原文標題：
Urban redevelopment II
Dumplings and skewers
Japanese cities are being retrofitted for an ageing population
城市重建II
餃子和烤串
日本城市重新規劃以應對人口老齡化
The coastal city of Toyama is a global exemplar of “compact living
沿海的富山市是全球“緊湊生活”的典範
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TOYAMA NESTLES between a deep blue bay and snow-topped peaks, some 250km northwest of Tokyo.
富山位於東京西北約250公里的深藍色海灣和積雪覆蓋的山峰之間。
In many ways, it is a quintessential regional Japanese city: its residents are greying, its industry is stable but sclerotic, its cuisine is exquisite.
在許多方面，它是日本地區性城市的典型代表：城市居民老齡化，工業穩定但僵化，美食很精緻。
American firebombs targeting its steel mills wiped out 99% of Toyama’s centre during the second world war.
第二次世界大戰期間，美國燃燒彈炸毀了富山的鋼鐵廠及99%的市中心區域。
Afterwards, the city was rapidly rebuilt and sprawled as its population grew. But that was then.
後來，隨着人口的增長，這座城市迅速重建擴大。但已時過境遷。
Since the 1990s the city of 414,000 (and falling) has been battling the ills of an ageing population: ballooning bills, falling tax revenues and an out-of-date urban plan.
自20世紀90年代以來，這座人口41.4萬的城市一直在與人口老齡化的弊病作鬥爭：不斷增加的財政支出、不斷下降的稅收、陳舊的城市規劃。
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Yet Toyama has battled much better than most—even managing a modest revival.
然而，富山比大多數城市做的好得多--儘管這是一場溫和的城市復興。
On a new central plaza stands the crown jewel of the renewed Toyama: a cultural complex designed by Kuma Kengo, a star architect, containing an extensive library and a glass art museum.
在一個新的中心廣場上，矗立着新富山的皇冠明珠：一個由著名建築師隈研吾設計的文化建築群，建築群包括一個圖書館和玻璃藝術館。
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The city has adopted what urban planners call a “compact city” policy.
富山市採取了城市規劃者的“緊湊型城市”政策。
Recognising that sprawl is expensive to build, maintain and service, planners try to make cities smaller, denser and less car-reliant.
規劃者們意識到城市無序蔓延、維護和服務成本高昂等問題，他們努力使城市變得更袖珍、更密集、更少依賴汽車。
These aims, long pursued in Europe, are relatively new to Japan.
這些是歐洲長期追求的目標，但對日本來說是一個相對新奇的概念。
The World Bank calls Toyama “a global role model” for compact cities.
世界銀行稱富山是緊湊城市的“全球榜樣”。
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Planners there have pursued what they call a “dumpling and skewer” structure, in which denser hubs (the dumplings) are linked by public transport (the skewers).
富山規劃人員一直在追求所謂的“餃子和烤串”結構：密集的活動中心（餃子）由公共交通（烤串）連接起來。
Making it work required first winning over lots of recalcitrant locals.
要使這種結構發揮作用，首先需要贏得當地頑固居民們的支持。
Mori Masashi, who was Toyama’s mayor from 2002 to 2021 and spearheaded the transformation, held hundreds of town hall discussions of the plan.
2002年至2021擔任富山市市長的森町正司率先進行了這項改革，他就改革舉行了數百次市政廳會議。
He also travelled widely to learn from cities as far afield as Amsterdam and Portland.
他還遠赴阿姆斯特丹和波特蘭等城市學習。
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Thoughtful design helped. The new light rail has carriages that align flush with station platforms, eliminating the steps that can trip up elderly riders.
周到的暖心設計非常有益。新輕軌的車廂與車站站台齊平，去掉了可能絆倒老年乘客的台階。
Lest youngsters feel left out, the city also built a skatepark, a rarity in Japan. Such projects made canny use of the city’s existing resources.
為了不讓年輕人感到被冷落，富山還建造了一個滑雪場，這在日本很罕見。這些工程充分利用了該市現有的資源。
Old rail tracks were repurposed for the new light rail, a move that reduced costs by 75%, according to the World Bank.
根據世界銀行的數據，舊鐵軌被改裝以供新輕軌使用，這一舉措減少了75%的重建費用。
While the government handled construction, it farmed the rail network out to an expert private firm. It also offered subsidies to entice people to move into the dumplings.
施工方面，政府將鐵路網絡外包給了一家專業的私企。政府還提供補貼，來吸引居民搬進活動中心。
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The policy, though no panacea for the demographic squeeze, changed Toyama’s trajectory.
這項政策雖然不是解決人口減少的靈丹妙藥，但改變了富山的發展軌跡。
The city arrested the outflow of people from its centre: net migration into the downtown area was negative before 2008 but has since been growing.
富山市阻止了市中心人口外流：2008年之前，搬到市區的凈移民為負數，但2008年後凈移民一直在增長。
The new developments have made property more attractive.
城市的新發展使房地產行業更具吸引力。
Land prices in the city centre had been declining by around 2% a year until 2012; in the decade since, they have grown by an average of 2% per year, with gains in some areas reaching as high as 6%.
2012年前，市中心的土地價格每年下降約2%；在2012年後的十年中，房價的平均年增長率為2%，某些地段的增長率高達6%。
Using increased tax revenue from the revived city centre to support more remote parts of the region is a “basic model for other cities”, says Nitta Hachiro, the governor of the surrounding prefecture, also called Toyama.
周邊的富山縣知事新田八郎說，用復興後市區的新增稅收來支援該市偏遠地區，這是“其他城市的基本模式”。
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The new urban design may have other long-term benefits.
新城市規劃在其他方面可以也有長期效益。
Public transport use among those aged 60 and older has more than trebled.
60歲及以上老年人的公共交通使用量增加了兩倍多。
Small-scale studies show promising results: old folks who stay active by using their discount transit passes need less nursing care than those who do not.
小型研究得出的結論很美好：用老年證享坐車優惠的老年人保持活動，他們比不常活動的老年人需要的護理更少。
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For those living far from the centre, the benefits are less clear.
對遠離市中心的人來說，好處並不那麼明顯。
The compact city is a “bubble” which people outside it look on with “cold eyes”, says one 73-year-old shopkeeper in the suburbs.
一位生活在郊區的73歲店主說，這座緊湊城市就是一個“泡沫”，外面的人在冷眼旁觀。
Local governments with ageing, shrinking populations face hard choices about where to keep water and sewers running and where to close schools and clinics.
隨着人口老齡化及人口數量萎縮，地方政府面臨著艱難的選擇，比如哪裡水管和下水道需要繼續運行，哪裡的學校和診所需要關閉。
Even as cities strive to become more compact, they may fail to reach the density necessary to keep businesses profitable, says Okata Junichiro, of the University of Tokyo. But they must try.
東京大學的岡田純一郎表示，儘管城市在努力變得更加緊湊，但它們也可能無法達到商業盈利所需的密度。但他們必須嘗試。
Japanese cities once grew boldly. As the population ages and declines, they must learn to shrink with grace.
日本城市曾野蠻擴張。隨着人口老齡化和人口的減少，日本城市必須學會優雅地收縮。
（恭喜讀完，本篇英語詞彙827左右，有刪減）
原文出自：2022年12月24日《TE》Asia版塊
精讀筆記來源於：自由英語之路
本文翻譯整理: Irene
本文編輯校對: Irene
僅供個人英語學習交流使用。
【補充資料】（來自於網絡）
富山市(Toyama)位於日本列島的中心、本州的中央北部，面向日本海，與東京、大阪、名古屋三大都市圈的距離相等，具有得天獨厚的地理環境。三面環繞險山峻岭、環抱深水灣的廣闊平原不斷延伸，由“北阿爾卑斯立山”連峰等山嶽地帶包圍，形成了以富山市為中心、半徑為50km的統一連貫的地形，生長植物品種之多位居日本本州島第一位。水資源豐富，農業和漁業都比較發達，形成了日本海沿岸一帶屈指可數的產業集結工業帶。由於本地從17世紀就開始發展製藥產業，如今的富山市在日本亦有“葯都”的別名，除了現今在市區內仍有不少傳統的藥店，轄內也形成的製藥工業的聚落，包括富山化學工業、日產化學、富士製藥工業、富士藥品多家製藥公司都在此設立工廠。
隈研吾，是日本著名建築師，享有極高的國際聲譽，建築融合古典與現代風格為一體。曾獲得國際石造建築獎、自然木造建築精神獎等。著有《十宅論》、《負建築》等作品。
緊湊城市 compact city: 針對城市無序蔓延提出來的城市可持續發展理念模式 ，強調通過 土地資源的混合使 用、密集開發等策略，提高城市土地的利用效率和城市發展的品質。緊湊城市、精明增長、新城市主義是可持續發展代言的當代三大營城理念。“緊湊城市”起源於歐洲，主要是針對當時城市面臨的蔓延式發展，強調城市具有邊界、高密度開發、混合土地利用、功能複合、步行尺度、社會及文化的多樣性。
【重點句子】（3 個）
The city has adopted what urban planners call a “compact city” policy.
富山市採取了城市規劃者的“緊湊型城市”政策。
The policy, though no panacea for the demographic squeeze, changed Toyama’s trajectory.
這項政策雖然不是解決人口減少的靈丹妙藥，但改變了富山的發展軌跡。
Japanese cities once grew boldly. As the population ages and declines, they must learn to shrink with grace.
日本城市曾野蠻擴張。隨着人口老齡化和人口的減少，日本城市必須學會優雅地收縮。
自由英語之路
