Co-existent Land Use of Urban or Agricultural Purpose in the Suburbs of Cities

Abstract

Now in the suburbs of cities, disorderly land use, which is caused by the confusion of urban and agricultural land uses, is becoming a serious hindrance to the maintenance of ideal environments for dwelling or agriculture, and for the establishment of land use planning. The type of urban sprawl that we can often observe now around the three biggest cities in Japan will become an serious problem for the planning of other cities in the near future. From now on, land use plans in the suburbs of cities must be made according not to the choice between urban and agricultural uses but in the light of the new concept of co-existence with each other.Firstly, in this article, we detailed the present land use conditions in the whole area of Hatano city, Kanagawa Pref., by means of a mesh analysis on the mixture of urban and agricultural land uses. Then we analyzed the results of the research of the inhabitants' views about the process of urbanization, agriculture and disorderly land uses. In addition, we studied the type of land use which is most suited to our new concept. Finally, while refering to the case study in Hatano City, we examined the way of co-existent land use and an institutional measure for it in the suburbs of cities.