ABSTRACT

This chapter focuses on old suburban residential areas, developed mainly for commuters of Japan's Nagoya metropolitan area in the 1970's and 1980's. It consists of four parts: a concept of sustainable suburbia; the spatial structure of the Nagoya City region and the characteristics of suburban housing estates; characteristics and views of residents of suburban housing estates; the sustainability of suburban housing estates. The old suburban residential areas in the Nagoya metropolitan region consist of detached houses developed by private companies. The Nagoya City region includes three prefectures: Aichi, Mie and Gifu. The neighbouring housing estates, K-estate and H-estate in Kani City, have been managed by a private company since the late 1990's and many new residents have moved in recently. Two estates in Kani City and one in Tajimi City had a rate of vacant lots at more than 40 per cent. The sustainability of a city and urban region strongly affects the sustainability of suburban housing estates within it.