The Function and Equipping of Central Local Cities

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The general consensus is that "cities function as central pivotal sites of social life". Utilizing Suzuki Eitaro's "connective facilities" theory and Yazaki Takeo's theory of cities as "integrative facilities", scholars have debated the function cities perform in society and viewed the central local city and its environs in terms of a hierarchical division of functions.However, as the study on Hirosaki City and its surrounding cities and counties has made clear the particular function a central city performs in a region is specific to that region and this specificity must be taken into consideration in ascertaining its function and in the planning of its facilities and services(seibi).Consequently, the provision of services and facilities within regional cities cannot be standar dized across the board and cannot belie the individual situation of each city. Fundamentally, the planning for facilities and services in the central regional city and the building of its base must honor the sense of ownership the surrounding cities and counties feel vis- -vis development in the region. In other words, in the case of Hirosaki, it must proceed forward, first, by being attentive to thedirection in which development in the region has taken thus far and, second, while cognizant of the specificities of the region, complement and build upon what has transpired.The precedent-making study of the three cities, Ichinoseki, Mizusawa, and Esashi, in southern Iwate prefecture has revealed that the policy decisions and given locative, environmental, etc. conditions of each city affected its providing of facilities and services.Each of the above three cities responded in different ways to the societal changes that accompanied the development of the high speed transportion system and these differences resulted from the policy decisions made by each city.