Children's activity space creation with keeping the school districts safety in Japan

2023 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 20K01155
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Section: 一般
• Review Section: Basic Section 04020:Human geography-related
• Research Institution: University of Toyama
• Principal Investigator: Koji Ohnishi 富山大学, 学術研究部人文科学系, 教授 (10324443)
• Project Period (FY): 2020-04-01 – 2024-03-31
• Keywords: 位置情報 / 登下校 / 通学路 / 児童

Outline of Final Research Achievements

The purpose of this study was to examine the role of Japanese children's living space, especially the space of going to and from school, in contributing to children's growth, based on the analysis of children's behavioral trajectories using a location-based information system. The scope of the analysis was from 6:45 a.m. to 8:14 a.m. for the location information of school arrival, and the number of dots acquired there every 5 minutes was counted for each school. Most schools opened their school entrances around 7:50 a.m. and students arrived at school with that time in mind; there was a peak in movement between 7:35 and 45 a.m. The number of points acquired there every five minutes was counted for each school. Cluster analysis revealed a variety of commuting challenges: 1. rural areas, 2. gradual migration zones, 3. large schools, 4. urban areas, and 5. long-distance commuting. Among them, in 2., the location information inferred a free commute to and from school among friends.

Free Research Field

人文地理学

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

現在の日本で，児童が自律的に屋外空間で仲間と活動ができる可能性があるのは，登下校時である。登下校の時間だけは近隣の仲間と空間を共有して利用することができる。登下校の経路だけを示す通学路ではなく，通学路やその周辺にある空間で，きわめて短時間かもしれないが，児童の多様な活動が見られる空間である。そこにある自由に児童が空間と触れ合える可能性の困難さや可能性を空間分析から指摘した点が社会的意義のある研究といえる。