Abstract
Kyomachiya (traditional wooden townhouses) are one of the important elements characterizing the historical urban landscape of Kyoto. However, the rapid decrease in the number of kyomachiya and the modern urban landscape filled with high-rise buildings constructed after kyomachiya demolitions have been controversial. In recent years, the preservation of kyomachiya has become an urgent policy issue.
This paper examines the determinants of the demolition of kyomachiya in the Nishijin district, one of the historical town centers of Kyoto. We used the results of kyomachiya facade surveys to conduct stepwise logistic regression analysis incorporating explanatory variables of three categories related to kyomachiya demolitions and land use changes: 1) characteristics (conditions and usage) of kyomachiya; 2) land use restrictions; and 3) neighborhood conditions (percentage of kyomachiya, high-rise buildings, and other land use types within a 25-m or 50-m radius).
The examination of kyomachiya demolitions shows that 13% of the kyomachiya in the Nishijin district were demolished from 1998 to 2004, approximately 60% of demolished kyomachiya were rebuilt into modern townhouses, and 15% were transformed into apartment houses or commercial buildings. The spatial distribution of the demolitions was bipolarized: the ratio of demolitions was higher in areas where the density was lower, and vice versa.
The results of binary logistic regression analysis show that the demolitions are determined by building type (detached/terraced), building conditions, vacancy, building height restriction, and neighborhood conditions. In addition, kyomachiya demolitions are negatively related to neighborhood conditions. The spatial extents of neighborhood conditions differ by land use type. We discuss the demolition of one kyomachiya induces another demolition due to the neighborhood effect. Therefore, it can lead to a spatially bipolarized pattern of demolitions. Further analysis based on multinomial logistic regression analysis shows that land use changes after demolitions are determined by land use restrictions, neighborhood conditions, and previous kyomachiya characteristics. In particular, detached and well-maintained kyomachiya located within a semi-industrial zone and in neighborhoods where the density of kyomachiya is already low are more likely to be transformed into modern townhouses.
We conclude that, in a neighborhood where the number of kyomachiya is relatively low, the speed of kyomachiya demolitions increases locally so that the spatial pattern of the demolitions will be biased. Land use types after the demolitions are influenced by land use restrictions and neighborhood conditions as well as previous usages and conditions of kyomachiya. Therefore, the process of land use changes from kyomachiya occurs with both spatial and temporal linkages.
