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Why the Rise in Urban Housing Vacancies Occurred and Matters in Japan

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The Rise in Vacant Housing in Post-growth Japan

Part of the book series: Advances in Geographical and Environmental Sciences ((AGES))

Abstract

This study aimed to examine how Japanese urban problems have arisen during the post-growth period and why administrative strategies have failed in dealing with them. A rise in housing vacancies was selected as an example of an urban problem that has surfaced over time. As the increase in housing vacancies in Japan was regarded as coinciding with urban shrinkage, housing vacancies in Japanese cities can generate permanent stagnation due to economic-base decline, population loss or aging, institutional reasons, or a combination of these factors. We first reviewed a discussion on gap expansion in residential condition, gentrification process, and housing vacancies in cities to clarify the nature of problems caused in Japanese aging cities. Second, case studies in the Tokyo suburbs and medium-sized cities clarified the generative processes in the matters related to an increase in housing vacancies in Japanese cities.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    According to the literatures, empty space or a “vacuum” denotes (1) slums, or slum-like areas (Davis 2006; Shinohara 2011); (2) urban fringes beyond regulations, laws, or other appropriate institutional controls, which are often found in Asia (Schenk 2002); and (3) emptiness, resulting from people departing the overcrowded slums, leaving only useless buildings to dominate specific areas. The latter is also understood to be something akin to slums (Shinohara 2011). Complete emptiness covers a part of the city, attracting illegal behavior, less control by authorities, and urban decline. Although the three types represent different landscapes, they all cause urban decline.

  2. 2.

    Neighbourhood Change Research Partnership Web site: http://neighbourhoodchange.ca/.

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Acknowledgements

Our study was financially supported by KAKENHI, Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (B) (# 15H03276) and Grant-in-Aid for Young Scientists (B) (# 26770282).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Tsukuba, Tsukuba, Japan

    Tomoko Kubo

  2. Center for Spatial Information Science, The University of Tokyo, Kashiwa, Japan

    Michihiro Mashita

Authors
  1. Tomoko Kubo
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  2. Michihiro Mashita
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Correspondence to Tomoko Kubo .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Tsukuba, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, Japan

    Tomoko Kubo

  2. Graduate School of Education, Hiroshima University, Higashihiroshima, Hiroshima, Japan

    Yoshimichi Yui

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Kubo, T., Mashita, M. (2020). Why the Rise in Urban Housing Vacancies Occurred and Matters in Japan. In: Kubo, T., Yui, Y. (eds) The Rise in Vacant Housing in Post-growth Japan. Advances in Geographical and Environmental Sciences. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-7920-8_1

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