Transforming suburban spaces and reconstructing gender roles through community participation

2016 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 26770286
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Young Scientists (B)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Research Field: Human geography
• Research Institution: Gunma Prefectural Women's University
• Principal Investigator: Sekimura Orie 群馬県立女子大学, 文学部, 准教授 (70572478)
• Project Period (FY): 2014-04-01 – 2017-03-31
• Keywords: 郊外 / 住民 / 参加 / ジェンダー / 人文地理学

Outline of Final Research Achievements

This study elucidates the transformation of suburban spaces developed during Japan’s rapid economic growth period from the gender perspective, focusing on the residents of such spaces who are actively involved in their local communities. The Japanese urban spatial structure has been characterized by a clear division of gender roles wherein men work salaried jobs in the city center while women engage in household works and child care in the suburbs. However, these suburban spaces are currently undergoing a transformation after their development. With these spaces currently facing stagnation in population growth and an aging population, the traditional gender roles supported by the nuclear family of the Japanese postwar era are now coming to an end. In this study, the author examines such processes of transformation in suburban spaces from the gender perspective, especially focusing on the daily practices of local residents to reconstruct gender roles.

Free Research Field

人文地理学