This youth gathering revealed a scene rarely seen in local public discussions.
The incumbent mayor, announced mayoral candidates, councilors, town representatives, university professors, members of the Junior Chamber International, Puli youth, university students, graduate students, high school students, middle-aged residents, and elders sat in the same space, discussing "What will Puli become in the future?"
We used three topics as entry points: What situation will Puli, with a population of less than 60,000, face? How should we respond to the future now? And how can we embrace the future given our assigned roles? Population changes are not just statistics; they will gradually affect school size, long-term care burden, local industries, labor supply, consumer market, public facilities, and local services. These three topics progressed from basic to advanced, with clear objectives.
However! Population decline does not necessarily equate to urban decay. Closing the school with the largest student population might actually help other primary schools survive? In the past, we were accustomed to pursuing population growth, expansion, and quantitative growth. But in the future, local areas may need to consider: How to improve the quality of life for every resident, how to maintain the sustainability of finances and public services, and how to make the environment and spaces more resilient.
At the end of the event, we were fortunate to have our host, Kai, who had just returned from a research trip to Hokkaido this month, share his insights using Higashikawa Town as a case study. Higashikawa Town's population rebound over the past 30 years wasn't a sudden occurrence, but rather the result of long-term accumulation. From the "Town of Photography," "Your Chair," to the "Township Shareholder System," these are all the result of long-term consultation, experimentation, and commitment from local officials, residents, and organizations.
This also brings us back to the original intention behind "Puri 2046."
A place won't change because of a single event, but a good discussion can allow more people to see issues from different perspectives. When population changes are no longer just numbers in government data, but are transformed into discussions about industry, care, education, life, and public services, it has the potential to become a starting point for local action.
We hope this World Café event won't be the only one.
We also hope that in the future, local organizations, associations, government offices, schools, and people who care about their hometowns will continue to start from a population perspective, extending into more discussions and actions.
Going forward, we will continue to promote discussions and practices related to local public spaces, street safety, and residents' lives. In areas with declining populations, there is a greater need to rethink how streets are used, how public spaces are allocated, how residents can move safely, and whether we can start with a road, an intersection, or a life experience to try to make Nantou and Puli more friendly.
