Keihanshin Metroplitan Area and Satellite Cities

Abstract

This paper proposes to reconsider the significance of the cities arround metropolises, above all that of the concept of satellite city in the study of metropolitan areas.First of all, the characteristics of 412 units are examined in the factor analysis. These units consist of wards, cities, towns, and villages in Osaka, Kyoto, Hyogo, Nara, and Wakayama prefectures, and the eastern part of Okayama and Tottori prefectures. 44 variables are selected for the factor analysis. After the analysis has been completed, 4 factors are created as the results. Using the scores of these 4 factors, the units are classified in the next place. Fig. 1 shows the results that are got from these analyses.There are, however, some units which we cannot yet include to or exclude from Keihanshin Metropolitan Area. Then the flows of commuters and students are analyzed (Fig. 2). This analysis elucidates a part of the functional region structures of the metropolitan area. After these analyses, the extent and structure of Keihanshin Metropolitan Area are judged as Fig. 3. As the cores of it, there are Higashi ward of Osaka, Ikuta ward of Kobe and so on. Arround these cores, there exist the units classified into suburb and transitional zone to suburb. In them there are some cities recognized as the industrial centers. Besides they are central places in the metropolitan area. Himeji, Wakayama, and Nara, locating at the edge of the metropolitan area, belong to the model type. Sakai, Higashiosaka and Amagsaki, surrounding Osaka indicate higher score in the suburb, so these three cities also have the characteristics like industrial center.Untill now, cities arround the metropolis have been studied in the sense of expansion of residental area in Japan. Accordingly satllite city have also meant domitory city in which commuters to metropolis live. In America, however, satellite city means industrial suburb in the original sense. Then on the base of the satellite city concept by R.E. Murphy, I want to think about the above mentioned cities in Keihanshin Metropolitan Area according to the concept that satellite city is a industrial center and a central place. In the Keihanshin Metropolitan Area, the cities of this type are Himeji, Wakayaula and Nara. Sakai, Higashiosaka and Amagasaki are the near type to them. It is these cities that are very important as base points of urbanization and central places in the metropolitan area. Without the study of these cities, the synthesis between the study of urbanization and that of functional region in the metropolitan area would not be accomplished.