REGIONAL STRUCTURE OF TELEPHONE-CALL RANGES IN HOKKAIDO

Abstract

Communication has been utilized only as a criterium to decide on market areas or urban region, while the author has so far advanced the research to clarify what local structure communication has itself and of what local principles communication is made up. In other words, it is meant to systematize the geographical research in communication which has been neglected without being explored, that is, the establishment of communication geography. This thesis deals with the key subject of communicative geography. 227 cities, towns and villages in Hokkaido were selected and telephone calls were taken as communication indices. First, the author surveyed the telephone ranges from the number of telephone calls, and the number of cities, towns and villages exchanging telephone calls. By setting up the definite standards for classification, the 227 ranges were classfied into 10, Arriving all-Hokkaido Types I and II, Sending Local Types I and II, Arriving Local Types I and II, Sending Regional Types I and II, and Arriving Regional Types I and II. Moreover, each telephone call range is arranged in layers according to their combination. Sapporo Range is the first Range that controls the whole area of Hokkaido. Under Sapporo Range comes the 2nd Range, which is divided into two different ones, the Double-layer Range, which governs certain cities, towns and villages, and the Single-layer Range which governs none of them. To the former belong 19 ranges, while to the latter belong 19 cities, towns and villages. Each of the Double-layer Ranges of the 2nd Range has the 3rd Range, with the Single-and the Double-layer Range, under which come the 4th and the 5th Ranges in turn. The author analysed the factors whereby the telephone call-ranges were established. The ranges can be arranged spatially in layers all over Hokkaido, with vertically subordinate relations. ‘Distance’ is the biggest of all the factors forming the Ranges, together with the population in communicative people. Distance can be classified into 3 sorts, straight line distance which is generally the most effective, traffic distance and traffic-time distance. Communicative people have both theoretically and actually a great many sorts and contents. The most important of all the facts is that as to communicative people population is the strongest and most effective factor. Next, we cannot neglect the topographical circumstance, the industrial structure, the relation with the distribution of competitive cities, and the nature of the area. As above-mentioned, telephone-call ranges imply not only commercial and urban force areas, but the regional structure of city, town, or village (an area) is the dominant factor on exchanging telephone calls with many other cities, towns and villages having contact with the former. Accordingly, by analysing and synthesizing teleppone-call ranges as a main factor, all the relations of government and subordination of any city, town, and village can be explained and understood clearly.