In Japan, the mixed land use is developed mainly by the mixing of factories and dwellings within an old city which is often called an inner city, and many small factories function agglomeratedly in this type of area. Factories located in such area are usually very small, and the dwellings are also small and old. Thus, the renovation of areas of this type forms a big problem for the proper development of policies of the regional and urban planning. These policies are deeply connected with the problem of degglomeration of factories in these areas.
Various actions have been taken for the degglomeration of factories since 1960's. Many factories have gone out of the cities as the result of these actions. Nevertheless, there are still large number of small factories operating in those cities. Moreover, the economic role of these small factories in the local regions is increasing its importance, contrary to the common expectations. This suggests the necessity of developing a new policy for the proper handling of the location problem of small industries in those areas. Obviously the development of this new policy must be based on the clear understanding of the nature of the innevitability of the agglomeration of small industries in these mixed land use areas.
In this paper, a new approach has been taken for the analysis of the innevitability of the agglomeration of these small firms. The trading behaviors of the firms are studied by using the data of a survey conducted in 1984. The application of a computer program package CATDAP (Categorical Data Analysis Program) disclosed that the distance as measured by the trip time between this firms trading each othe provides definite information for the understanding of the characteristic of the agglomeration of the small firms. The 1984 survey was held in Sumida ward of Tokyo and the list of the seven types of industries surveyed is as follows:
1) iron and steel,
2) non-ferrous metals and products,
3) fabricated metal,
4) general machinery,
5) electric machinery,
6) transportation equipment, and
7) precision instrument.
The analysis of the survey data of trading behaviors of firms located in Sumida ward showed that the main works in the tradings were of processiing type. It was also seen that the orders for processing type of works were accepted by small firms located near the firms that dispatched the orders. This shows that the trading activities between the firms of the seven types of industries in Sumida ward are maintained by the tightly knit structure of those firms.
The paper concludes with the recognition that any plan of the degglomeration of the area must take into consideration the economic function provided by this type of complex of small factories.
