Progressing Suburbanization and the Controversial Land Use Management in a Japanese Local City -A Case Study of Miyakonojo City, Japan-

Abstract

Japanese cities have suffered from numerous problems, including deteriorated city-center and expanding suburban area without sufficient infrastructure and trends of deregulation and decentralization. Furthermore, Japan faces the period with shrinking and aging population that is especially severe in small provincial cities. These cities have to seek a balance between proper land use control and economic vitalization. This paper examines the long-term development trend in Miyakonojo City, Miyazaki Prefecture, based on the building applications during 1985-2011 and then evaluates the city’s latest land use guideline, ‘Land Use Control Guideline (provisional edition)’. This paper offers the analyses of a) population, total numbers of building applications and purpose of the buildings; b) distribution of the size of development plots; c) specific geographical development locations; d) detailed features of development in the un-zoned area; and e) total evaluation of the city planning and land use management in the city. The major conclusions are the followings: 1) During 1995-2011, the total number of building applications transitioned between 600 and 800. The tendency for half of the total applications being for the un-zoned area has continued. Most developments are housing ones in both the zoned area and the un-zoned area. Suburbanization is caused mainly by housing. 2) The size of a detached housing plot is larger in the un-zoned area than that in the zoned area. The collective housing is increasing in the un-zoned area as well as in the zoned area. 3) Not a few development concentration districts are found in the un-zoned areas that are the conventional local town-center districts, neighborhood of the interchange, areas along trunk roads, and adjacent areas to the zoned area. 4) Not a few housing agglomerations are formed by the incremental developments of single (small) developments, which generate a large-scale residential area without sufficient infrastructure. 5) Since the city did not apply the special land use restriction district in the un-zoned area, the City Planning Act 2000 did not affect the development trends. 6) The Land Use Control Guideline shows a well thought-out direction for the land use management. However, to obtain a consensus in the earlier stage of the suburbanization, a monitoring system for the developments and enlightenment of the public regarding land use management system is required.