Practical Challenges of Creating and Managing the "Barrier-Free Basic Plan" for Better Accessibility in Cities by Local Governments in Japan.

The Barrier-Free Basic Plan (BFBP) of Japan is based on Article 25 in the Act on the Promotion of Smooth Transportation, etc. of Elderly Persons, Disabled Persons, etc., abbreviated as the "Barrier-Free Act". BFBPs are created by municipal governments and play a crucial role in progressing the accessibility of existing buildings/facilities in cities. However, the number of municipal governments which have their own BFBPs stands at only 304 out of a total of approximately 1700 municipalities in 2020. The purpose of this paper is to describe the barriers and difficulties that administrative officers face in creating and managing BFBPs. The questionnaires were distributed in 2018 to 183 municipal governments which have their own BFBPs. The procedures of analyzing the results were as follows: 1) motivation for creating their own BFBPs, 2) supportive advisers in proceeding with the creation of BFBPs, 3) difficulties of creating their own BFBPs, 4) key factors promoting the quality of BFBPs, and 5) self-evaluation of their own BFBPs. In conclusion, the challenges that administrative officers faced in creating BFBPs and the required measures to raise the quality of BFBPs on a practical level were discovered, by considering the population scales of municipalities and the establishment year of the BFBP. The continuous removing of obstacles in existing buildings based on BFBPs will allow for more comfortable and accessible cities for everyone.