The Change of Community Group in Rural Settlement from the Viewpoint of Rural-Urban Relations

Abstract

This paper attempts to clarify the change of present rural areas, emphasizing the functions of rural communities and their spatial structure.In former studies, the main objects of study were the regional units of rural settlements and their spatial structure, the spatial patterns of rural settlements in accordance with the distance from the city, and so on, and they were analyzed separately. In this study I try to understand qualitatively how the regional units of rural settlements and their spatial structures have changed in relation to urbanization.Cluster analysis was applied to clarify the positions of various rural settlements in the area between Hiroshima City in Hiroshima Prefecture and Iwami Town in Shimane Prefecture, and 4 regional divisions were obtained. The case study districts in each regional division are the following: Midorii District in Sato Town, Asaminami Ward, Hiroshima City (a suburbanizing rural area); Mita District in Shiraki Town, Asakita Ward, Hiroshima City (an urban fringe rural area); Hara District in Toyohira Town, Hiroshima Prefecture (an agriculture-continuing rural area outside the urban area); Hiwa District in Iwami Town, Shimane Prefecture (a rural community with a weakening agricultural base outside the urban area). In these districts, through the spatial and functional changes of three kinds of community groups (the fundamental community group, the wide community group and the inner settlement community group), the change of regional strcture in relation to the distance from the city was examined.As a result the following points were clarified:1) On the whole, rural areas experienced the phenomena of depopulation and increasing side work, and their regional differences were caused by differences in job opportunities and accessibility to the city. In the depopulated areas a long distance from the city, the community groups have been reorganized, and in the areas where population has increased and agricultural land use has decreased, rurality has suffeved.2) The reorganization of the fundamental community group has appeared according to population-increase or depopulation. In the populated areas the fundamental community group tended to divide, and in the depopulated areas is tended to unify. In both areas the self-governmental functions have been maintained, but agricultural functions retreated.3) The wide community group is characterazed by spatial expansion and the loss of agricultural functions. On the one hand, in the depopulated areas the schools tend to amalgamate but the Shinto shrines have maintained their traditional spatial units.4) On the whole, inner settlement community group are tending to disappear. They only function as the smallest units of the administrative organization in community groups. The functions of traditional mutual aid and the agricultural functions have been reduced. A primary factor in this process is the spread of the urban life style.