A Study on the Characteristics of Community Spaces in the Japanese Apartment Housing

Abstract

This study aims to extract spatial characteristics of different types of community activities by examining housing characteristics in Japanese apartment housing. For this study, first, the characteristics of Japanese apartment housing were studied, based on internet data and previous studies regarding Japanese real-estate data and apartment housing communities. Second, functions and roles of community spaces were investigated focusing on preferred complex community brands revealed in the studies on satisfaction of residents with apartment housing that have been conducted over the past five years, in order to classify the types of community activities. Third, the types of community activities in apartment housing that actively take part in community activities were investigated. Fourth, the researcher directly took part in community activities of one of the housing investigated earlier, and activities were analyzed to extract spatial characteristics. The results, first, the five types of community spaces sorted focusing on functions and roles of community activities and spaces were ‘space for exchanges among residents’, ‘experience and education space’, ‘recreation space’, ‘health improvement space’ and ‘life convenience space’. Second, it classified the types of community spaces in nine apartment housing doing active community activities. The results were provided the most ‘space for exchanges among residents’.