2025 Volume 24 Issue 3 Pages 461-468
Vacant lots are emerging in hilly residential areas in Japan, as vacant houses are demolished owing to population decline. It is necessary to explore the characteristics of such transition events in hilly residential areas to facilitate formulation of appropriate development policies for emerging land uses, including vacant lots. The aim of the present study was to identify transition trends in non-building areas in hilly residential areas in Nagasaki City, Nagasaki Prefecture, Japan, from 1971 to 2020, through statistical analysis. According to the results, (1) non-building area decreased until 1980 but has increased consistently afterward. (2) Under non-building coverage, area under agricultural use has decreased, whereas the proportions of land under parking lots, vacant lots, and wooded areas have increased. (3) The locations of vacant lots and wooded areas have distinct characteristics (e.g., population density).
