Tohoku region had a rather stable social base. Her economy was diversified such as agriculture, fishery, food processing industries, medium and small manufacturing, automobile-parts suppliers, electronics, high quality handicrafts, tourism and cultural activities and so on. The great east Japan earthquake of 3.11 and its associated tsunami attacks have caused massive devastations in this region, whose damages vary a lot according to geographical patterns, topographic features and local socio-economic situations as well. Experiencing a range of destructions of cities, regions, human habitats and even their cultural heritages, this seminar aims at re-examining conventional city design praxis and exploring possibilities of alternative planning approaches not only to the restorations but also to the prevention planning for repetitive hazards in future. The great earthquake and its associated tsunami on the east Tohoku coasts have raised a number of unexpected and unforeseeable issues that can have an impact not only on the confined regions but also on a wide area including the capitol city. It is realistic to imagine that the latest catastrophe will have a strong impact on the vision of the future of many Japanese cities and regions. Possibly the efforts for developing and implementing new plans and policies for more secure and durable human settlements will be accelerated and the choice of safer places where to live will sharply increase. The roles of post-disaster restoration and disaster-prevention planning are expected to project a paradigm of safe, balanced and durable life. Undoubtedly the arrival of newcomers could be beneficial, especially if they are young and skilled people, etc. with their families. At the same time it could originate a number of unexpected and undesirable problems. If these thoughts have some base and are at least partly shared by many cities in the world, it would be important to use the opportunity of this seminar to explore a number of these issues that in any case are very relevant for the future of city.