2003 Volume 76 Issue 4 Pages 231-248
Recently, there have been many arguments about the consolidation of municipalities in Japan to promote decentralization. The consolidation of municipalities has many advantages and disadvantages. Although numerous geographical studies have dealt with the consolidation processes, few have focused on the influences of the consolidation upon the region concerned.
The purpose of this study is to show the characteristics of municipal policies in a regionally consolidated municipality. The author examined the distribution of public investment. Ichihara City, Chiba Prefecture, was chosen as the study area, where seven municipalities with nearly the same scale were consolidated in the 1960s. The results of this study are summarized as follows:
(1) There were two major reasons for the consolidation to form Ichihara City: the construction of a coastal industrial region and rapid immigration of population as a result of industrialization. In the 1960 s and 1970s, therefore, city management policies in Ichihara City put special emphasis on the construction of infrastructure. Public investment in this period was allocated intensively to the coastal part of the city, in particular, to existing built-up areas. City planning projects, such as land readjustment and road building, and the establishment of new schools were carried out in succession in this area.
(2) In the 1980 s, the reaction against the practices carried out led to a reduction in regional imbalance in municipal services. As a result, the city authority promoted the establishment and remodeling of public facilities in the southern part of the city, where the population remained unchanged or decreased. Public investment spread through the entire municipal area.
(3) In the 1990 s, after the completion of public facilities, the municipal master plan called for constructing the central built-up area. This policy resulted in the construction of large-scale facilities in the Goi district, which was designated as the city center. Consequently, public investment in this period was concentrated in a specific district.
(4) The expansion of the volume of public funds in Ichihara City accelerated the city planning projects and the establishment of various facilities. However, it is still necessary for the city authority to maintain a balance among the former municipalities. The sense of “separation” in the municipal administration has been greater than that of “integration.” A little progress has been made in the formation of the city center for a population of this size.
