Communities and disaster preparedness
Collect Community Safety Observations
Observe public spaces and collect evidence-linked safety observations and improvement candidates.
- People
- 4–16
- Session time
- 180 minutes
- Format
- In person
English session plan
Original program status: draft. Source safety category: Medium; this is not a guarantee of safety.
Preparation: High preparation. Facilitation team: Four roles, including an experienced facilitator.
What this session can decide
Propose observations and verification candidates. Do not determine criminal offences or danger levels, or approve facility modifications.
Outside its scope
- Do not evaluate people or attributes as dangerous.
- Do not enter private land.
- Do not determine accident causes from observation alone.
Primary caution: Do not evaluate people or attributes as dangerous.
Before starting
- Question and scope
- Observe public spaces and collect evidence-linked safety observations and improvement candidates. Before starting, state the subject and period covered in one sentence.
- What is decided here
- Propose observations and verification candidates. Do not determine criminal offences or danger levels, or approve facility modifications.
- Output recipient
- At the end, the Recorder keeps “Record of support/opposition, potential collaborators and hold conditions”. Show proposal priority separately from potential collaborators.
- Participation and information boundaries
- Explain that people may pass, rest or leave, and keep personal information, confidential information and judgements about attributes off the recording surface. Assign Participant support separately.
- Operating team
- Assign the Lead facilitator, Recorder, Timekeeper and Participant support before starting, and confirm who announces transitions and stops.
- Next check
- Set the review date, readers and person responsible for the next decision on “Record of support/opposition, potential collaborators and hold conditions”.
Who takes responsibility
- Lead facilitator
Uphold the purpose and out-of-scope boundaries of “Collect Community Safety Observations” and announce each stage’s start and finish.
From before the start until the session ends.
- Recorder
Record Safety observation notes by location, Observation items and ethical conditions, Record of support/opposition, potential collaborators and hold conditions at the relevant stages and hand them to the recipients at the end.
From preparation of recording surfaces before the start through storage after the session.
- Timekeeper
Notify the Lead facilitator 3 minutes before each stage ends and when switching to breaks or buffer time.
At the start of every stage and 3 minutes before its end.
- Participant support
Receive requests to pass, rest, leave or check individually, and decide with the Lead facilitator whether resumption is possible.
From before the start until the session ends.
Session flow
Minutes are measured from the session start. Method time, transition time, breaks and buffer are shown separately; they are not additional overlapping activities.
0–93 minutes
Observe on-site use
Method: Community Walk Audit · 0–90 minutes. Transition: 90–93 minutes (3 minutes).
Walk public routes and observe sightlines, lighting, changes in level, signs and conflicting uses. Avoid evaluating people; record place and check time as facts.
Responsible: Lead facilitator; Recorder; Participant support
Output: Safety observation notes by location
Handoff: Pass key observation locations to the stage that sets observation scope and recording rules.
This stage may be shortened only in accordance with the stated conditions.
93–126 minutes
Set the scope of additional observation
Method: Observation Contract · 93–123 minutes. Transition: 123–126 minutes (3 minutes).
Set observation items and recording methods for each location needing additional checks. Establish prohibitions on photography, interviews, personal information and access beforehand.
Responsible: Lead facilitator; Recorder; Participant support
Output: Observation items and ethical conditions
Handoff: Pass evidence-supported improvement candidates to the stage checking support/opposition and willingness to collaborate.
This stage is not marked as shortenable.
136–154 minutes
Check support and participation for improvements
Method: Support and Action Ballot · 136–151 minutes. Transition: 151–154 minutes (3 minutes).
Record support/opposition to improvements, ability to help with checks and reasons for holding separately. Keep safety- or rights-related hold reasons regardless of vote counts.
Responsible: Lead facilitator; Recorder; Participant support
Output: Record of support/opposition, potential collaborators and hold conditions
Handoff: Hand observation records, ethical conditions and ballot results to the community lead.
This stage is not marked as shortenable.
What is retained and who receives it
Safety observation notes by location
Owner: Recorder
Link place, time and observed facts.
Observation items and ethical conditions
Owner: Recorder
Limit what is observed, where, when and within what scope.
Record of support/opposition, potential collaborators and hold conditions
Owner: Recorder
Show proposal priority separately from potential collaborators.
Materials and setup
Material names, quantities, groups and handling instructions retain the fixed draft's original helper-derived guidance. Where a format is marked “Source material specification”, the entire bound English source material entry takes precedence over the old helper-derived format guidance. This format-only correction does not resolve other instruction or safety concerns. English names are not substituted into a Japanese-keyed lookup.
Everyday tools
- Broad-tip pens
Quantity: 2 per group
Format: Dark broad-tip pens or whiteboard markers
Check that the ink flows and place the pens where participants can reach them. Avoid pale-coloured pens.
- Action sticky notes
Quantity: 3 per person
Format: Sticky notes around 75 × 75 mm, or A4 copy paper cut into four pieces.
Do not buy special-purpose materials. Write “Action” at the top of each paper piece. If participants will write on it, use one item per piece and handwrite the required headings before starting.
- Pens
Quantity: 1 per person
Format: Dark broad-tip pens or whiteboard markers
Check that the ink flows and place the pens where participants can reach them. Avoid pale-coloured pens.
- Pens
Quantity: 1 per person
Format: Dark broad-tip pens or whiteboard markers
Check that the ink flows and place the pens where participants can reach them. Avoid pale-coloured pens.
Sheets to prepare by hand
- Cards separating community resources and issues
Quantity: 10 of each type per group
Format: Sticky notes around 75 × 75 mm, or A4 copy paper cut into four pieces.
Write “Resource” and “Issue” on separate sheets, one label per sheet, and prepare the required quantity of each type. Distinguish them by written headings even when the colour is the same.
- Portable safety-check sheet for the walk
Quantity: 1 per group
Format: A4 copy paper folded in half or into quarters
Create four fields: “Walking route”, “Return time”, “Emergency contacts” and “Photo-deletion date”. Fold the sheet for outdoor use; each group’s route checker carries it.
- Cards for choosing safety responses during participation
Quantity: 1 set per person
Format: Sticky notes around 75 × 75 mm, or A4 copy paper cut into four pieces.
Write “Stop”, “Rest” and “Indoor participation” on separate sheets, one label per sheet, and prepare the required quantity of each type. Distinguish them by written headings even when the colour is the same.
- Table for agreeing actions and observation methods
Quantity: 1 sheet per group plus 1 for whole-group consolidation
Format: Source material specification: One A3 observation-contract sheet per group, plus one for whole-group integration
Source-bound format display correction; the other fixed helper-derived guidance is unchanged.
Divide the work surface into 7 fields: “Action to try”, “Facts to observe”, “Observer”, “How results are returned to the person”, “Record format”, “Observation deadline” and “Where results will be reviewed”. Do not rely on colour alone; write each field heading in words.
- Example-record cards
Quantity: 1 per group
Format: Sticky notes around 75 × 75 mm, or A4 copy paper cut into four pieces.
Before starting, write just one example close to the content used in this method. Show it as an example of how to write, not a correct answer for participants to copy.
- Anonymous support ballots and named implementation-participation ballots
Quantity: 1 of each per person
Format: Sticky notes around 75 × 75 mm, or A4 copy paper cut into four pieces.
Make a pair of two ballots: label one “Support ballot—anonymous” and the other “Implementation ballot—name”. Write support for the proposal on the support ballot, and willingness to undertake the first task plus the person’s name on the implementation ballot. Do not put the two types in the same collection area.
- Table counting support and implementation participation separately
Quantity: 1 sheet per table
Format: A4 copy paper
Divide the work surface into 2 fields: “Number of support ballots” and “Number of named implementation volunteers”. Do not rely on colour alone; write each field heading in words.
Information to gather before the session
- Maps with aligned scope and scale
Quantity: 1 per group
Format: A printed map whose source and terms of use have been checked. If unavailable, use an abstract map at the same scale showing roads and facilities without identifying individuals.
Before the event, provide every group with maps of the same area, orientation and scale, and write the source and check date. A blank sheet with only a title is not a substitute.
Materials chosen for the session conditions
- Managed device with location saving, automatic cloud sync and external sharing disabled
Quantity: 1 per group using a device
Format: Use paper records by default; use a managed device only when location information needs to be handled.
If using a device, turn off location saving, automatic sync and external sharing, then check storage locations and deletion dates. Prefer paper for records that paper can replace.
- Separate collection areas for support and implementation ballots
Quantity: 1 of each per table
Format: Two existing envelopes or empty boxes. If unavailable, divide the tabletop into two areas with masking tape.
Label one clearly “Support ballots—anonymous” and the other “Implementation ballots—named”. Place them apart and do not mix them after collection.
Setup for each method
Community Walk Audit
- Display safe routes, rest points, return time, subjects that must not be photographed and indoor participation options.
- Assign one device manager and turn off automatic sync and external sharing. Only the responsible person views exception photos, deleting them from every sync destination within at most 7 days.
Observation Contract
- One island table per group of no more than 5, with observers and people carrying out actions in separate seats
- At least 10 cm of right-hand margin on each group's contract-sheet work surface for adding a check date at the end of each row
- One wall for posting together rows using the same record format
Support and Action Ballot
- Make tables of no more than 10 people and keep the two collection areas apart at each table
- Display one proposal, required support count, and required number of people taking action where all tables can see them
When to switch or stop
Fallbacks
- There are concerns about weather, traffic or public safety.
Cancel the on-site walk and switch to desk-based checking of public images and existing records.
Method guide: Community Walk Audit
Stop conditions
- Dangerous conduct, an accident or possible crime is recognised on site.
- Stop observation, keep a distance and move to the necessary official-contact procedure.
- Photographing, tracking or evaluating individuals begins.
- Stop recording and return to environmental observation without individuals.
Sources, rights and limits
This site has composed this programme’s purpose, method sequence, delivery instructions, roles, outputs and switching conditions. See each individual method page for that method’s sources and licences.
Original source records and their required notices are retained below. Their presence does not mean a new legal or cultural-safety clearance. Original citation titles are kept in their source language.
Sources and required notices for the 3 methods used
Community Walk Audit
- 総務省「ワークショップ手法を活用した話し合いのすすめ」: p.4 menu 1 — PDL-1.0 adaptation; changes made
- PDL-1.0の適用条件 — PDL-1.0
- Source: Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications: A Guide to Discussion Using Workshop Methods, p.4 menu 1 | https://www.soumu.go.jp/main_content/000997425.pdf | PDL-1.0 adaptation; changes made
- Source: Conditions applying to PDL-1.0 | https://www.soumu.go.jp/menu_kyotsuu/policy/tyosaku.html | PDL-1.0
- Attribution: Taiwa no Fumen Editorial Team | This site’s text and illustrations
- Cultural caution: This manifest contains no structured cultural-safety assessment. Human checks are required for context, opting out of participation and power differences.
- Limits of this record: Only the notices displayed in the public YAML were transcribed. This does not assert that no individual rights exist.
Observation Contract
- 対話の譜面編集部: 観察の契約 — Original description and diagrams
- Source: Taiwa no Fumen Editorial Team: Observation Contract | Original description and diagrams
- Attribution: Taiwa no Fumen Editorial Team | This site’s text and illustrations
- Cultural caution: open-method screening complete: Closed, ritual or sacred cultural practices are not used as sources; opting out, sensitive information and power differences are addressed in each method’s limits and branches.
- Limits of this record: The editorial team independently created the text, procedures and diagrams. It claims no exclusive rights over general dialogue operations or ideas themselves.
Support and Action Ballot
- 対話の譜面編集部による設計 — This description is original
- Source: Designed by the Taiwa no Fumen Editorial Team | This description is original
- Attribution: Taiwa no Fumen Editorial Team | This site’s text and illustrations
- Cultural caution: This manifest contains no structured cultural-safety assessment. Human checks are required for context, opting out of participation and power differences.
- Limits of this record: Only the notices displayed in the public YAML were transcribed. This does not assert that no individual rights exist.
Japanese resources and historical source records
Original Japanese plan and its print view · Japanese operation pack or starter materials
An English print edition is not provided here. The linked plans, print views and operation materials are Japanese resources.
Historical recorded publication holds
The following original hold statements are retained verbatim with their fixed source versions. They are not a statement of current acceptance, nor does this historical label resolve a source-specific restriction.
- English translation and rendered-page independent acceptance pending
- Method dependency source/text SHA binding and current source-specific rights verification pending
- Publication not cleared
Historical fixed-source and English-draft provenance
Japanese program SHA-256: 3fc296dfa960d87b71634448c95a84293a4815242d403ababa61cda73c606e29
Fixed source context SHA-256: 3b3556e1bcbebca94351778a4c3b63667a1e1359c1be985ef2c709e2555da7a2
English draft SHA-256: 8bd2cd8ea154ca8a2e2b351421d0e104b3b316b1695426991a676a4f39e1ca61
- observation-contract: source
70e5f59bb84942843d00c690048ab396fd5caa3fdca8dc9fa26b5fb4060166ad; English drafta700e2f5b974c571ba15dcb5c1156205d527285ea15ed08ccd71dd1ae74abaed - soumu-community-walk: source
adc35d91cfc49642928cbdc3339c50404fade036a4352b35ec3ad63c0980fdee; English draft29eb87b58cb93be50b8df38fa3fcb69c017fbf16c74c773c9427567bb2d5b033 - support-and-action-ballot: source
a0e8a30418440d91eb8c25199b3a60b0acb2423d95031de2808cfcd33f60c3b2; English draft1b5ac4982cffb5fed160e6c24d2ce06fe8a6ae9f06d08100399a19330a1565e5
These hashes identify the checked inputs; they do not grant independent acceptance or publication clearance.