# Vacant House Characteristics by Use Area and Their Application to Sustainable Community
## 5 Conclusions  
This study analyzed factors that cause vacancy in the residential and commercial areas of Jinju-si's old downtown. The results show that there are common factors that cause more vacant houses by use area, but some factors show opposite results. In Jinju-si's old downtown residential area, the probability of vacant houses increases as the proportion of aged housing and elderly population increases and when the lot size is narrow or irregular, the slope is high, and accessibility is poor. The probability of vacant houses decreases as the ratio of the economically active population increases and when buildings were built before 1970 and accessibility is poor. In commercial areas, the probability of vacant houses increases as the ratio of the economically active population and the elderly population increases and when the buildings were built before 1970. The probability of the occurrence of vacant houses decreases as the ratio of old houses and the number of businesses increase and when the official land price increases. The relationship between the occurrence of vacant houses and variables such as the ratio of aged housing, the ratio of the economically active population, and poor contact is reversed in residential and commercial areas, except for the ratio of elderly population. In addition, underpopulated lots, irregular lots, and slope have a significant effect on vacant houses in residential areas; the rate of change in the number of businesses, official land price, and construction year have a significant effect on vacant houses in commercial areas. These results indicate that, in residential areas, vacant houses occur and cluster under poor physical conditions, such as building state and land characteristics. These vacant houses negatively affect the physical condition of nearby detached houses and the surrounding environment; as the living conditions deteriorate, residents leave the area and the number of vacant houses increases, reinforcing a vicious cycle. Conversely, in commercial areas, vacant houses may result from socio-economic conditions, such as commercial districts, floating population, people's accessibility, and transportation convenience, rather than individual buildings' physical condition. Therefore, when the economically active or floating population is small in a place where access to commercial facilities and transportation environment is unfavorable, it negatively affects the formation of commercial districts, leading to an increase in vacant houses. Where there are many old houses, the use or accessibility of the building for commercial purposes is restricted, and the houses may be neglected and, as a result, become vacant houses. Based on these results, urban architectural alternatives to prevent or suppress vacant house occurrence in residential and commercial areas are needed. First, since there are many houses in a residential area, it is necessary to repair old houses to improve living conditions and the condition of the roads adjacent to the houses (improving contact ratio, etc.). In the case of a house located on a narrow and irregular lot, it is necessary to apply a development method by combining adjacent land because it is difficult to repair or manage individual houses. In addition, since many people with mobility impairments, such as the elderly, live on roads with complex structures or where vacant houses are concentrated on slopes, it is necessary to secure roads connected to individual houses and to improve infrastructure, such as installing stairs on slopes. Such an environmental improvement method has been partially applied to the Sae-Tul Village project (a project to remodel living conditions in vulnerable areas) jointly promoted by the Korean government's Regional Development Committee, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, and the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry since 2015 [47]. Second, in commercial areas, lot shape and building characteristics have little effect on vacant house occurrence.