Article- Urban development in Tokyo

[bikkuri bahn]

A take on current trends in urban development in Tokyo:

Musashi Koyama was a uniquely Tokyo neighborhood. Leave its train station, and you were immediately met with stands selling yakitori grilled-chicken skewers, standing-only bars, and tiny restaurants lovingly run by chefs devoted to their craft. Its winding alleys evoked a different age. Its shopping arcade, called Palm, was built during the economic miracle in the 1950s, when the Japanese economy was at the beginning of three decades of economic prosperity. It housed butchers, fishmongers, and a host of other specialty stores.

Buta Hoshi was among the businesses operating in the neighborhood. Its grilled skewers of pork were a favorite among locals and even brought in commuters from other parts of the city. But in November 2015, the town embarked upon a huge redevelopment project. Work started on a 466-foot (142 m), 40-story tower housing about 640 apartments, as well as shopping facilities and offices for the local community on the lower floors.

 

http://urbanland.uli.org/development-business/evolving-tokyo/

 

*Musashi Koyama is in Shinagawa Ward, on the Tokyu Meguro Line.

[Densha]

Very interesting article!

[kvp]

Another article:

http://www.japantimes.co.jp/life/2015/11/07/lifestyle/heart-darkness-nostalgic-tokyo-disappearing-amid-construction-boom/

 

Actually i looked at the construction plans and the undergrounding plans for the station already contained the redevelopment around the station area. The old buildings that were torn down were preserved by the covered shopping street while the rest of the area was constantly rebuilt around it. It's sad to see the last bits of the classic post ww2 Tokyo disappear, including the old street level and elevated tracks and stations. These projects also remove all the old buildings that were kept because of the presence of the old tracks. A better known example of this kind of redevelopment is the organically grown old Shibuya station that is being demolished now, along with most small houses near the old ROW. (that station was on its peak around 1960 and maybe a similar statement could be said about most old urban Tokyo stations) The current redevelopments are actually moving away people from their old stopping points along their daily commute, that (imho) were mostly their local home and workplace stations, complete with bars, shops and everything a commercial district shuld provide. These activities are being moved to new, more concentrated and big business controlled shopping centers.

[Mudkip Orange]

This is really similar to the American style of urban redevelopment that started in the late 1930's and really kicked into earnest after WWII. In both cases your old neighborhood stock was very distinctly of its culture; those little streets they're wrecking are unmistakably Japanese, while the rowhouses and cottages that came down here were unmistakably North American.