2018 Volume 17 Issue 3 Pages 355-359
Early finding and intervention of problematic situations is an essential aspect of town planning in the era of low birthrates and aging populations. In prior research, the authors demonstrated the fact that residents in Kaifu-Town, the area with low suicide incidence had significantly higher help-seeking capabilities. This study evaluates the hypothesis that a community's space structure influences the thinking process and behavior patterns of residents by focusing on the alleys in the community. The alley area extraction method was formulated, and after confirming the method's consistency rate in the city, used to calculate the percentage of alleys in Kaifu and neighboring areas. Kaifu was determined to have the highest rate of alleys. In this town, even the elderly move around on foot, chat with each other at benches placed on the alleys, and experience daily information exchange at public laundry-drying space. Issues faced by residents and the community are shared without specific intention, but this possibly promotes intervention on problematic situations.
