Base Study

A study on the effects of power lines and utility poles on landscapes, and effective landscape improvement measures in suburban areas

Social needs for improvements in roadside landscapes are increasing due to the establishment of the Basic Act for Promoting a Tourism-Oriented Country (2008), as well as high expectations on regional revitalization through promotion of tourism, and the positioning of attracting overseas tourists as a new growth strategy of the national government.

 

Roadside landscapes, on which regional impressions depend significantly, are affected greatly by roadside power lines and utility poles that are installed in large numbers. They have an especially strong influence on diminishing regional appeal, especially in Hokkaido, where beautiful landscapes provide the background for many roads.

 

Roadside utility poles cause many other problems, such as hindrance to traffic safety and maintenance/management. While conversion to underground power lines and other measures have been taken in urban areas, almost no landscape measures involving power lines and utility poles have been taken in suburban areas. 　

 

However, it is considered highly likely that studies of landscape measures involving suburban power lines and utility poles will contribute to the solution of these problems, since there are many other landscape improvement methods in suburban areas besides underground power lines, and it is possible for local governments to take independent measures using subsidies for public works.

 

Therefore, a study on effective methods of minimizing the hindrance to landscapes by power lines and utility poles in suburban areas of Hokkaido will be promoted by sorting/systematizing the current problems and presenting landscape improvement methods that are considered effective, based on field surveys and analysis of influences on landscapes.