Change of Land Use in Tama River Bed in Kanto District, Japan

Abstract

Before the banks are constructed, the land along the Tama River except barren land and grass fields, was utilized as groves, bamboo woods, mulberry fields, vegetable fields, rice paddies, or orchards according to the conditions of the land. After 1918, embankment works were gradually completed, leaving the high-water riverbeds which are distributed widely along the Tama River as barren land or grass fields to control floods. During and after World War II, when food was scarce, the riverbeds were turned into vegetable gardens. In the 1960s, during the rapid economic growth of Japan, the high-water riverbeds began to be utilized as golf courses, baseball grounds, and other sporting grounds as the area along the River Tama began to be urbanized. In particular, after the Tokyo Olympics (1964), and after the implementation of the First Tama Riverbeds Public Utilization Plan (1966) and the Second Tama Riverbeds Public Utilization Plan (1974), the riverbeds of the Tama River were opened to the public.The lower streams of the Tama River are tidal and are widely used by leisure boats and fishing boats. Safety must be assured for such usage.The use of the riverbeds, especially the use of the high-water riverbeds, must be optimized by considering the flood frequencies, and by knowing the changes in the land use due to historical and societal changes.