jailcd2016054: The Analysis of the Utilization of Residential Land in Aged Society

Abstract

At present, an increasing number of countries are stepping into aged society, and the decrease of population reduces the utilization of urban lands and infrastructures, which obviously result into a series of social problems, among which Japan is one of the most serious countries. This study focused on Yahatahigashi-ku of Kitakyushu city in Fukuoka prefecture. It is one of the cities that had grown by supporting the iron and coal industry, which was once the center of the economic development of Japan. However, after 1960s, as the secondary industry in Japan was deteriorating, Yahata city, which had grown as an industrial city, was also deteriorating together with its facilities and urban land use. At the same time, it stepped into aged society with fewer children. As a result, it faced serious problems, the decreasing population and increasing vacant dwellings and open spaces. The situation even becomes more serious in recent years. Residential land is a land contained within urban land, and it is generally zoned or designated for dwelling purposes and designed to accommodate housing facilities in which people can live, as opposed to industrial and commercial areas. Residential land use is very important to a citizen's quality of life. Residence provides shelter, fulfilling basic human needs, and privacy. So the standard of residence experienced by citizens will have a significant impact on overall health, especial for the aged people. Old people's wisdom and resilience for survival and coping are decreased seriously because of their body function, they more rely on their living environment. So the quality of the residence is particularly important to them. And the quality of housing is influenced by structure, age, habitability, and general liveability. This paper shows the current situation of aging population in Yahatahigashi-ku at the beginning. And it also analyzes the utilization of its residential land by GIS which can collect related data which bases of different fields in one map. It covers construction age, construction type and structure. Besides, it gives some practical information and data through field research. By this paper, with the combination of two aspects, it shows the current situation of residential land in a city which is stepping into an aging society. With this result it can be referenced in the future urban planning and give important information for the urban regenerative design.