Relationship between local residents’ uses and perceptions of Oya-stone in Utsunomiya

Abstract

Taking Utsunomiya City as the survey site, where the conservation of local buildings and infrastructures made of Oya-stone has been considered for years, this study aims to identify relationships between local residents’ uses and their perceptions of Oya-stone by using a factor analysis and multiple regression models based on questionnaire data. The results show that the long-term use for warehouses related to the positive brand image on Oya-stone, while the long-term use for fences or retaining walls surrounding houses related to the perception of the positive brand image on or the attachment for Oya-stone. These findings suggest that the less aesthetic but functional fences and retaining walls, which are sometimes treated as a nuisance and prompted to remove by the local government, could be rather the precious sources raising local people’s positive brand image on or attachment for Oya-stone. Considering the newly found roles of the common fences and retaining walls made of Oya-stone, the governmental measures for conservations should positively include them as well as historic buildings or warehouses.