This paper is based on a questionnaire survey of residents in the Yakuin district of Fukuoka. It examines the characteristics of downtown residents and their reasons for living in a major city core. The focus is on differences between residents living in privately owned apartments and those living in rented apartments. To compare urban and suburban residents, we also surveyed residents of the Hakata-Minami district, which is a suburban area adjacent to a railroad station.
Among the major findings is a difference in the age range between residents of privately owned and rented apartments in the Yakuin district. Privately owned apartment residents were aged between 30 and 60 years, whereas rented apartment residents were concentrated in the 20- to 30-year-old range. Although almost all of the rented apartment dwellers were either single residents or couples who did not intend to live in the area permanently, the majority of the privately owned apartment residents planned to settle in the area.
Several previous studies on the migration of residents to downtown areas show that young residents make short-range and long-range moves. Our study revealed a similar duality. Short-range moves from one part of the city to another occur when young residents start attending a university or first enter the workforce. On the other hand, long-range moves from outside the city to downtown areas occur because of job transfers.
Space requirements and affordability of housing are major factors influencing potential residents' decisions to live in downtown areas. The minimum space requirement depends on the number of children in a household. Although residents with no children or only one child have little difficulty finding a suitable downtown dwelling, most families with two or more children live in the suburbs, such as the Hakata-Minami district, where they can obtain an additional bedroom at almost the same housing cost as downtown.
