A Study on Residents’ Orientations Toward Vacant Lot Problems

This study examines residents’ solution orientations toward vacant-lot problems in five residential neighborhoods of Toba City, Japan. Survey responses from 240 residents were analyzed using cluster analysis, multinomial logistic regression, and inverse probability weighting. Three orientations emerged—self/community-help, municipality-linked, and administration-dependent—differing more in preferred ownership and management actors than in land-use preferences. Unadjusted distributions broadly matched the conventional contrast between newly developed and long-established neighborhoods. However, this correspondence was partly attributable to resident attributes, and adjustment produced heterogeneous changes across localities. These findings support tailoring policy entry points to local preference structures rather than neighborhood type alone.