housing project residents; danchi dwellers
Refers to people living in large-scale public housing complexes (団地), often with a connotation of a distinct lifestyle or community. The term is somewhat dated, reflecting the mid-20th-century danchi boom.
The lifestyle of danchi dwellers symbolized the new urban culture of that era.
Compound of 団地 (danchi, 'housing complex') and 族 (zoku, 'tribe' or 'group'), literally 'danchi tribe'. Coined to describe the emerging community of public housing residents in postwar Japan.