Evaluating the Accessibility of Networks in Earthquake Memorial Facilities for the Great East Japan Earthquake

Abstract

In areas affected by the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake, many museums and stone monuments were established to communicate the insights obtained from the disaster. As of April 2021, more than 200 facilities have been registered as “earthquake memorial facilities” by the government. However, most of these facilities are operated without guidance from the public. A comprehensive visitor plan is required to link each facility, and to effectively share disaster lessons. Accordingly, this study analyzed visitor access to earthquake memorial facilities, and clarified the geographical network connecting these establishments. It evaluated the accessibility of transportation for visitors, and considered ways of enhancing this network. To these ends, we created a list of earthquake memorial facilities that were constructed in the affected Tohoku region; we mapped these facilities using a geographic information system. A facility’s ease of access, as measured by the time taken to gain access, was analyzed on the basis of the distance between facilities, with transportation considered. The results were used to propose a network for an earthquake memorial facility. We also discussed the possibility of providing tours on the facility’s network, and discussed their relationships with transportation bases and other networks. For future use, we proposed a method for improving accessibility to each facility in the network.