly found in Japan are disillusioning.

◆The watering of flowers is automatically programmed by a computer, saving the trouble of maintenance (Macon). I was surprised to see a water pipe drawn in each of the small planters. Even in Japan, even if it is not an automatic program, it seems possible to centrally supply water to planters in gardens and streets.

◆A landscaping designer is assigned as a city expert to create a harmonious and comprehensive design of the building, flowers and trees. In Japan, specialized fields are divided into architectural design and landscaping design, and harmonious cooperation is insufficient. Most building and cityscape designers lack expertise in flowers and trees, while landscaping specialists rarely place orders for building design. From now on, in Japan as well, we must cover each other with more interest in each other's fields.

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　I would like to incorporate the wisdom of these flowers and the way of thinking about the cityscape into architecture and cityscape design.
　In Japan as well, the "International Flower and Greenery Expo" was held, and with the recent gardening boom, people are becoming more aware of the beauty of flowers. As the idea of ecology grows stronger, the environment for establishing flowers and greenery in our lives is rapidly advancing.
　While expecting that the consciousness of the government will change and stand up to create a beautiful environment, each of us would like to propose the creation of a cityscape with good flowers and greenery. And I want to realize Japan full of "amenity" in the near future.

　I have described the impression of a two-week trip as I can think of. It was a trip that jumped out with no prior knowledge at all, but I had a valuable experience with the European cityscape, climate, and lifestyle. By touching the cityscape of authentic flowers, I wanted to convey its splendor, so I wrote it with a little emphasis. I'm glad if you are interested in creating a cityscape with this report.

　As a reflection of myself, I felt an unstudied aspect of environmental design in the conversation with the accompanying members. In terms of work, I wants to expand design from the house (individual) to the cityscape (whole).
　In addition, I would like to practice flower making in my surroundings such as at home. This may be the biggest change from the last two weeks.

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　Seven years have passed since I wrote the above sentences, and when I look back, I am surprised to find myself not growing at all, because I leave the gardening of the house to my family and studying environmental design is still insufficient. I feel the change of the times because there are some parts in the text that make me feel the bubble era, but I would like to go back to the starting point again with this homepage revision.

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