2019 Volume 38 Issue Special_Issue Pages 178-186
In this study, an investigation of the rural community plan based on the People and Nature Coexistence Zones in Kobe City is conducted. The study area is the Oka rural village, which is a suburban rural village, in Kita Ward, Kobe City. This study aims to clarify the situation and characteristics of the succession of a family and agriculture focusing on generation change, as well as the characteristics and relationship between succession and rural management. The results of a questionnaire answered by the officials of a residents’ association, representatives of current generation, and the next-generation successors are analyzed, resulting in three findings: (1) The succession from the current generation to the next generation is diversified in comparison with the succession of the family and agriculture from the previous generation to the present generation. (2) Differences in generations and stability regarding the continuance of the family affect the residents’ intentions in rural farming and management. (3) The residents are trying to lay the foundation for the maintenance and management of the rural villages without burdening the next generation, with the farming association as the central figure.