最寄駅徒歩圏居住に向けた中古集合住宅の役割―2000年代の東京大都市圏を事例として―

With the overall population on the brink of decline, Japan is faced with a full-scale depopulating society. Understanding the relationship between an aging society with a decreasing population and housing supply and demand is an important focus of urban studies research. In this study, we analyze residential relocation through the purchase of secondhand condominiums in the Tokyo metropolitan area in the 2000s based on a questionnaire survey. Secondhand condominiums in Japan are empty and unsold because most Japanese people aspire for a newly built condominium. This oversupply is at its worst in the Tokyo metropolitan suburbs, with Kanagawa, Chiba, Saitama and Ibaraki prefectures, which are located over 40 km from downtown, particularly suffering from this problem. However, older people who take walks every day have forced a re-evaluation of the benefits of secondhand condominiums. As the number of secondhand condominiums is greater than the number that are newly built, general consumers can select between different types based on size, price, location, etc. Thus, a segment of the elderly population is liable to concentrate on secondhand condominiums located in the vicinity of stations so that they can meet their daily needs by walking and without using a car. In other words, secondhand condominiums contribute to creating a walkable city.