Change from "Concentrating in core areas" to "Refining core areas": Critical study of a facile compact city policy

The establishment of intensive core areas to realize compact city structures is anticipated. However, whether core areas that are set by the plan actually accumulate urban facilities or not remains unclear. This study examined actual conditions of urban facility accumulation in core areas that are set according to a municipal master plan. Results show the following: 1) many core areas have less than 1% of all urban facilities in the city; 2) suburbs of a metropolis, which have many core areas, have low-accumulation core areas. Therefore, it will be necessary to change the compact city policy from "Concentrating in core areas" to "Refining core areas" in city regions under a depopulating society.