The purpose of this paper is to consider aspects of emergent central place studies during the transitional turn of German urban geography from morphology to functionalism. The investigation was focused on five points: 1) controversy about urban geography, 2) reviews of “Central Places in Southern Germany”, 3) Bobek’s criticism of central place theory, 4) heated discussions on Christaller’s presentation at the 1938 International Geographical Congress in Amsterdam, and 5) several central place studies in the 1930s and urban monographs citing “Central Places in Southern Germany”. The results are summarized as follows. After the occurrence of disputes on urban geography in the mid-1920s through early 1930s, the functional approach which Bobek put forward, making good use of the results of economic geography, was gradually accepted among German geographers with an interest in urban studies, while being repelled by Geisler and Dörries, both of whom regarded as important the morphological study of landscape. Christaller, one of the scholars influenced by functional approach, prepared his own view about the two issues revealed by the above-mentioned controversy ―― the conceptual definition of city for geography and the methodology of urban geography ――, termed urban settlement as central place, and completed his “Central Places in Southern Germany” (1933) that theoretically dealt with the location of central places from the viewpoint of economic geography. Book reviews of “Central Places in Southern Germany” appeared not only in German journals, but also in non-German journals. Generally, reviewers in Germany and countries under its linguistic influence did not negatively evaluate Christaller’s book: appreciating its scientific value, some reviewers were likely to consider it as a potential breakthrough in urban geography; another reviewer favorably alluded to an application of central place theory to the national land planning. On the other hand, Bobek, who had already put forward an idea akin to central place theory previous to Christaller, quickly noticed that central place theory was not a perfect location theory of urban settlements in that the distribution of central places in the western industrial district of southern Germany deviated from that predicted by the theory. Christaller and Bobek incidentally presented their own views on the function of urban settlements at the same session of the 1938 International Geographical Congress in Amsterdam. At that session, especially French and Dutch geographers criticized Christaller’s methodology that assumed as if the location of urban settlements were mechanistically elucidated by a natural-scientific way of thinking. In the session paper, illustrating that there were many cities in the world whose chief aim was not to supply goods and services to surrounding rural areas, Bobek once more argued that central place theory was not sufficient for a universal location theory of urban settlements. It seems that this paper (Bobek 1938) consequently contributed to induce German urban geographers to assume a prudent attitude in appreciating central place theory, with his rising reputation in the academic world of postwar German geography. Indeed no empirical studies of central place theory existed except for Schlier (1937) in prewar and wartime Germany, so there had not yet been an independent research area of central place studies. However, “Central Places in Southern Germany” was cited by some urban monographs, into which studies on hinterland or urban sphere of influence were newly introduced in terms of functionalism; even a nonurban geographer like Hartke paid an attention to central place theory.

The core idea of Time-Space Geography is that people’s daily geographical action space is constrained. The space is displayed by a cylinder with time as the horizontal axis and distance as the radius. Action remains within one time zone. This holds for the bulk of population but there are individuals and activities whose routines cover several time zones. Air crews and international executives are typical examples. Their action spaces tally poorly with the classical time-space cylinder. Radically increasing travel speeds will further modify matters, airports’ influence spheres in particular. Supersonic speeds bring to them a strong longitudinal element and call for a new thinking in air schedules and possibly also the location of business company administration.

In the wake of the Great East Japan Earthquake, some unaffected municipalities voluntarily dispatched relief teams to affected municipalities. This study discusses the influence of the exchange programs that municipalities are involved in when deciding on such voluntary assistance and provides policy direction for conducting more effective disaster relief efforts in the future. We find that a municipality that has exchange relations tends to dispatch relief teams to its partner municipality. Such focused and immediate relief efforts based on these exchange relations are made possible by the existence of smaller municipalities (i.e., populations below 50,000). Although relief-providing municipalities must incur the enormous human and physical costs of these relief efforts, their activities are supported by local citizens based on the familiarity of the target municipality (i.e., the exchange partner). Although the Great East Japan Earthquake exposed the problems of localized relief efforts, it also demonstrated the intense and growing interest in mutual assistance agreements. This is because municipalities now place more importance on the support they would receive following a disaster rather than the cost they would have to incur. However, the agreement without the relationship of mutual trust would not work well. It is necessary to facilitate future exchange programs in order to foster the relationship between municipalities. The number of private enterprises concluding support agreements with municipalities has also increased since the earthquake. The private sector and municipalities need to jointly provide a support system that offers both short-term and long-term relief to affected areas.

Drawing on a case study of the city of Hitachi in Ibaraki prefecture, the study analyzes local responses for reconstruction after the Great East Japan Earthquake and tsunami in peripheral regions of the disaster affected area. Based on the model of post-disaster reconstruction by Kates and Pijawka (1977), the paper describes local communities’ attitudes and residents’ disaster prevention awareness over four stages of reconstruction: emergency, restoration, replacement reconstruction, and developmental reconstruction periods. During the emergency period, we examined the operation of evacuation sites by local communities and residents’behavior. Between the emergency and restoration periods, we found that communication among residents and local communities was established in many districts. Many local communities gradually started discussion of their own disaster prevention plans in addition to or alongside the city’s plans. Some communities conducted their own evacuation drills, implemented their own disaster prevention plans. They also advanced claims to the city that requested better use of the evacuation facilities, establishment of new emergency water stations, to sink wells in all designated evacuation sites and so on. These requests have been harmonized during long-term discussion among local residents, communities and city governments. In peripheral regions like Hitachi, the reconstruction process took less time compared to the core regions and was largely managed by communication between residents, local communities, and the city government, not by large urban redevelopment projects drawing on the national budget.

neighborhoods. First, the study clarifies how aging and the social problems linked to it occur in Japanese suburban neighborhoods. Based on interview surveys of both local authorities and suburban residents, we clarify the mechanism that produces housing vacancies there. Secondly, we discuss the local problems that are caused by housing vacancies in mature housing estates. Many local governments and local communities must develop strategies for decreasing vacancy houses.

This paper clarifies the role of those NPOs that primarily consist of suburban women in their management of childcare support facilities. This study involved a questionnaire survey of users of the childcare support services and an interview survey of a female NPO manager in a metropolitan suburb. The manager started the NPO’s activities based on a mothering group and now participates in managing childcare-support services. The local government covers the administrative costs, and the local developer provides them with a space where their activities can be conducted. The NPO plays two roles in suburban childcare support: First, they provide a space for peer support and networking in the neighbourhood for users, who consist of non-working mothers and working mothers. These mothers appreciate the services provided and desire additional childcare support facilities providing similar services. Second, they supply flexible childcare, such as short-term childcare available after public day care centres close. This service consists partly of ‘patchwork childcare’ from working mothers in the suburb, in which working mothers use various childcare resources, grandparents and other services, in spite of the lack of regular public day care centers.

Im Viadukt, located approximately 1.5km west-northwest from Zurich Central Station, Switzerland, is a district where an old railroad viaduct and its surrounding areas were redeveloped. The first phase of the redevelopment plan was completed in 2010 and its development is still continued until present. The redevelopment method used, as is common practice in Europe, maintains the identity of regions by emphasizing the historical value. The current issue lies on the lack of shops that cater to the needs of the middle-aged and elderly, and the small number of visitors especially in the southern part of the district. However, the district substantially offers accessibility and universal design. If the types of stores are diversified and people are more encouraged to stroll around the commercial sites, this district will attract more attention as a model district for a mature society.