Clarifying Life Space both at Objective and Subjective Dimensions

1995 Fiscal Year Final Research Report Summary

• Project/Area Number: 06680137
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for General Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Single-year Grants
• Research Field: Human geography
• Research Institution: Meiji University (1995); The University of Tokyo (1994)
• Principal Investigator: KAWAGUCHI Taro Meiji Univ., Faculty of Literature, Assoc.Prof., 文学部, 助教授 (90195058)
• Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha): HARA Shinji Kagawa Univ., Faculty of Economics, Lecturer, 経済学部, 講師
• Project Period (FY): 1994 – 1995
• Keywords: Urban Geography / Social Geography / Life space / Tokyo / 東京

Research Abstract

This research aims at clarifying life space both at objective and subjective dimensions to discuss quality of life and how community should be organized in an urban area. Monzen-nakacho area at Koto ward in Tokyo metropolitan area was selected as a study area. Its variety of residents offers a good condition for analyzing the differences of life space. Data collected by a questionnaire survey was analyzed at three aspects, activity space, mental map and sense of place, and at multi-scale from neighborhood to Tokyo prefecture. The results are as follows.
1) Young age, full-time job, and working out of the ward are recognized as accelerating factors of life space at larger area. And born at the ward, self-employed, and older age are recognized as accelerating factors of life space at smaller area.
2) Difference of mental map is bigger than that of activity space among different birth places. Sense of place is related to activity space. The interesting exception is that former Fukagawa ward, conventional name of the place, which means old smaller ward, attracts the people who do not seem to be directly related to the place. Name of Fukagawa is recognized as a symbolic object of belonging.
3) The conditions impossible or hard to change such as birth place, working place etc.can be recognized as influencing factors and they differentiate life space at smaller and larger areas among residents in the same residence. But changing factors such as age or living period accelerate smaller area and some conditions such as part-time job create life space at medium area.
4) Though there is a possibility of creating a point of contact at smaller or medium area among a variety of people, for the present, community organizing must be discussed at the base of different life spaces.