6-2-2-5Redevelopment of Moto-machi

High-rise apartments under construction behind illegal shacks lining the riverbank
November 17, 1972 Photo by Yuichiro Sasaki Courtesy of Yugo Shioura

After the bombing, public housing was constructed in what is now Chuo Park. However, the housing shortage remained severe; many lived in illegal shacks along the riverbanks. Plagued by frequent fires, Moto-machi was known as the “A-bomb slum”; its redevelopment became an urgent municipal issue. The Moto-machi Redevelopment Project started in 1969. On completion, thousands of citizens moved into new high-rise apartments constructed in and around Moto-machi and Chojuen. The last high-rise apartment was completed in 1978, finishing a massive postwar construction project.