Aging Issues in New Town Developments － The Tama New Town Case －

1. Introduction

During the 1960s， Japan's rapid economic growth era led to population concentrations in the Tokyo and Osaka metropolitan areas. To accommodate the inflow， large-scale New Town developments were built in outlying areas. The New Towns at that time represented a new urban lifestyle. Thirty years later， people's values and lifestyles have changed greatly， and the New Towns are confronted with issues of a new era. This paper presents a case study of Tama New Town on the outskirts of Tokyo， focusing on aging issues and solutions specific to New Towns.

2. Status of Tama New Town

(1) Description of Tama New Town
Tama New Town is located in the Tama hills， approximately 30 kilometers west of central Tokyo (area 2，980 hectares， planned population of approximately 300，000). The New Town development area includes parts of Tama City， Hachioji City， Machida City， and Inagi City. The development plan was drawn in 1965， approved in 1966， and completed in 1971 for the first stage of occupancy in Suwa and Nagayama areas (Tama City). In 1996， the residential population stood at approximately 178，000.

(2) Status of Tama New Town Area
1. Housing in the New Town Area
In fiscal 1996， there were 26，080 housing units in the New Town (NT) area， classified as follows: 18，126 Kodan units (constructed by HUDC， the Housing and Urban Development Corporation)， 3，152 Kosha units (constructed by the Tokyo Metropolitan Housing Supply Corporation)， and 4，802 Toei units (constructed by the Tokyo metropolitan government). Kodan units comprise approximately 70 percent of the total. Ownership is roughly equally divided between owned housing (52.9%) and rented housing (47.1%). As for the buildings， the majority (75%) are four to five stories high， approximately 5 percent of the buildings have three or less stories， and the remaining 20 percent are high-rise buildings. Approximately half (48%) of the units were built as family dwellings with 2LDK (two bedrooms， living room， dining room and kitchen) or 3DK (three bedrooms， dining room and kitchen) layouts.

2. Status of Aging in the New Town Area
The NT area includes approximately 60 percent of Tama City by area， and 70 percent by population. Tama City's elderly population of 13，116 (1998) comprises approximately 9.2 percent of its total population， considerably below the national average of 15.6 percent (1997). Since the NT area contains 56.6 percent (7，430 persons) of Tama City's elderly population， its elderly population ratio is even lower at 7.3 percent.

The total number of households stood at 55，645 in 1995， of which 7，958 households (14.3%) had elderly members.

In Tama City， welfare facilities for the elderly include one nurse station for house calls， three designated nursing homes， and three at-home care support centers. However， the NT area has no such facilities.

(3) Future Aging Problems for New Town Areas
According to a report by HUDC (1997)， the elderly population in the NT area is predicted to double to 16，000 by 2007， bringing the elderly population ratio to 14 percent. By 2015， the elderly population ratio will reach 18 percent， exceeding that of the original non-New Town area of Tama City. While this is far below the national level of 25.2 percent predicted for 2015 by the Ministry of Health and Welfare， problems are posed by the New Town's unique household composition， types of dwellings， and urban planning factors including land use. These circumstances call for new measures to deal with aging in the future. The following problems have already emerged.

1. Shortage of elderly welfare facilities (day-care centers， designated nursing homes， etc.)
Because aging has occurred more slowly in the NT area than in the original area of Tama City， the area lags behind in elderly welfare facilities. In the future， as further aging and the new long-term care insurance create demand for at-home care services， shortages are predicted in day care centers， designated nursing homes， and other elderly welfare facilities. Thus new facilities will need to be built within walking distance from homes.

2. Decline of neighborhood service centers
The New Town was designed to have neighborhood service centers containing many retail stores to make daily life more convenient. However， due to motorization and changes in consumer behavior， these stores have been eclipsed by the emergence of large retail stores along major roads and in train terminals. Today， with vacancy rates near 20 percent， neighborhood centers are not as convenient as originally hoped.

3. Lack of barrier-free collective housing for the elderly
The most common residential structures in the New Town are four to five-story buildings， 95 percent of which have no elevators. Since the barrier-free concept did not exist when the buildings were constructed， aging residents are finding the living environment more difficult to cope with.

4. Inconvenient layouts for present household composition
Half of the collective housing units in the New Town have cramped 2LDK and 3DK layouts. However， as the number of single-person and elderly-couple households increases and households become smaller， demand will grow for larger living rooms， bathrooms， and kitchens. The collective housing units are thus becoming less suited to present household compositions and lifestyles.

5. Hilly topography and separated walkways
In anticipation of motorization， the New Town design incorporated a new concept of separating pedestrian traffic from street traffic for greater safety. As a result， walkways often cross over or under streets， with many slopes and steps along the way. This feature， combined with Tama New Town's hilly topography， can make walking to the nearest train station equivalent to climbing a 15-story building (60 meters). Moreover， in some areas cars cannot pull up to buildings because there is no driveway.

3. Residential Awareness of New Town Residents

Below are the results of a survey conducted by NLI Research Institute last December titled "Survey of Residential Life in an Aging Society." The survey's objective was to investigate residential conditions and people's awareness regarding residential conditions in late life.

Questionnaires were mailed to 1，000 male and female residents of Tama City age 45 or older， and 352 responses were received. In all parentheses below， the first figure refers to survey results for the New Town area， the second to the original (non-New Town)Tama City.

(1) Profile of New Town Residents
1. Characteristics of individuals
A larger proportion of NT residents than Tama City residents are in the youngest surveyed age group of 45-54 (52.3%， 37.6%)， while fewer are oldest sons or daughters (38.3%， 43.5%). More are salaried employees including public employees and part-time workers (56.1%， 40.2%).

2. Characteristics of households
Compared to Tama City， NT households are smaller (average 3.16 persons， 3.33 persons)， but have more children (average 2.01 children， 1.92 children). In addition， more NT households have children under age 20 (32.7%， 21.8%)， but fewer live with their parents (4.7%， 11.1%). The average NT household income is 7.26 million yen， compared to 7.67 million for Tama City.

3. Residential characteristics
The NT area has more built-for-sale condominiums (36.6%， 18.8%) and public rental apartments (23.4%， 1.7%)， but less than half of the single-family owned houses of Tama City (30.6%， 64.1%). The average floor space in the NT area is 86.0 square meters， compared to 102.1 square meters for Tama City.

By age group， the most common types of residences among NT residents are private rental apartments for the 20s (26.8%， 23.1%) age group， public rental apartments for the 30s (20.9%， 3.4%) age group， and built-for-sale condominiums for the 40s (24.3%， 7.7%)， 50s (24.2%， 10.9%) and 60s (20.5%， 6.1%) age groups.

4. Residential history
With regard to place of origin (where they lived longest before age 20)， more NT residents than Tama residents come from outside of the Tokyo area (48.1%， 39.3%). In addition， more parents of NT residents than Tama City residents live outside of the Tokyo area (59.6%， 33.3%). A larger proportion of NT residents than Tama residents say they came to Tokyo for school or work (34.5%， 25.6%).

Turning to the number of relocations (change of residence)， NT residents of all age groups report more relocations than Tama residents， and relocations for both groups decline with age: 20s (1.83， 1.64)， 30s (1.34， 1.20)， 40s (0.83， 0.83)， 50s (0.60， 0.68)， and 60s(0.48， 0.37). The main reasons cited for moving are， by age group: marriage−20s (46.0%， 43.6%)， work reasons−30s (24.7%， 21.6%) and 40s (24.7%， 15.9%)， and lack of space−30s (24.7%， 16.5%) and 40s (20.5%， 11.4%).

(2) Residential Awareness of New Town Residents for Late Life
1. Residential Property and Late Life Planning
NT residents show a strong intention to work in their old age， with a larger proportion planning to work to maintain financial independence in their old age (25.1%， 18.8%). Regarding the workplace， a larger proportion prefers workplaces within easy commuting reach (38.3%， 22.2%)， while fewer want to work at home (6.8%， 16.2%).

Regarding the ownership of residential property， NT residents score lower than Tama residents on home ownership (58.4%， 64.4%)， inheritance of property from parents (17.1%， 20.6%) and intention to leave property to children (24.5%， 41.2%). In addition， a higher proportion of NT residents feel there is no advantage to home ownership in their old age (23.8%， 12.0%).

2. Residential Awareness in Late Life
In their old age， more NT residents intend to live not with their children (10.8%， 20.7%) but somewhere nearby (41.6%， 30.2%). If they remain healthy， many intend to live in owned single-family homes (41.7%， 70.1%) or condominiums (37.9%， 22.2%) because they are accustomed to these dwellings (42.5%， 42.0%). On the other hand， if they come to require light to moderate care， more NT residents prefer fee-charging homes for the elderly or apartments designed for the elderly (24.7%， 21.4%).

For long-term care in their old age， they strongly prefer at-home care for themselves and for their spouses (for self 54.5%， for spouse 62.8%)， with a slight tendency to prefer institutional care for themselves if needed (for self 23.4%， for spouse 15.4%). As for why they choose a particular location to live in their old age， a high proportion cites familiarity with the area (50.5%， 45.4%) or ownership of a home in the area (35.5%， 48.1%). In the NT area， many also cites the rich natural environment (28.6%， 20.4%).

4. Future Direction of New Town Development

In our survey， 70 percent of all respondents prefer to stay at their present accustomed dwelling as they age. However， considering Tama New Town's hilly topography， residential structures， and status of welfare facilities， is this a realistic possibility? Based on what we have learned about NT residents and their awarenesses toward residential life in late life， we now look at necessary preparations to accommodate the expanded needs of aging NT residents.

(1)　For Healthy Elderly: Home Remodeling and Barrier-free Communities
Our survey revealed the following about residential preferences in late life. First， most people prefer to stay at their present location (68.5%)， and if they remain healthy， to live in an owned single-family house (41.7%) or condominium (37.9%). Moreover， most prefer to live alone with their spouse (58.8%)， and have their children live nearby (41.6%).

Thus it is important to make alterations to present homes so that people can continue to live comfortably as they age. Because aging affects one's physical abilities and makes ordinary activities in daily life more difficult， special alterations must be made both inside and outside the home to make living at home as comfortable as possible.

If long-term care is needed， people strongly prefer to be cared for at home by family members or care services. At-home care brings up the need to remodel home interiors， such as removing steps at doorways， installing handrails in the hallway， enabling wheelchair access， and making alterations to the kitchen， toilet， and bath.

In addition， since people will need to commute to welfare facilities as well as call in outside care services， aggressive measures are needed to remove barriers in the residential vicinity， such as installing elevators in residential buildings， widening walkways， as well as giving priority to elderly residents to move to the first floor.

(2)　For Elderly Needing Moderate Care: "Silver" Apartments and Fee-charging Homes
We found that if people come to need care in their old age， many would prefer to live in fee-charging homes or "silver" apartments (24.7%). As has been widely reported to the elderly people who died alone in temporary shelters after the Hanshin Earthquake， the elderly truly need attention from the local community. The advantages of living collectively are many， especially if emergencies arise， and there is also a sense of security that comes from living with peers. Measures are needed to provide affordable housing for elderly living on pensions or earned income， offer financial support to move from owned homes into collective dwellings， and keep necessary personnel on hand in the event of emergency.

(3) Revitalizing Neighborhood Shopping Centers
In choosing a residence in their old age， the fourth most common factor cited by people was the availability of convenient shopping (10.9%). As people age and their physical abilities deteriorate， they have greater difficulty driving or walking long distances. Thus stores and medical clinics should ideally be located close by. However， the existing neighborhood centers in Tama New Town have rising vacancy rates and poor shopping， forcing residents to travel farther to the area center or town center. In the future， there is a need to enhance small stores such as convenience stores and delivery services.

(4) Converting Vacant Public Facilities into Welfare Facilities
If long-term care is needed， respondents prefer to be cared for at home not by a spouse or children (12.0%， 16.2%)， but relying on outside care services (41.7%， 50.4%). If needed， respondents are more willing to use residential facilities such as designated nursing homes or hospitals for themselves for their spouse.

Thus if respondents or their spouses come to need long-term care， many would prefer at-home care by their family or outside care services. Furthermore， if their condition deteriorates and they can no longer be cared for at home， they need to be moved to facilities nearby to minimize the negative psychological impact of a change in surroundings.Thus as the number of elderly people grows， it is vital to build more residential welfare facilities locally， and to expand care services that support at-home care， such as short-stay services， day-care services， and respite care (for caregivers).

In Tama New Town， elementary and junior high schools are being consolidated due to a dramatic decline in school age children. From 1987 to 1996， the number of elementary school students dropped by 4，173 students (32%) to 9，018， resulting in the closing of three schools.

The vacated schools， along with the vacated stores in neighborhood centers， can serve a new function as welfare facilities， while school cafeterias can be mobilized for meal delivery services.

(5) Transportation for Work and Social Activities
With regard to financial support in old age， we found that the younger the age group is， the more they intend to rely on employment income as opposed to public pensions (23.8%， 23.9%). A large proportion of people want to continue working in their old age for a variety of reasons including achieving financial independence and contributing to society (70.2%， 66.7%). Many want to work within easy commuting distance of their homes (38.3%， 22.2%).

Along with creating work opportunities for the elderly， it is important to develop new modes of transportation such as minibus services so that the elderly can readily access sites in Tama New Town.