A Study of the Role of Railway Station Rebuilding for Community Empowerment - Cases of Two Local Stations of Taiwan: Jhu-tian Station and Da-lin Station

Railway station is the architectural space which has appeared with the start of modern society and has changed with the change of it. Originally, station has been regarded as the space occupied by public sector, but nowadays, another tendency of station rebuilding is appeared. That is, station tends to change from space of single function in the past to space with particular image or multi-function. Especially, through station rebuilding, the relationship between station and local government or community has been strengthened, some stations are becoming space to represent their regions. This study researches two cases of Jhu-tian station and Da-lin station, local stations in Taiwan, and on the base of theories of community empowerment and public space, existing research about station, situation and case study of Japanese station, regards station as key space of community empowerment or regional development, analyzes process of station rebuilding and result of soft and hard side which station rebuilding brings, presents the role of station rebuilding for community empowerment. Moreover, this study induces factors which promote station rebuilding, and suggests model of station rebuilding.
Rebuilding of Jhu-tian station has started from movement of conservation of old station building by local residents, and through some process such as collaboration between local residents and government, building of community space of which station plays a central part, station management by organization or NPO which are organized by local residents, has induced result of soft side such as deployment of community empowerment of which station plays a central part and result of hard side such as appearance of station space which local community can utilize. On the other hand, rebuilding of Da-lin station has started from urban planning by local government, and through some process such as collaboration between local government and Taiwan Railways Administration, landscape beautification of central town, cleaning activity by volunteer organizations, has induced result of soft side such as activation of central town of which station plays a central part and result of hard side such as improvement of station function and environment. These two cases reveal, in Taiwan, it is necessary to establish social system that local community can participate station planning and management.
This study compares different types of station rebuilding (Jhu-tian station and Da-lin station), different cases of station rebuilding in Japan and Taiwan, and reaches following conclusions:
(1) If local community can participate planning of station rebuilding and subsequent management of that station, station building can become means of community empowerment, and result of soft and hard side of it can become factors which induce community empowerment.
(2) Factors which induce station rebuilding are local history and culture, participation of local community to planning of station rebuilding and subsequent management of that station.
(3) Station rebuilding in Taiwan needs to establish social system that local community can participate planning of station rebuilding and subsequent management of that station.
(4) Station rebuilding can expand to macro topics such as community empowerment or regeneration of public transportation system.