Self-Containment in Old New Town: Evidence from Senboku New Town in Osaka Metropolitan Area

Abstract

New towns (NTs) are essential habitats in metropolitan areas with many residents. However, in Asian countries, NTs have a design gap between theory and practice from the viewpoint of self-containment. This study aims to clarify self-containment through destination analysis by facility type across generations. As a case study, this study selected Senboku-NT, which has approximately 48,000 older adults aged 60 years and above, accounting for 43.0% of the total population. This study conducted an origin–destination analysis based on facility type across generations using the GPS Location History data from October 1, 2023, to October 31, 2023. The results showed that a significantly higher number of older adults live within Senboku-NT. As a result, according to urban facility types, a significantly higher number of older adults visited commercial and leisure facilities in Senboku-NT. This finding is important because it indicates that commercial and leisure facilities for older adults may be self-contained within Senboku-NT. Therefore, we need to redesign the living environment to accommodate the changing lifestyles of the growing number of older adults.

Keywords: Senboku New-Town; Self-Containment; Origin-Destination analysis; GPS-Location History data; Urban Facility Types