Changing Characteristics of Public Housing Dwellers in Hiroshima City
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Geographical Review of Japan vol. 76, No. 5, 333-348, 2003 Changing Characteristics of Public Housing Dwellers in Hiroshima City YUI Yoshiichi School of Education, Hiroshima University, Higashi-hiroshima, Hiroshima 739-8524 , Japan Abstract: Housing supply systems have a close relationship to the characteristics of residents , especially in the sub-market of public housing. Because there are strict regulations for applicants for public housing, local governments mainly select tenants in regard to their income conditions. This study aims to examine the change in characteristics of residents in public housing and to clarify the cause of this transformation process. In the built-up area, rapid aging and decrease in household sizes in public houses may cause serious social problems . In the suburban area, aging and decreasing household members in public housing did not become prominent in any of the public housing types. Most young families in public houses in suburban area moved out when they aged, and elders without their own transportation tend to avoid inconvenient suburban public housing. Thus the Public Housing Act transformed the structures of dwellers' characteristics. For welfare purposes, the Public Housing Act gives priority to lower income households, for example elders. The Public Housing Act induced the aging of residents. Consequently, the welfare for economically weaker households will strengthen the housing trap. Key words: public housing, housing trap, aging, welfare, Hiroshima city proached the public housing and housing im I ntroduction provement from the view-point of welfare. In other countries, many approaches for pub Housing problems in urban area include both lic housing as a form of welfare facility were quantitative and qualitative problems. The for attempted. In developing countries, public mer is the serious shortage of housing stock housing is supplied for lower income house and the latter the low quality housing condi holds in order to resolve slum problems, for tion. The supply of public housing is one of the redevelopment in built-up areas or as a supply effective resolutions for both problems, because for migrants. In developed countries, there are many public houses are supplied in urban areas many migrants from developing countries and where housing stock is not enough to meet the lower income households in public housing. need, and the condition of housing is more than Thus, the most important role of public housing the national minimum. It is important for the is a form of welfare in which the local govern economically weaker section to live in urban ment supplies houses directly for lower income areas. Because public housing is supplied to people by the support of the national govern such people especially for social welfare, local ment (Dwyer 1975; white 1984; Johnston 1984; governments have strict selection by income. Sakiyama 1985; Knox 1987; Smith 1989; Tomi Housing is one of the most serious problems oka 1992). in Japanese urban areas, but few geographical Housing supply policy in Japan is divided by studies have dealt with the problem. Geographi income groups. For middle and upper income cal studies in Japan have tended to analyze the classes, Japanese government promotes the pri pattern of urban residential characteristics and vate house ownership market by financial pol urbanization, and there are very few research icy, and supplies public housing for the lower papers that clarify the location and develop income class. However, the residential space of ment process of public housing (Bito 1985; public housing is small because it is considered Kitabatake 1992). Only Mizuuchi (1984) ap to be temporary. 333 86 YUI Y. The supply of public housing in Japan was such immigration is continued. As a result, the started in 1945, with the necessity of recon concentration of economically weaker groups is structing urban houses after the war: in 1946, strengthened to form the so-called the "housing 40 thousand houses were constructed by public trap." Furthermore, Takenaka (1992) pointed investment in the form of emergency urban out the mechanism of housing class in public housing. The supply of public housing started housing as one in which the institutional re essentially with the Public Housing Act in strictions together with the income limitation, 1951, by which construction was subsidized by induce disparity. Sumida (1982) presented the the national government in order to resolve the theory of "residential place class," which was serious lack of housing and to perform welfare termed "the housing class" by Nishiyama service. However, the constructions and main (1968). However, this theory is not geographi tenances of public housing has been governed cal, because he did not consider regional dis by the Ministry of Construction, not by the tinctions. Ministry of Health and Welfare (Ogita and Lim Hirayama and Tanimoto (1985) and Hi 1989). rayama et al. (1986) clarified the concentration Ogita and Lim (1989) pointed out that public of recipients of public assistance in public hous housing policy in Japan lacks the welfare per ing, and Rokuhara (1992) clarified that the spective, because it was more important for the population of economically weaker households, government to supply public housing in order handicapped people, single parents, and elderly to resolve the shortage of urban housing which concentrated in public housing. As mentioned meant that construction and management of above, the Public Housing Act is the cause of housing are more important in Japan than wel this disparity in housing classes. fare as such. Much public housing is located in built-up However, the public housing has a great role areas, but newly constructed public housing is to play in welfare. Tamaki (1976a, b, c) ana located in suburban areas, and locations are lyzed the occupation and income of residents in isolated from built-up areas. A serious problem public houses and clarified that there were has thus occurred in public housing: the aging many specific households, who needed cheaper of buildings and of residents. Kaneshiro (1983) rent houses because of aging or large families, and Yui (1991b) clarified that aging of residents in public housing in Nagoya and some local is different in each housing type in suburban cities. areas, while Yui (1991 a) pointed out that there Rex and Moore (1967) introduced the concept are many elder residents in public housing and of housing class, which means disparity in ac that aging patterns had regional differentiation. cess to a house. And Gray (1976), Pinch (1977), Thus it is clear that housing supply systems Kirby (1981), and Dieleman (1983) analyzed the have a close relationship to the characteristics relationship between access to houses and of residents, especially in the sub-market of housing policy. Public houses are supplied for public housing. Because there are strict regula economically weaker households, which can tions for applicants for public housing, local not obtain housing in the private housing mar governments mainly select tenants in regard to ket. So the upper limitation of income induces their income conditions. In Japan, public hous the formation of a homogeneous community. ing owned by municipal and prefectural gov Takenaka (1990) defined housing class as the ernments is generally supplied for households aggregation of household which are divided by who cannot afford to buy or rent their houses in ownership and housing sets. He pointed out the private housing market. Japanese public that disparity and class struggle are likely to housing consists of three types: Type I house occur in new towns, because community is clas for lower income households, Type II for the sified by income levels. In public houses, eco lowest income households, and Type III for nomically weaker groups are concentrated by households who have been displaced from rede such social filtering. Thus low income house velopment areas located in poor quality resi holds usually migrate to public housing, and dential areas. 334 Changing Characteristics of Public Housing Dwellers 87 This study aims to examine the change in fires. Therefore the municipal office started to characteristics of residents in public housing redevelop and reconstruct this Motomachi area and to clarify the cause of this transformation in the late 1960s and 1970s with the support of process. For the former aim, the author used the national government (Hiroshima-shi 1983a, the age data from the Census from 1970 to b). Consequently the complex of high-rise apart 1990, and for the latter aim, the author at ment houses was built near the CBD. These tempted to outline mechanisms responsible for high-rise apartment houses were well designed the changing characteristics of residents. The and got the first prize in an architectural com study area is Hiroshima city, because it is easy petition in Japan. Most of "slum people" and the to compare residents in public housing between victims of the war were transferred to these built-up areas and suburban areas. apartment houses and the municipal govern ment received applicants from city residents for The Study Area and the Method the rest of houses. Before this project, many low and middle rise Hiroshima city is in the center of Chugoku public houses were constructed in Motomachi district in western Japan. In World War II, the by the municipal and the prefectural govern city was destroyed completely by the atomic ment. Thus Motomachi has the biggest com bomb. Many victims lived in the slum located plex of public housing in the city. Other com adjacent to the CBD, and the local government plexes of public housing are located in several had to supply a large number of houses for areas in Hiroshima city, for example, Fuku them. In order to resolve these problems, the shima-cho. local government constructed high-rise public In the built-up areas, newly constructed pub housing near the city center.