The Structure of Coastal Cities in Japan

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to set up principles on the location of civic centers of coastal cities in Japan. For this purpose a concept of the harbor coefficient was introduced refering to the quantitative dependence upon transportation function of harbors in the coastal cities.The study is based on the analyses of questionnaires collected from all the important harbors of Japan, as well as the result of field surveys to the important harbors in Kyushu. The results obtained are summarized as follows.1. “K”, the harbor coefficient of the coastal cities is in a negative correlation with “L”, the distance between the civic center and the harbor.2. The intensity of K L correlation in larger coastal cities has a tendency to become larger than in smaller cities.3. When “h”, the distance between the civic center and the harbor is more than 4, 000 meters, the intensity of K L correlation becomes smaller.