STUDY ON THE POLARIZATION TO MEGA-CITY REGIONS AND THE URBAN DIVIDE

Focusing on the case of Nishinari district, Osaka city, Japan

Abstract

 This study aims at the hypothesis verification on the polarization to mega-city regions and urban divide. In the first part, we examined the polarization to mega-city regions in Japan focusing on the aspect of concentration of wealth based on various economic statistics as well as the record of public investment. In the second part, we pick up Osaka city as the case analysis for the urban divide inside the mega-city region based on the cluster analysis and analyzed the current conditions of urban divide in Osaka city. In the third part, we shed light on the type of living with diversity in Airin area, Nishinari ward, Osaka city. Through the analysis based on the interview survey to the local real estate company, we discuss the mechanism of housing provision for the realization of diversity.

 The acceleration of the concentration of wealth to Tokyo is clearly observed in Japan since 2000s. In particular, the polarization of wealth as well as the highest income class to the central part of Tokyo is ever accelerating these days under the neoliberal urban policies. In the urban scale analysis in Osaka city, gentrification trends in the central city areas are obvious these days. On the other hands, the concentration of poverty is observed in inner areas to the south. As a result, the urban divide in both social and spatial terms are clearly observed in Osaka city. In particular, the Airin area of Nishinari district, Osaka city worked as the area where daily-based construction workers are concentrated and it has become the area where poverty is concentrated since many of workers in this area have been aged and lost jobs.

 According to the interview surveys to real estate agents who work in Nishinari district, conversion of the workers’ hostel to the apartments for the jobless people who received public assistance was widely observed. In addition, they are further converted to the gest-houses for international tourists recently. Investment by Chinese people is also a new trend in this area. This phenomenon shows the ambivalent characteristics of inner areas that they often become a socially excluded areas but, at the same time, they function as the place to accept a wide range of immigrants and thus they become a source of diversity as the gateway to the city. It is recommended that the improvement of the inner areas should fully consider this ambivalent characteristic of the inner areas.