生活環境学部　生活環境学科
水野　優子　准教授
専門分野：住環境計画、都市計画、まちづくり、住宅政策、住生活学

高度経済成長期の遺産を次世代の地域拠点へ

　日本の都市部は今、大きな転換点を迎えている。高度経済成長期の都市部の住宅不足を解消するために官民さまざまな主体によって計画的に開発された住宅団地やニュータウンは、かつて近代的なあこがれの暮らしの象徴であった。しかし半世紀以上が経過した現在、建物の老朽化や居住者の高齢化といった課題が各地で顕在化している。

　水野優子准教授の研究対象は、このような計画的に造られた住宅地である。中でも団地に着目するのは、短期間に大量の住宅を供給した結果、同時期に入居した住民が一斉に高齢化し、建物の老朽化も広範囲かつ集中的に進行するため、課題がより深刻な形で表れやすいからだ。

　かつての住宅地開発は「住宅の供給」を主目的としていたが、「人口減少や経済低迷という変化の中で、団地やニュータウンの再生は、その住宅地のみの問題ではなく周辺地域全体の活性化に資する存在として期待されています」と水野准教授は指摘する。住宅地の再生主体は居住者や自治体、企業や事業者などさまざまであるが、主体間の連携や役割に注目し、建物や空間といったハード面の整備と、コミュニティ形成というソフト面の取り組みが、いかに連動すべきかを探求し続けている。

武庫川団地に見る大規模居住区の現在地

　水野准教授が主たる研究対象の一つとしているのが、関西最大級の規模を誇る「武庫川団地」だ。2000年代からUR都市機構が積極的に団地再生の取り組みを進めるなかで、UR都市機構や阪神電気鉄道と連携しながら、継続的な調査を行ってきたのだ。

　アンケート調査を通じて居住満足度や幸福度を数値化し、どのような再生の取り組みが団地住民や周辺居住者のウェルビーイングに寄与するのかを検証している。特に関西圏において、鉄道事業者が沿線開発を牽引してきた歴史的背景は無視できない。鉄道会社は単に車両を走らせるだけでなく、沿線の生活基盤そのものを形作ってきたのである。そのような経緯のもと、沿線の団地である武庫川団地の再生の取り組みに阪神電鉄も積極的に関わることとなり、2021年夏、ここ武庫川団地に新たな芝生広場が誕生した。本物の阪神電車の車両（赤胴車）が、UR都市機構と阪神電気鉄道が締結した包括連携協定によりURに譲渡・設置されると、新たなコミュニティスペースのシンボルとして再活用されることとなった。車両は集会所として利用できるように改造され、芝生広場では地域住民との交流を目的としたマルシェなどのイベントが定期的に開催されるなど、世代や立場を越えた人々のつながりを生み出す場として機能し始めている。この取り組みにより団地のイメージが一新され、周辺地域にも好影響をもたらしている。

　こうした視点は、近隣のもう一つのUR浜甲子園団地における実践にも表れている。同団地では、20年以上の長期にわたり建替事業が進められてきたが、そのなかで大学と地域、そして地元住民との協働によるプロジェクトに取り組んできたのだ。学生が調査や学習を通じて地域に関わり、地元と意見交換を重ねながら、野菜づくりをとおしたコミュニティ形成を目指すキッチンガーデンの初動期の取り組み支援や、空き店舗を活用した居場所の運営、居住者と学生がともに協力して団地を彩るキャンドルナイトなど、これまでにさまざまな活動が実践されている。これらは、団地を単なる居住空間としてではなく、人と人とが関係を育む「場」として再定義する試みであった。

産官学の連携が育む未来のまちづくり

　団地再生の成否は、その場所が「住みたい」と思われ続けるかどうかにかかっている。水野准教授の研究は、学術的な知見を事業者にフィードバックすることで、実社会に具体的なインパクトを与えている。

　目指すのは、単に古い建物を新しくすることではなく、居住者の生活の質が向上し、地域全体に活力が循環する社会だ。「今後は団地やニュータウンという枠組みを超え、より広い地域や沿線全体のまちづくりや、多様な主体の関わりによる持続可能な住宅地の再生についても関心を広げていきたい」と将来展望を語る。

　この研究は、行政、民間企業、そして大学が手を取り合うことで初めて結実する。外部資金や共同研究を通じた連携の深化は、より精緻なデータ分析と実証的な施策提案を可能にするだろう。長年の調査で蓄積された客観的なエビデンスを掛け合わせることで、武庫川団地をモデルとした団地型再生の知見は、全国の郊外住宅地が抱える課題を解決する一助となるはずだ。

Department of Human Environmental Sciences, School of Human Environmental Sciences
Yuko Mizuno, Associate Professor
Areas of specialization: Living environment planning, urban planning, community development, housing policy, housing studies

Creating a Sustainable City Utilizing the Massive “Housing Stock” as an Asset

Transforming the legacies of the high economic growth period into local hubs for the next generation

Japan’s urban areas are facing a major turning point right now. The residential complexes and new towns planned and developed by various public and private entities to resolve the housing shortage in urban areas during the period of high economic growth were once the symbols of aspirational modern living. Now, however, more than half a century later, issues such as the deterioration of buildings and aging residents are becoming apparent in various places.

These types of planned residential areas are the subject of Associate Professor Yuko Mizuno’s research. Her research focuses on housing complexes (“danchi”) in particular because issues are more likely to become pronounced there. Since a large number of residences were provided over a short period of time, residents who moved in at the same time are aging all at once and the deterioration of buildings progresses on a large and concentrated scale.

The main purpose of past housing development was “providing housing,” but she points out that “amid changes like population decline and economic downturn, the revitalization of housing complexes and new towns is expected to contribute to the revitalization of the entire surrounding area, not just the residential area.” The revitalization of the residential area is mainly conducted by various entities, including residents, municipal governments, companies and business operators but focusing on the cooperation and roles among entities, she continues to search for how the maintenance of hardware like buildings and spaces, and intangible initiatives like community building should be linked together.

Current location of large-scale residential area as seen in the Mukogawa Danchi(housing complex)

One of the main subjects of her research is the “Mukogawa Danchi,” one of the largest housing complexes in western Japan. Since the 2000s, the Urban Renaissance Agency (UR) has proactively promoted housing complex revitalization efforts, and she has been conducting ongoing research in collaboration with UR and Hanshin Electric Railway.

She is verifying what types of revitalization efforts would contribute to the well-being of housing complex residents and surrounding residents by quantifying residential satisfaction and well-being through questionnaire surveys. Especially in the Kansai area, the historical background that railway operators have led development along their railway lines cannot be ignored. Railway companies have not simply run trains, they have shaped the life infrastructure along the railway lines. Under these circumstances, Hanshin Electric Railway became actively involved in the revitalization efforts of the Mukogawa Danchi, which is a housing complex located along the railway line, and in the summer of 2021, the new lawn area was created here at the Mukogawa Danchi. Under the comprehensive cooperation agreement signed by UR and Hanshin Electric Railway, an actual Hanshin railway train car (“akadosha,”) was transferred to UR and was installed and reused as a symbol in the new community space. ”Akadosha” was remodeled so it could be used as a meeting place, and events that promote interaction with local residents such as open markets are held regularly in the lawn area which is starting to function as a place to create connections between people across generations and positions. These efforts have renewed the image of the housing complex and have also had a positive impact on the surrounding area.

This perspective is also reflected in practice at another neighboring UR Hama-Koshien Danchi . Amid the rebuilding project that has been underway for over 20 years at this housing complex, the university, the local community, and local residents have been working on collaborative projects. Various activities have been carried out so far with students becoming involved with the local area through surveys and studies and repeatedly exchanging opinions with the local community. Activities include providing support for initial initiatives in starting a kitchen garden with the purpose of community building through vegetable cultivation, operating community spaces using vacant stores, and holding “candle nights” with the cooperation of residents and students to light up the housing complex. These efforts were attempts to redefine housing complexes as a “place” to foster relationships between people, not simply just a living space.

Future community development fostered through industry-academia-government collaboration

The success of housing complex revitalization depends on whether it continues to be a desirable place to live. Her research is making a real-world impact by feeding back academic knowledge to the business operators.

The aim is not just to renew old buildings, but to create a society where residents’ quality of life improves and vitality spreads throughout the region. She shared her future vision, saying “Going forward, I would like to broaden my horizons beyond the framework of housing complexes and new towns, and look at community development over a wider area and along the entire railway line, and also the sustainable regeneration of residential areas through the involvement of diverse entities.”

This research will only succeed through collaboration among industry, academia, and government. Deepening collaboration through external funding and joint research will make more detailed data analysis and proposals of empirical measures possible. By combining it with the objective evidence accumulated through years of research, the knowledge on the redevelopment of housing complexes using the Mukogawa Danchi as a model should help solve the problems faced by suburban residential areas nationwide.