Abstract
As we approach the “aged society”, it is necessary to develop a complex plan for urban housing and regional facilities. This survey consists of five chapters and tries to clarify the structure of utilization of regional facilities by the aged who live in high-rise housing. This is done through surveys covering such fields as medicine health care, welfare and education, and cultural facilities that are often employed by the aged. In the first chapter, the aim of the study is presented ; in the second chapter, the methods used to carry out the study are delineated. The third chapter is based on the results of a questionnaire given to the aged living in high-rise housing within metropolitan cities. This chapter analyzes the living conditions of the aged, both qualitively, and their evaluation of regional facilities. The correlation between utilization and evaluation was studied for each facility, and it was found that lifestyles of the aged ―such as the number of years spent living in a region, the ways in which free time is spent, family composition, and commitment to the region―are important factors affecting utilization of regional facilities. The fourth chapter is based on a questionnaire given to households living in high-rise housing in the center of local cities and in the surrounding residential areas. A comparison is made between the aged and the middle-aged to clarify the characteristic lifestyles of the two groups, as well as evaluate the recognition and utilization of regional facilities by the aged. In the fifth chapter, a summary of the third and fourth chapters is made. Further comparative studies between metropolitan cities and local cities were undertaken, common and uncommon lifestyles and the actual utilization of regional facilities by the aged. Through these studies, we were able to clarify differences of utilization between metropolitan and local cities and find a certain common tendency between the two in the ratio of recognition to utilization for each type of facility.
