endo agra (161)

2011 MIT Global Challenge Competition | Slidedeck | Endo+Agra

Ira WinderAdele Phillips

Miho KitagawaJenny Liu

MIT Global ChallengeFinal ProposalApril 5, 2011

endo+agra

Facilitating a new generation of sustainability in rural Japan through innovative media

1 Sustainable rural production landscapes in

Japan are valuable assets to humanity, and the responsible practices of environmental steward-ship contained within should be preserved (United Nations Univ. and Japanese Ministry of Environment)

2 Our team has studied such rural areas for the past 4 years in a valley called Tane, located within Shiga Prefecture, Japan

RURAL FLIGHT

3 Rural areas in Japan are abandoned in

favour of urban areas at an alarming rate, causing community disruption at various social, economic, and environmental levels. Many communities are left with several abandoned homes in their community, leaving a burden and an atmosphere of desertion

and the destruction of sustainable culture

2011 MIT Global Challenge Competition | Slidedeck | Endo+Agra

2011 MIT Global Challenge Competition | Slidedeck | Endo+Agra

BACK TO COUNTRYSIDE

1 10,000 people migrating to rural areas every year with help from a government subsidy called I-Turn, which guarantees any one who opts out of a metropolitan job 1 million yen per year beginning in 2012.

TOKYO,NAGOYA, OSAKA . . .!

2 590,000 people homeless after March 11, 2011 earthquake and tsunami

BACK TO COUNTRYSIDEEndo+Agra will facilitate the

to end and save the villages of Tane.RURAL FLIGHT

movement

and the end of a consumption-driven era

Task:

Endo+Agra

Hi!

2011 MIT Global Challenge Competition | Slidedeck | Endo+Agra

4 We have collaborated with village elders to offer immigrants to Tane the chance to use one of the 50 abandoned homes in the region if they agree to abide by community standards of sustainability and service

1 In order to bring visibility to Tane and reach out to urban dwellers who might move to rural areas, we must utilize digital media technology that doesn’t simply reach people, but makes a new lifestyle of sustainability enticing.

2 The digital media tools that we create will integrate housing, job opportunities, and community information through a single web interface.

3 Advertising will be conducted through government referrals and established channels of social media.

PROPOSAL

2011 MIT Global Challenge Competition | Slidedeck | Endo+Agra

Success will be measured not just by the amount of people who move to Tane, but by the dedication of individuals who build Tane’s new future of sustainability . . .

IMPLICATIONS

Rural Flight is an epidemic across Japan, so successful efforts in Tane may be scaled to include the tens of thousands of abandoned homes across the country.

And once people are unified under the banner of sustainability, the capacity to solve future problems has no bounds.

2011 MIT Global Challenge Competition | Slidedeck | Endo+Agra

Please check out our full proposal for all the details!