Abstract
This study explores the actual conditions of the utilization of closed public facilities, specifically public elementary and junior high schools, in the Tokyo metropolitan area. Further, it discusses regional differences within this area and their relationship with regional conditions.
In recent years, the population of Japan has been on the decline. With the decrease in the population in urban areas, the demand for space will also decline in future. Therefore, the question of how to address the problem posed by the closure of various public facilities is an important issue. To understand the structure and meaning of the utilization of these facilities, an analysis of their individual history and regional conditions is necessary because there are various ways in which a site can be utilized and these are likely to reflect the individual and regional conditions of the site.
In this study, the author enumerated all the public elementary and junior high schools in the research area which have been closed during the past 20 years. A questionnaire survey and three case studies were conducted. To understand the regional differences within the research area, the author divided the Tokyo metropolitan area into four geographic entities: central; inner suburban; outer suburban; and rural. The questionnaires were created for each individual school site and sent to the municipalities under whose jurisdiction they fall. For the case studies, Chiyoda ward, Koto ward, and Tama city were selected; these are in the central, inner suburban, and outer suburban area, respectively.
Generally, municipalities avoid converting public school sites into utilities other than those for the purpose of serving the public interest, i.e., education or welfare. Therefore, even if there is a high demand for these sites, they are unwilling to transfer them to private organizations unless they are utilized for the public interest. In such cases, municipalities temporarily utilize these sites themselves until they find organizations that will use them as facilities serving the public interest. On the other hand, if they find the right buyer, they will consider transferring the sites to private organizations and by doing so avoid expenditure on site maintenance.
In the central area, it is difficult for private organizations to manage public facilities because of the high land prices, and the municipalities must manage the facilities themselves. However, it usually takes some time to open the facilities because of limited fiscal resources. In addition, in the outer suburban area, vacancies the size of school sites do not have scarcity value. In comparison, in the inner suburban area, these difficulties occur to a lesser degree, and many sites in this region have been transferred to private organizations for permanent utilization.
