Tokyo – The Model Megacity – Project Pathumwan

Cover Photo: Skyscrapers of Shinjuku 2009 by Morio. Retrieved From: commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Skyscrapers_of_Shinjuku_2009_January.jpg
Volume 6, Number 1: April 2021 | Article

Tokyo, the capital city of Japan. Home to over 37 million people, the Greater Tokyo Area is the most populous metropolitan area in the world. Additionally, it is an important economic hub domestically and internationally. The city generates over $1.8 trillion a year in GDP which makes up over a third of the Japanese economy. Despite the enormous size and population, Tokyo is considered to be one of the most successful cities in the world. Clearly, something was done right in the development of the metropolitan area. This article looks at the history of Tokyo in order to identify the reasons for its success.

Tokyo was not always the capital of Japan. The city started as a small fishing village called Edo where development was slow. That changed in 1603 when the shogunate (the governing party) used Edo as their base of operations. This caused Edo to grow into one of the largest cities in the world as the population hit one million by the 18th century. Edo became the capital of Japan in 1869 when the Emperor moved into the city. Edo was then renamed to reflect this as “Tokyo” meant eastern capital. This effectively made Tokyo the political and cultural centre of Japan.

However, the Tokyo we are familiar with today is the result of two devastating events: the Great Kantō Earthquake (1923) and the Bombing of Tokyo in WWII (1944 – 1945). This essentially flattened the city and cut its population from 6.7 million to 2.8 million. It could be considered a fresh start for the Japanese urban planners which allowed them to build up their capital city from scratch.

The post-war development of the city created what we now know as Tokyo. This started with the consolidation of Tokyo City and Tokyo Prefecture into one entity, Tokyo Metropolis. This is significant from a governance perspective as it allowed for the simplification of the administrative body governing Tokyo and, as a result, a closer management over a larger area of land.

The 1950’s saw the start of the Japanese economic miracle. This period saw a substantial number of rural-to-urban migration, increasing the population and density of Tokyo. By the 1960’s, Japan became the second-largest economy in the world. As the economy grew, so did the capital city. However, Tokyo’s expansion is unique as the responsibilities of development were clearly defined. The government focused on building up the industrial sector and infrastructure while the residential and commercial areas were left to the local authorities. As Tokyo grew, it incorporated the surrounding villages into the city. This created a city with roads characterised as a fine balance between planned grids and unplanned webs. This method of growth is significant for many reasons.

Firstly, the villages maintained their local government. This allowed for tighter management that will better meet the needs of the residents. Currently, the internal affairs of most Japanese neighbourhoods are being monitored by committees of residents living in their respective areas. This ensured that their demands are properly conveyed to the authorities.

Secondly, the separate development promoted mixed use of land. Prior to becoming a part of Tokyo, these smaller villages were self-sufficient with economic activities maintained by the locals. This tradition continued long after merging with Tokyo. In fact, it might have been enhanced due to the increased accessibility to and from these villages allowing for more economic opportunities. One possible downside is that the streets are relatively unplanned and left to grow naturally. However, it actually promotes walkability in the suburbs as the roads are not built around cars.

Lastly, this method of growth allowed for the population of Tokyo to be decentralised. This allowed for Tokyo to maintain a relatively low density despite its great population. The low density and promotion of mixed use mentioned in before are aligned with the principles of smart growth.

However, there is a consequence of this decentralised growth. Despite the mixed use in the suburbs, the majority of economic institutions and employment are still located in the centre of Tokyo. A decentralised population infers longer distances to commute which will increase the need for cars. As a consequence, this will create congestion in the city followed by pollution and wasted time. Yet, that is not the case for Tokyo.

No discussion of Tokyo’s urban planning is complete without covering their remarkable rail system. Currently, Japan’s rail system is the world’s most extensive network, serving 40 million riders everyday. It can be inferred that the network is a response to the decentralised nature of Tokyo’s residential areas. A full analysis of the rail network is necessary, however, that warrants its own article. Instead, this article will focus on one important takeaway from its development.

The Japanese metropolitan railway network is provided by 48 separate agencies ranging from public to semi-private and private bodies. However, when it was time to build the network post-WWII, the national government placed a great emphasis on seamless transfers. This meant that a passenger could transfer between trains belonging to different agencies seamlessly without needing extra transits (like biking or bus). This reduces the time spent on transferring between the different trains and other extra costs incurred from the lack of cooperation. This was so serious that the Urban Transport Council was established in order to enforce “mutual extension operation” of the railway. There are two takeaways from this:

Communication between different organisation is crucial to building a functional network.
The introduction and enforcement of a common mindset (seamless transfers) early on in the urban planning process is necessary for the most economic outcome.

These factors are the ingredients that makes Japan’s rail network the most successful in the world, able to sustain its great size and enormous ridership.

As this article covered, there were many factors that contributed to the success of Tokyo as a megacity. It is important to acknowledge the great opportunity presented to Japan given it’s economic miracle and clean slate to develop their capital. These external factors are simply unavailable to other nations making Japan’s model inimitable. However, the methodology used in their planning and development is the main takeaway here. Their emphasis on communication between different authorities is key in Tokyo’s success. This is reflected in the way Tokyo was managed on a local level to the way their flagship rail network was developed. This paved the way for each organisation to achieve their own goals while also taking advantage of the synergy produced from cooperation. While this article is an in-depth look into the development of Tokyo, there are still many other factors which were left out due to the word limit. It is hoped that further research into Tokyo will provide a guide on how to manage a city in the 21st century.

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