On the Retail Characteristics of Municipalities in Nara Prefecture

In this paper, the author attempts to evaluate the retail characteristics of municipalities in Nara Prefecture. It is necessary for planners to know the status of their cities in urban hierarchy to revitalize their city centres. The northern parts of Nara Prefecture are in the outer suburban area of Osaka Metropolitan Area and the southern and eastern parts of this prefecture are out of the metropolitan area. The results are summarized as follows: 1. The population has concentrated in the northern parts of Nara Prefecture. Southern and eastern parts of this prefecture are losing population. 2. I classified towns and cities in five grades. In the first class, there are Nara-shi, Kashihara-shi and Tawaramoto-cho which have centralities over 1.0. Nara-shi and Kashihara-shi are the two largest cities in Nara Prefecture and are the most important shopping centers in suburban area. Nara-shi is the capital of Nara Prefecture and the population of this city has increased. But most shoppers in Nara-shi prefer to buy foods at supermarkets or convenience stores rather than small shops in shopping streets. Yamatotakada-shi, Sakurai-shi and Gojo-shi are in the second class. The centralities in these cities have reduced. Cities in the first and second classes are in the metropolitan area. Out of the metropolitan area, most towns are in the lowest class. 3. Shopping of inhabitants in towns in the non-metropolitan area dependent on cities and towns in the first or second classes. There are no large-scale stores or convenience stores in the southern part of Nara Prefecture. Therefore, Shoppers in this area usually go to the freestanding large-scale stores in the metropolitan area by car