The affective meaning of Tokyo: Verbal and non-verbal approaches

Abstract

This study examined the residents' affective meaning of Tokyo in Japan. Two approaches were adopted, a non-verbal approach (multidimensional scaling) and a verbal approach (factor analysis) to reveal the structure of the meaning. The present study shows three findings. First, wards in Tokyo have a distinct affective meaning, and the structure underlying the meaning is similar to what Russell has proposed in his series of affective meaning studies in North American countries and other areas. Second, wards of Tokyo tend to be clustered into five discernible groups on the basis of demographic/sociological characteristics, such as land-use and quality of residence, and there is a relation between the meaning of each ward and its land value and crime rate. Third, the affective meaning attributed to the wards has some commonality over respondents having different lengths of residence.