Actual status of landscape regulations in adjacent landscape important districts across the boundary line of municipalities, Japan

This study aims to clarify the consistency of landscape regulations in adjacent landscape important districts across the boundaries line of municipalities. Using a nationwide dataset of 655 landscape plans, the research identifies 118 local governments that designate shared wide-area landscapes and extracts 175 pairs of adjacent districts. This study includes 34 local governments as case study areas. interviews and questionnaire surveys were conducted to collect information on the background of the formulation of landscape regulations and the coordination practices among relevant landscape administration bodies. The results are as follows: 1) For each type of wide-area landscape, a deviation was seen in the items of regulation for the conservation of wide-area landscapes. 2) There were 120/175 pairs of districts in which more than half of the items were aligned. 3) High consistency was observed in the landscape regulations of adjacent landscape important districts inherited from prior plans. The study reveals that wide-area landscapes often achieve spatial continuity mainly through contiguous designations and partially aligned core regulatory items, and provides a basis for designing shared yet flexible standards and coordination procedures to strengthen landscape governance across administrative boundaries.