Major developments have been popping up all over Japan's heavily urbanized cities. This piece from The Diplomat looks at what urban future lies ahead for Japan.
But some worry that some of the major developments coming to the country are killing its urban diversity.
"[E]ven in the almost 20 years since the economic bubble burst, there's still a sense of confidence that's been incorporated into super-urban Japanese settings-best-exemplified by ambitious developments in Tokyo such as ‘Artelligent City' Roppongi Hills, the trendy new buildings that comprise the Marunouchi district by Tokyo Station and the modern facilities of Tokyo Midtown, which debuted with much fanfare in 2007. All have emerged over the past 10 years, each time stirring the imagination of locals and visitors alike and changing the neighbourhoods they dominate dramatically.
But Worrall asserts that while these sorts of developments are created with good intentions-for example the Tokyo Midtown complex as ‘an environment of high-end, good-taste design, luxuriously appointed and fastidiously executed'-in the end they can become something that's ‘devoid of the urban diversity' that is boasted as being their guiding principle."
FULL STORY: Japan’s Future Look
Is This Urbanism?
Chuck Wolfe ponders a recommended subscription list of Substack urbanists and wonders — as have others — about the utility of the "urbanist" moniker.
Is the Urban Form Sustainable?
One author offers a framework for resilience that rethinks common assumptions about the inevitability of cities as we know them.
Planetizen’s Top Planning Books of 2023
The world is changing, and planning with it.
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
Chicago’s Ghost Rails
Just beneath the surface of the modern city lie the remnants of its expansive early 20th-century streetcar system.
Amtrak Cutting Jobs, Funding to High-Speed Rail
The agency plans to cut 10 percent of its workforce and has confirmed it will not fund new high-speed rail projects.
Ohio Forces Data Centers to Prepay for Power
Utilities are calling on states to hold data center operators responsible for new energy demands to prevent leaving consumers on the hook for their bills.
MARTA CEO Steps Down Amid Citizenship Concerns
MARTA’s board announced Thursday that its chief, who is from Canada, is resigning due to questions about his immigration status.
Silicon Valley ‘Bike Superhighway’ Awarded $14M State Grant
A Caltrans grant brings the 10-mile Central Bikeway project connecting Santa Clara and East San Jose closer to fruition.
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
Caltrans
City of Fort Worth
Mpact (founded as Rail~Volution)
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Astoria
City of Portland
City of Laramie