Abstract
The value of urban farmlands has been recognized in the recent years and the thirteenth landuse zone was introduced to the Japanese landuse planning system in 2017, which regulates the exploitation of farmlands in low-rise residential areas. However, farmlands are located not only in low-rise residential areas but also beside mid-to-high-rise buildings or along higher density arterial roads. The new zoning may face difficulties in conserving farmlands if it disregards farmlands in such areas. Therefore, it is important to understand precisely where and how urban farmlands have been converted to other landuses. The research investigates the process of decline or conversion of urban farmlands along arterial roads and residential areas surrounded by arterial roads, and discuss some issues in conserving urban farmlands.
