Dynamics of segregated housing complexes for heavy industry employees in the new industrial areas (shin sangyo toshi): A case study of Akeno District, Oita

Abstract

Under the New Industrial Areas Act of 1962, which aimed to develop heavy materials processing industrial plants in non-metropolitan areas, housing complexes for invited plant employees were constructed in areas that were situated away from existing urban districts. These complexes were geographically and socially segregated from the existing local societies. This paper analyzes the dynamics of these segregated districts, focusing on the changing conditions in the heavy processing industry and the relations between the inhabitants of these complexes and existing local societies. A case study was conducted in the Akeno district of the Oita New Industrial Area. Most of Akeno's inhabitants were Nippon Steel (NS) Oita Steelworks employees and their families, many of whom were transferees from other NS steelworks plants such as Muroran (Hokkaido) and Hirohata (Hyogo). In addition to facing geographical isolation, they had rather different customs, cultures, and lifestyles compared to the existing Oita locals. These inhabitants of Akeno are viewed as a heterogeneous society and are simply referred to as Akeno's' (Akeno zoku). Until the 1980s, when the numbers of NS Oita steelworkers were maintained at about 3,700, Akeno had been a town that was populated exclusively by NS workers. Nevertheless, in the 1990s, due to the rationalization of Oita Steelworks and the collapse of land prices, redevelopment projects began in Akeno. These redevelopments weakened Akeno's segregation and many in-migrants began to settle in the town. The main characteristic of the redevelopment projects was the aim to create a high-quality residential district. This reflects the ambitions of land owners and developers, who sought to raise the value of this district, and those of the existing inhabitants, with the hope of balancing the age structure of the population and improveing its living convenience. In spite of the poor access it offers to central Oita, many affluent non-Akeno's, in their thirties and forties, rate Akeno highly and chose to migrate to Akeno. These responses suggest that they may feel a "longing" for its social and cultural environments, especially its emphasis on education.