Changes in Economic Base of Regional Capitals in Japan and Alternative Directions of Their Sustainable Development

2018 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 16K03181
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Section: 一般
• Research Field: Human geography
• Research Institution: Chugoku Gakuen University
• Principal Investigator: HINO MASATERU 中国学園大学, 公私立大学の部局等, 教授(移行) (30156608)
• Project Period (FY): 2016-04-01 – 2019-03-31
• Keywords: 地方中枢都市 / 自都市中心のネットワーク / 支店経済 / 階層的都市間結合 / 福岡 / 仙台 / 札幌 / 広島

Outline of Final Research Achievements

Japanese regional capitals such as Sapporo, Sendai, Hiroshima, and Fukuoka have rapidly grown since the 1950s. The main driving force behind the remarkable development of regional capitals was the agglomeration of branch offices headquartered in Tokyo or Osaka. However, during the latter half of the 1990s, branch agglomeration in regional capitals stopped increasing and began to decrease. Consequently, regional capitals needed to explore ways other than development to achieve hierarchical inter-city linking with Tokyo as the apex. One　expected way is to expand the city network of horizontal intercity linkages focusing on individual cities. The network is called the “individual city-centered network.” Actors that develop these networks are various entities such as government agencies, companies, civil-society groups, citizens, and travelers operating in the city.

Free Research Field

人文地理学

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

地方中枢都市の成長は東京を頂点とした階層構造の下での現象であったとはいえ、地方振興にとって欠かせないものであった。しかし、地方中枢都市の成長を支えてきた支店集積は1990年代以降減少に転じた。この事実認識は地方中枢都市の持続的発展の方向および地方振興の在り方を議論する上で欠かせない点であり、本研究でも再度強調した、加えて、従来の都市および地域の振興策の議論において乏しかった空間関係の観点を導入することで、地方中枢都市の持続可能な活性化の方策として自都市中心のネットワーク形成の必要性を説くことができた。