Article
The Impact of University Siting Policy
An Analysis of the Location and Number of Undergraduate Student Universities in Tokyo 1955-2005
2008 Volume 11 Pages 207-228
Details
2008 Volume 11 Pages 207-228
University siting policy is a complex mixture of different kinds of laws and regulations. On the one hand, there are laws limiting the construction and enlargement of university buildings, and on the other hand, laws and regulations governing the establishment of new universities, the size and number of departments, student capacity, and so on. This paper examines the impact of university siting policy through a quantitative and qualitative analysis of changes over time in the number of undergraduate students and the relocation of universities and departments. The years selected as time reference points are 1955, 1965, 1975, 1985, 1995 and 2005.
Previous studies have focused mainly on national-level policies, which have been concerned chiefly with raising the numbers of students going on to universities or reducing the disparities between different local areas in access to higher education. There have also been many quantitative analyses of the effects of university siting policy on the movement of students. However, more attention needs to be paid to the impact of siting policy on urban areas, especially metropolitan Tokyo, so as to clarify the real effect of regulations and laws.
With the above points in mind, this paper uses a database consisting of the numbers of undergraduate students and the detailed location of departments, grades and courses in each university in Tokyo, to make a qualitative analysis of university siting and a quantitative analysis of changes in student numbers and in locations.
The main results are that (1) the regulatory effect of policies in terms of dampening the creation and enlargement of faculties in Tokyo was most evident in the period 1975-85, and (2) a comparison of data for 1995 and 2005 shows clearly that even after the deregulation of siting policy in 1995, the number of undergraduate students who have returned to the central area of Tokyo is still very limited.
