Since the mid-1950s, the suburbs of Japanese cities have experienced large-scale housing develop-ment, which has resulted in regional differences in the residential landscape. This paper examines the areal characteristics of the residential landscape, especially the visual aspect of housing, and its formative process corresponding to the urban growth of Sendai.
This study is based on a landscape survey in three sample areas carried out by the author, and on analyses of the Population Census of Japan and data of the Sendai Housing Registry. The sample areas are: Kamisugi, which is near the central business district (CBD) and the old section of the city; Kuromatsu, which is a large-scale housing complex developed in the 1960s, 5 km from the CBD; and Teraoka, which is a large-scale housing complex developed in the 1980s, 10km from the CBD.
The results of analyses are summarized as follows: the residential landscape in each area is character-ized by nine aspects: a) the ratio of buildings used by business establishments (enterprise build-ings); b) the ratio of apartment buildings; c) vertical height of buildings; d) the ratio of land subdi-vision; e) the ratio of old-style buildings whose external walls are made of traditional wooden clad-ding material; f) the rate of renewal of buildings; g) similarities in outer color among buildings; h) the number of trees planted in each lot; and i) the existence of tall trees (above 8 m).
In Kamisugi, the ratios of enterprise buildings, apartment buildings, vertical height of buildings, land subdivision, old-style buildings, and the existence of tall trees are the highest among the three ar-eas. In Kuromatsu, the highest indices are the rates of renewal of buildings and planted trees. On the other hand, the ratios of enterprise buildings, apartment buildings, vertical height, old-style buildings, similarities in outer color, and the existence of tall trees are ranked second among the three areas. In Teraoka, the landscape is characterized by similarities in outer color and numerous planted trees. However, there are fewer landscape characteristics in Teraoka than in the other areas.
The differences among the three areas are influenced by socioeconomic factors, including the techni-cal level, for example, building material or style, as well as construction limitations due to the laws in each period when the area was developed. Since the beginning of rapid economic growth in Japan, urban functional growth, for example, the concentration of enterprise buildings, has had a major influence on the landscape in Sendai. That is, the areal characteristics of the residential landscape have been influenced by not only short-term socioeconomic factors in each development period, but also middle-or long-term conditions which correspond to the urban growth of Sendai.

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