Changes in Commuting Flows in the Outer Suburbs of the Nagoya Metropolitan Area

Abstract

Many studies on structural change in metropolitan areas have pointed out that in the inner suburbs the employed population increases and the proportion of commuters to the center decreases. However, little is known about trends in the outer suburbs.The purpose of this paper is to clarify how the employment growth in the inner suburbs of the Nagoya metropolitan area has influenced the outer suburbs. The study area is Mitake town, Gifu prefecture. The findings are summarized as follows:Firstly, the author examined the overall structural characteristics of the Nagoya metropolitan area. Here, employment growth was remarkable in the northern part of the inner suburbs (Aichi prefecture) in the 1970s. The commuting area to the district has since been expanding into the outer suburbs.Secondly, the author examined changes in commuting flows in Mitake town, located in the outer suburbs. The districts increasing in numbers of commuters from Mitake town are the municipalities in Gifu prefecture (except Mitake town) and the northern part of the inner suburbs. Between the two districts, the latter shows a higher rate of increase in commuters from Mitake town since the mid-1980s. In terms of sex and cohort, men born in the 1950s (35-44 years old in 1995) have shown an increase in the number of commuters to the inner suburbs, while men and women born in the 1970s (15-24 years old in 1995) and women born in the 1950s have shown an increase in number of commuters to districts surrounding Mitake town.Thirdly, by means of a questionnaire the author investigated changes in work-residence relationships from birth to the present for men born in the 1950s that strongly relate to the inner suburbs. The questionnaire survey was carried out in November 1998, with the cooperation of a junior high school in Mitake town. The sample comprised 63 men. Most respondents had never worked or resided in Nagoya City. Some respondents began to work in the northern part of the inner suburbs in the 1970s, and most of them moved to the vicinity of their workplace. Consequently, those who both worked and lived in the district increased. Thus, these are the people who have taken part in the employment growth in the northern part of the inner suburbs. Accordingly, it may be said that men born in the 1950s largely both worked and lived in the district compared to men born before the 1950s. Many of the respondents married in their 20s and moved into Mitake town in their 30s, yet continued to work in the northern part of the inner suburbs. Therefore, commuters from Mitake Town to the district have increased since the mid-1980s. From the results of the questionnaire, the author concludes that it is mainly changes in work-residence relationships for men born in the 1950s that have produced the employment growth in the northern part of the inner suburbs in the 1970s and the increase in commuters from Mitake town to the northern part of the inner suburbs since the mid-1980s.