During high economic growth period, due to industrial transformation and urbanization, living industries, for example fishery and agriculture, have declined in the metropolitan area. In this study, the district where fishery disappeared with such background is called “a former fishery district in the metropolitan area”. Urayasu Motomachi District, composed of 3 areas: Horie, Nekozane, and Todaijima, is a typical example of it, and the target area of this study. The district ended the fishery in 1971, and started the urbanization from opening the subway (in 1969). This study is focusing on the spatial transformation and inheritance in “a former fishery district”, where fishery disappeared due to industrial transformation and urbanization. Particularly, 1) Understanding the transformation of the entire district, 2) Finding some specific spatial characteristics. Our goal is to clarify the spatial characteristics of “a former fishery district”.
Originally, the district started from the residential area and surrounding farmland of the fishery town. Before the development during high economic growth period, the residential area of Horie and Nekozane was a center of the district, from the viewpoint of population and commercial accumulation. However, the land improvement project and the new transport infrastructure constructed in the surrounding farmland changed the situation. The new commercial accumulation was made in the area around the subway station or along the new trunk road, and the former commercial accumulation was almost disappeared. The population was rapidly increased in the surrounding farmland area, and the center of this district was moved.
Focusing on the residential area in 3 areas. In all of them, street networks and block compositions have not changed so much between the time of fishery and now. We can regard it as the inheritance of spatial composition. In addition, we can point out some inheritance of historical components (ex. temples, traditional houses). Oppositely, waterfront space has changed its spatial role. In the past, it was a front place of the district, because it was a place of living industry. However, parking / greening / river-dike construction made the place back, even though it remains a public space. In addition, with the extinction of living industry and commercial accumulation, apartments and parking were radically increased, and the area was changed its role.
The built environment analysis in a selected block found some townscape characteristics. In the relationship between alleys and streets, we can see the “MICHINIWA” composition. Even though the land-use was entirely changed, some original built environments have been inherited from the fishery time. Between each 3 areas, we can guess the relationship between the difference of the townscape characteristics and the difference of street networks and block compositions. The difference of streets and blocks are inherited from the fishery time, so we can point out that the difference of townscape characteristics.
Our conclusions of spatial transformation of “a former fishery district” are as follows:
1. With the industrial transformation / urbanization, the center of the district has moved from a fisherman’s residential area to the area around the subway station or along the new trunk road.
2. In each fisherman’s residential area, even though the land-use of each site has radically changed, there are some characteristics of space composition.
3. There are some differences of the space composition between each fisherman’s residential area, and each townscape characteristic reflects the differences.
