The purpose of this study is to examine the process of creating a database of land-use maps and determine the effectiveness of land-use surveys through a fieldwork program in human and regional geography at a graduate school (the University of Tsukuba). The case study shows a method of land-use survey using fieldwork and a geographic information system (GIS) in an urban area on a microscale.
First, I examine the importance of land-use surveys based on fieldwork to clarify various regional characteristics in detail. Land-use patterns can also be analyzed in an office setting because infrastructure for spatial information data has been developed in recent years. However, land-use surveys based on fieldwork make it possible to understand the social, economical, historical, and cultural background of a particular region through actual experience in the urban or agricultural field. On the other hand, some researchers who study land-use patterns by performing field work on a microscale, such as in a central urban area, often use an analog method of recording land-use information by hand on a base map. In those cases, the data recorded by hand are mostly limited to an analysis of the pre