Evaluation of Regional Revitalisation Projects in Rural Areas Through Surveys on Social Isolation of Older Residents

2016 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 15H06122
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Research Activity Start-up
• Allocation Type: Single-year Grants
• Research Field: Social welfare and social work studies
• Research Institution: The University of Tokyo
• Principal Investigator: Kudo Shogo 東京大学, 大学院新領域創成科学研究科, 特任研究員 (20755798)
• Project Period (FY): 2015-08-28 – 2017-03-31
• Keywords: 高齢社会 / 農村地域 / 高齢者 / 孤立 / 地域おこし

Outline of Final Research Achievements

This research project examined possible relationship between regional revitalization activities and the current living conditions of older residents in rural areas, particularly in terms of their state of social isolation. This project was composed of (I) large scale surveys on living conditions (access to services, financial condition of households, farming activities, general satisfaction level and isolation level, etc), and (II) participatory workshop. Fieldwork was conducted in four municipalities in Akita prefecture and questionnaire surveys were conducted in two municipalities with targeting those residents who are older than 60 years old. Because the field surveys were conducted at residential scale units, detailed analysis with geographical conditions of study areas was conducted. This research project provided data on the general living conditions of older residents at the communal level, which are expected to be used in the local policy discussions for rural communities.

Free Research Field

農村社会学