Tokyo expansion of its suburbs- exhibition

[bikkuri bahn]

Interesting review of an exhibition currently on in Tokyo.  Especially informative passage:

 

"During the 1920s and 30s, Tokyo roughly doubled in size," Tomoko Koike, the exhibition's curator points out. "Also, with many people moving to west, Tokyo's center of gravity moved, with places like Shibuya and Shinjuku developing as centers to compete with Ginza."

 

But why exactly did the city shift in this particular direction? Koike mentions the flat, relatively elevated land. Expansion to the north and east was discouraged because of Tokyo's main rivers, which lie in those directions. The lack of major rivers to the west made it cheaper to build new suburban railway lines, such as the Keio, Tokyu and Odakyu lines, facilitating the growth of new suburbs. Other factors were the excellent views of Mount. Fuji, which lay in that direction and the cleaner air. The prevailing winds blew pollution from Tokyo's major factories eastwards.

 

The trail of westward property development had already been blazed before the quake, with the establishment of Den-en-chofu town by the financier Eiichi Shibusawa. Inspired by the English "garden city" movement, the town was designed to be a healthy suburb for Tokyo with large houses, wide roads, and a concentric street plan.

 

http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/fa20120315a1.html