Healthy 'New Towns': Revitalizing neighborhoods in the wake of aging populations

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Planned suburban residential neighborhoods in metropolitan areas known as new towns were initially developed in England. The new town movement spread from Europe to East Asia, such as to Japan, South Korea, Hong Kong, and Singapore. In Japan alone, 2,903 "New Towns" were built, but many experienced rapid population decline and aging in the 40 years after their development. Therefore, they changed into old new towns and had to transform their facilities.

Dr. Haruka Kato, a junior associate professor at Osaka Metropolitan University and Professor Emeritus Kazuhiko Mori conducted action research in Senboku New Town, one of the largest old new towns in Japan. The findings were published in Habitat International.

Senboku-NT's population declined from approximately 170,000 to 115,000 in 2022. In addition, the older generation increased by about 42,500 people, accounting for 37.1% of the total population. The demographic change made it difficult for older people to live in Senboku-NT as neighborhood shops closed one after another, leaving frail older adults unable to maintain their daily life within walking distance.

To address this problem, residents began to explore community-led projects with the help of community federations, NPOs, social welfare organizations, the government, and universities.

The Senboku Hottokenai Network Project is an example initiative that gradually transformed vacant building stocks into supportive housing for older people, a group home for people with disabilities, and a community restaurant. In addition, this community-led urban transformation project spread to neighboring areas.

The results of this study shed new light on the importance of community-led co-creation in transdisciplinary projects toward the Healthy New Town.

"Hottokenai in Japanese translates to 'leave no one behind,' which is the central promise of the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its Sustainable Development Goals," said Dr. Kato. "Our insight provides the need to implement a new town movement program to extend the urban transformation project for the Healthy New Town to other old new towns in East Asia."

More information: Haruka Kato et al, Community-led urban transformation project as transdisciplinary approach: Case of Senboku Hottokenai Network Project, Habitat International (2024). DOI: 10.1016/j.habitatint.2024.103197

Provided by Osaka Metropolitan University