糖心视频

Developing a commercial and tourism hub connecting Sibuya, Harajuku, and Aoyama
Practicing community contributions based on Aoyama Gakuin University 's philosophy and expanding the university-industry collaboration system.

*Although the grant period has ended, this initiative continues as an internal project of Aoyama Gakuin University.

Overview of the initiative

In the case of universities located in urban areas, opportunities to directly engage with the local community are limited. As a result, they are often criticized for being self-serving in their contributions, for not taking responsibility for the implementation of proposals, and for insufficient human resource development. To overcome these issues, Aoyama Gakuin University has decided to implement the following initiatives based on the spirit of our school motto, "Salt of the Earth, Light of the World."

Another important goal of this initiative is to create an undergraduate education program that can meet modern needs.

Person in charge: Norio Iguchi, Director of the Center for Social and Academic Collaborative Research (Professor, School of Cultural and Creative Studies)

Implementation report and results

Proposing and realizing a vision for the future of the city: Three projects were selected as key projects connecting Sibuya, Harajuku, and Aoyama: the "Aoyama Street Landscape Improvement Plan (between Aoyama and Sibuya)," the "Harajuku Cat Street Revitalization Plan (between Harajuku and Sibuya)," and the "Sibuya Station East District Redevelopment Plan (between the area around Sibuya Station and Harajuku/ Aoyama)." As a result of faculty and students of Aoyama Gakuin University working with the local community to consider and propose everything from the hardware plans to the software operation programs, the majority of these projects were in the realization stage as of 2011 (see Figures 1 to 3).

Expansion of the social-academic collaboration system: In proposing and realizing the above projects, local organizations that connect Sibuya, Harajuku, and Aoyama are essential, and the university also needs to develop a contact point for the community. Therefore, in 2005, the NPO "Sibuya Aoyama Landscape Development Organization (SALF)" was established together with the community to promote urban development, and in 2006, the university established the "Aoyama Gakuin University University Social-Academic Collaboration Research Center (SACRE)" within the university, creating contact points and bases for social-academic collaboration both on and off campus. Among them, SACRE has been a major force in the university's collaboration with the community. For example, it has become easier for both faculty and students to contribute to society through problem-solving and experience-based research and education related to modern needs such as urban regeneration and cultural creation. Currently, SALF is actively functioning as a contact point for the community (a project implementation support organization), while SACRE is functioning as a contact point for the university (a organization that coordinates university resources and contributes to the community) (see Figure 4).

Reflection in undergraduate education programs (contribution to the establishment of new faculties)

Through the activities described above, Aoyama Gakuin University recognized the necessity and effectiveness of community-based, problem-solving, and experiential educational programs. As a result, in 2007, we established a new "School of Cultural and Creative Studies" with such a curriculum as one of its distinguishing features, and launched the faculty in 2008.

Information dissemination and its ripple effects

The Contemporary GP Symposium, sponsored by SACRE, was held every year from 2005 to 2007, and the results were widely publicized, leading to the formation of a social consensus for the project. In the symposium, the proposal was made to bring a world-class cultural asset (a large mural painting by Aoyama 's leading artist, Okamoto Taro, titled "Myth of Tomorrow") that could serve as a common goal as a means of resolving the conflict between commercial development and local culture, and the project was successfully brought to Sibuya Station through a joint social-academic campaign. The activities of the faculty and students in this project have been widely reported nationwide by NHK and the five major newspapers.

External evaluation and future developments

The details of the initiative's achievements have been subject to external evaluation by the Contemporary GP Third-Party Evaluation Committee at the end of each fiscal year. In fiscal year 2007, a comprehensive review of the three-year initiative was conducted, and it was evaluated that the initial objectives had been achieved. At the same time, the committee recommended that the future direction be to actively develop industry-academia collaboration activities centered on SACRE, striving to expand exchange, consultation, and research functions while responding to the demands and expectations of society, thereby contributing to urban regeneration and cultural creation for the long term. The Japan University Accreditation Association's accreditation evaluation report also stated that this initiative and SACRE's activities are highly commendable in terms of their contribution to society. Currently, Aoyama Gakuin University is focusing on continuing projects that utilize the results of the Contemporary GP.