Vertical Growth of CBD of Sendai and Fukushima

Abstract

Since 1960 period, construction of multi-storied buildings has remarkably increased in the cities of regional centers in the Tohoku district of Japan. But there are uses of urban space that differs with cities. The author examined the volume size and floor use of multi-storied buildings (over three stories) for analysis of the internal structure of CBD in recent years. To make difference clear at two cities with different population size, Sendai city with a population of some 650, 000 and Fukushima city of about 260, 000 were selected as the study areas.Now in this paper, the land-value of each was used for the CBD delimitation, and both boundaries of CBDs were found in main streets with indexes of 25% or more to the peak land-value intersection or PLVI (Murphy, R. E. 1954). The results of the study are as follows.1. Number of three and over storied buildings in the CBDSendai's CBD has 640 buildings and Fukushima's CBD 234 and these figures are roughly in proportion to population of each city. Three and four storied buildings occupy larger proportion of total number of buildings in both CBDs. That is, they are 56%, five and six storied buildings 25% and seven and over storied buildings 19% in Sendai's CBD. In Fukushima, the proportions of the mentioned size of the buildings are 76.5%, 17.5% and 6% respectively. Number of three and four storied buildings is remarkably high as compared with the other in both CBDs.2. The total floor space of buildingThe total floor space of buildings located in the CBD of Sendai is about 1.6 million m2 and it is 1.4 times wide as much as the all ground space of the CBD. That of Fukushima's CBD is about 0.35 million m2 and occupies 60% of all ground space of the CBD. The total floor space of seven and over storied buildings shows the largest proportion and it is 58% in Sendai. Next that of five and six storied buildings is 22% and three and four storied ones 20%. In Fukushima, the total floor space of five and six storied buildings occupies 47% of the whole, three and four storied ones 35% and seven and over ones 18%. That is, the high multi-storied buildings in Sendai and the middle multi-storiod ones in Fukushima occupy the largest proportion of total space of buildings in the CBDs.3. The floor space by uses of various purposesThe volume rate of the floor space of offices is the largest and it occupies 52% of all total floor space of buildings in Sendai's CBD. Next proportion of that of retailing shows 19.5%, restaurants and hotels 19%, residences 3.2% and parking lots 2.2%. In Fukushima's CBD, that of offices is 38.8%, restaurants and hotels 23.9, retailing 17.8%, residences 7.8%, and parking lots 0.6%. Especially there is much difference in the proportion that floor space of offices occupied all floor space between Sendai's CBD and Fukushima's CBD.4. The volume-rate of buildingsOn the volume-rate of buildings (total floor space of buildings in one block/ground space of one block, one block space=2, 500m2) by uses for various purposes, the index number of offices 303. That of restaurants and hotels is 223, retail stores 180 and residences 114 in Sendai's CBD. The index number of offices is 130, restaurants 102 and the other below 50 in Fukushima's one. Above all, there is much difference in the volumerate of office use in buildings of each CBD of Sendai and Fukushima.5. The most concentrated districts have been segregrated to each urban function in Sendai's CBD. But they are concentrated in only one district in Fukushima's CBD in front of the Fukushima central station and this district shows the typical vertical zonation in the city.6. The various floor uses by story of building