A new concept of soft law by Kenji Asakawa, member of NPO, which is applied to explain its legal and social context of Local Development Exaction (LDE) system, is so interesting that all attendants last evening on 24th February discussed deeply and exchanged their own views to strengthen Asakawa’s concept. Asakawa’s “Soft Law” is an idea that local planning authority can forge an agreement with developer in respect of public obligation even under the circumstance where there is no legal framework to support that execution. Apart from Japan, England and U.S. have legal frameworks to decentralize power to demand public obligation to developer by English Town and Country Planning Act and American State Enabling Act. If and when local planning authority and developer cannot reach agreement in Japan, neither necessary infrastructure nor community facilities can be installed. This kind of situation means that housing development cannot exist nor become market commodity to sell. Although LDE system has been seen alternative method in lieu of national legislation or local bye-law, it can rather become a positive measure for independent local government.
Now Asakawa is preparing full paper and submit for peer-review by the end of March for the conference of International Planning History Society (IPHS) to be held in July, which will become our NPO presentation of Akira Tamura and his work to the global planning community for the first time. We are expecting your understanding and collaboration to our project.
昨晩の研究会は建設的な議論に満ちていた。淺川氏の「ソフトロー」理論は、横浜市の宅地開発要綱に係わる社会状況を説明し、日本と同様に、国による立法措置や地域整備財源の分権化が進まない開発途上国での活用が期待されるものである。今年7月に開催される国際都市計画史学会IPHS横浜大会で「田村明分科会」が設置され、そこでの論文発表を当NPOが担当する。開発に際しての公共貢献を開発事業者に、地方自治体と合意による契約を結ぶことで求める。英国や米国のように、都市計画法や州法による支援措置がない中で、日本の地方自治体はソフトローを実践してきた。この宅地開発要綱が法律条例に代替する『消極的手法』でなく、合意による契約という当事者間での公共貢献を規定する『積極的手法』であることを理論化するものである。おおいに期待した。