Land Use Patterns in the Former Built-up Area of Hiroshima City

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to clarify the land use patterns in the former built-up area of Hiroshima city. Urban land use is one of the most significant indices to investigate the internal structure of the city. The author tried to analyze the complicated spatial urban land use patterns applying the quantitative method. At the frst, using the land use map in the adrninistrative area of old Hiroshima on a scale of I to 2,500, published by the Hiroshirna municipal office, he measured areal proportions of land use categories in each unit area by digityzer. He classified these proportions of each mixed areas into major types applying the modified Weaver's method (Doi Model, 1970). He also identffied the major land use types and compared these types with current land use zoning prescribed by Municipal Office. The results are summarized as follows: l) The residential and industrial land use are centrifugal, on the other hand business and commercial use are centripetal. And the industrial land use is more centrifugal, the business land use is more centripetal. 2) The proportions of the areas devoted to residential, business-commercial and industrial land uses vary not merely with distance but also with direction from the city core. 3) Land uses are arranged from the core to the periphery as foHows. The administrative districts (the southern part and the northern part), the business and residential districts (the southeastern part and the northwestern part) are located around the business and commercial districts. Outward from these districts, follow the mixed district of the education-welfare facilities and residence. Towards the outside, there lie the mixed districts of residences and industries, the mixed districts of residences and transportation-warehouses. In the periphery of the study area, residences are dorninant exept for districts of heavy industry and transportation-warehouses along the coast. 4) In the zone between 1.5 and 3.5km radius from the city core, the mixed districts of residences and small industries are prevalent, and there clearly can be seen obsolete wooden houses. However, obsolete wooden houses are especially concentrating in the transitional zones from the commercial to residential or in those from the residential to industrial area. These are mixed districts consisted of various iand uses such as houses, apartment houses, business offlces and transportation-warehouses. 5) Comparing these land use types with the land use zoning in the city planning areas of the city, both types are incompatible and there are many land uses which are prohibited by the city planning.