The two international symposia organized by WAVE in Kobe and Tokyo in November 1996 highlighted examples of the different forms of organization that governments or communities may choose to adopt as the means for bringing about waterfront development or redevelopment, ranging from port bodies to city departments to development corporations to private companies.
An interesting feature of the symposia was that in the case of the Japanese and Canadian examples such alternatives were not judged by the responsible authorities to be the best way of promoting high quality waterfront development with an appropriate mix and balance of waterfront uses.
Both the Japanese national government (through the Ministry of Transport) and the Province of Ontario in Canada (through the Ministry of the Environment and the Ministry of Municipal Affairs) chose a different kind of vehicle - a coordinating agency which would be able to work with all stakeholders and all levels: public and private; local; national (and international); port and non-port interests; and citizens.
The type of agency created was what in Japan is called the third sector; one which has one foot in the public and the other in the private sector and can bridge the interests of each.
3 b. Waterfront Vitalization and Environmental Research Centre
In 1985 the Japanese government established WAVE (originally WARRC) as a non-profit foundation or think tank with a mandate to:
・assist the Ministry of Transport in the development of waterfront plans,
・undertake research, and
・link cities to their waterfronts.
The name change occurred when an environmental research division was added to the organization in 1995.
Under the direction of its large Board of Directors composed of senior elected and appointed officials of local and national government, bank, shipping and business executives and university professors, WAVE has participated in planning for 100 ports and their waterfronts. WAVE has paid particular emphasis to ' planning for citizens", searching for and designing solutions which achieve a balance between transportation and other uses on these waterfronts while at the same time providing room and opportunity for new 21st century uses as they emerge.
