Contrasts in suburban decline: a tale of three key outer suburban "Business Core Cities" in Tokyo Metropolis

Abstract

The overall context of decline in the polycentric suburban territory of Tokyo Metropolis contains divergent trajectories of municipal change. The key outer suburban centers of Tachikawa, Hachioji, and Ome City have different trajectories of socio-demographic, economic, and political and administrative (fiscal) change. This paper explores the mechanisms underlying their different trajectories to reveal the likely diversity of experiences. We reveal that their different trajectories have been materialized mainly by local or intra-suburban differentiations of inter-governmental, inter-sectoral, and inter-actor dynamics. Different strategies have thus emerged in the policy domain of industrial a..