Yoshiki Wakabayashi

Cultural differences of spatial descriptions in tourist guidebooks

This paper examined spatial descriptions for guiding Japanese and American tourists from cross-cultural and geographic perspectives, based on a content analysis of 24 guidebooks to four cities in Japan and USA. Quantitative analysis of pictorial and linguistic information in guidebooks revealed that Japanese guidebooks use predominately pictorial information, whereas American guidebooks mainly depend on the linguistic one. In addition, we found a complementary relationship between the two modes of information. The contents of linguistic information were entirely influenced by socio-cultural factors rather than environmental conditions such as the street pattern regularity. In particular, difference in address systems between two countries affected the way of sorting the sites, style of maps, and the use frequency of linguistic information.

Spatial Patterns of Population Change in Central Tokyo Since the Period of the Bubble Economy

This study examines the change in the spatial patterns of demographic structure in central Tokyo since the period of the bubble economy in the late 1980s. To this end, we analyze grid square data suitable for time-series analysis between 1985 and 2005, using Geographic Information Systems (GIS). After selecting major indicators representing three dimensions of the social area analysis – family status, socio-economic status, and ethnic status – we map each indicator and make quantitative comparisons between zones of distance and direction from Tokyo’s city center. Focusing on the spatial pattern of population change in the 23 wards between 1985 and 2005, analysis reveals that central Tokyo experienced a population recovery from the latter half of the 1990s, having previously faced a continuing population decline until 1995. On the basis of this population change trend, we examine the spatial pattern of each indicator in the social atlas. Concerning age and household composition, their spatial distribution has gradually shifted from a zonal pattern to a sectoral one, due to the migration of younger nuclear families to the area surrounding the city center. The spatial distribution of socio-economic status, represented by the occupational structure, maintained a sectoral pattern characterized by the contrast between the eastern and western parts of Tokyo, although this distinction has blurred. In particular, the number of managers and officials in the 23 wards has decreased and its distribution shifted to a zonal pattern, indicating the polarization of white-collar workers. The distribution of foreigners shows a zonal pattern, in which the highest value appeared in the area surrounding the city center. However, spatial autocorrelation analysis of the distribution of four major nationalities reveals a clustered pattern, supporting the findings of previous studies in Western countries.

Changes in the Spatial Patterns of Occupational Structure in the Tokyo Metropolitan Area After the Bubble Economy

This study examined the spatial patterns of the Tokyo metropolitan area in terms of the occupation structure and its transformation after the collapse of the bubble economy. To overcome technical problems of the previous studies on the urban spatial structure, we adopted grid square unit data and made analysis using spatial autocorrelation indices with geographic information systems. Spatial autocorrelation analysis of the spatial pattern of occupational structure in 2005 confirmed the findings obtained in previous studies. Hence, the basic spatial structure of social areas in the Tokyo metropolitan area has been maintained. However, the conventional finding, obtained from the analysis of administrative unit, that socioeconomic status shows a concentric pattern in the suburbs was not necessarily supported by the analysis of grid square units, which shows a radial pattern along the railroad lines. Particularly in the suburbs, the tendency of occupation groups to vary with the distance from the railroad has been strengthened. This suggests that not only “diversification” but also “polarization” of the suburbs has progressed.