Hakata Culture vol.189

Further Enhancing Centers for Exchange in Each Ward

Equipped with a civic hall, meeting rooms and a library, the Minami Civic Center is well known by local residents as a hub for culture and exchange in Minami Ward. It reopened at the end of August 2022 after about a year and a half of major renovation work to address the aging of the facility. In addition to the civic hall, meeting rooms and the Minami Library, which houses 60,000 volumes, the functions of the Minami Civic Center were further enhanced with the integration of the music and drama practice hall and the Children's Plaza, which used to be located in front of Nishitetsu Ohashi Station.

There are seven civic centers in Fukuoka—one in each ward—that serve as local community centers. Free to citizens of Fukuoka, they offer a variety of courses and lectures and provide a wide array of information. Several other buildings have been renovated in recent years due to their age. Namiki Square, which opened in front of JR Chihaya Station in 2016, is another cultural complex that includes the Higashi Civic Center, Higashi Library and a music and drama practice space.

As the population of Fukuoka City continues to grow and residential areas expand, more and more people are living in areas that are not easily accessible to the civic centers in each ward. Therefore, the City also runs regional community centers in areas that are defined as equivalent to wards to complement the ward-level community functions. As of October 2022, there are four such centers located in Wajiro, Hakata-Minami, Sawara Minami and Saito.

The newest of these is Tomoterasu Sawara (Sawara-Minami Regional Community Center), which opened in November 2021. It has a multipurpose hall that can accommodate up to 300 people, a conference room and a well-soundproofed practice room. The Sawara-Minami Library, which features a wide range of children's books, is home to many  facilities that are perfect for visitors bringing children, including Ohanashi-no-Heya, a room where you can read aloud to your children and a bright and spacious kids’ room.

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さらに充実する各区の交流拠点

市民ホールや会議室、図書館などを備え、南区の文化や交流の拠点として地域の人々に親しまれている南市民センター。施設の老朽化が進んだため、約１年半の大規模改修工事を終えて、2022年8月末にリニューアルオープンしました。ホールや会議室、6万冊の蔵書がある南図書館はもちろん、以前は西鉄大橋駅前にあった音楽・演劇練習場と子どもプラザも複合化されて、さらに機能が充実しています。

市民センターは、市内各区ごとに7カ所に設けられています。講座・講演会の開催やさまざまな情報提供を行い、市民は施設を自由に利用することができます。2016年にJR千早駅前にオープンした「なみきスクエア」も、東市民センターや東図書館、音楽・演劇練習場などを備えた複合文化施設です。

現在も人口が増加している福岡市は住宅地も広がっているため、区レベルの行政サービス・コミュニティ機能を補完する施設として設置されるのが地域交流センターです。2022年10月現在、和白、博多南、早良南、西部の4カ所に地域交流センターが置かれています。

このうち最も新しいのが、2021年11月にオープンした早良南地域交流センター「ともてらす早良」です。最大300人が収容できる多目的ホール、会議室や防音に優れた練習室などが設けられています。充実した児童書を備えた早良南図書館には読み聞かせができる「おはなしのへや」があり、明るく広々としたチャイルドルームなど、子ども連れにもうれしい設備がいろいろ備わっています。