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4.3 Shaping the “Grey Urban Environment”
4.3.1 “Grey” in Urban Context
“Grey” in Sect. 4.1 mainly focuses on the mix of urban land uses (residential, commercial, and industrial) and rural land uses (farmland, forest, etc.). In the Sects. 4.2
and 4.3 we take a closer look into the urban area, “Grey” is interpreted more broadly:
(1) diverse types of “grey”, not only “urban-rural”; (2) mix of uses, forms, and densities; (3) border between private and public; and (4) flexible transformation of land
uses. These represent the elements of adaptable planning embedded in the Japanese
urban planning system.
4.3.2 Grey Urban Environment in Tokyo
The view of inner-city and suburban areas of Tokyo from the observatory of the
Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building located in Shinjuku, one major urban
center in central Tokyo, well illustrates the grey urban environment of Tokyo
(Fig. 4.14). A mix of buildings – large buildings along skeletal roads and small
buildings of different sizes and uses – is seen. The difference between this view and
the view of European or North American cities from tall buildings is immediately
noticeable.
4.3.3 Grey Urban Environment in Tokyo
The view of inner-city and suburban areas of Tokyo from the observatory of the
Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building located in Shinjuku, one major urban centers in central Tokyo, well illustrates the grey urban environment of Tokyo (Fig. 4.14).
A mix of buildings – large buildings along skeletal roads and small buildings of different sizes and uses – is seen. The difference between this view and the view of
European or North American cities from tall buildings is immediately noticeable.
In a residential area near Ikebukuro, another major urban center in central Tokyo
a little north of Shinjuku, large-scale redevelopments stand in contrast to existing
small-scale urban environment (Fig. 4.15). A few minutes east from that location,
an urban environment in transition is found: aging buildings and unmanaged vacant
plots (Fig. 4.16). To the south of the Ikebukuro urban center, construction of a new
road along existing streetcar tracks is in progress (Fig. 4.17), and is also changing
surrounding land uses and buildings. The road is being constructed after urbanization, so many existing buildings must be demolished to construct the new road, a
prime example of modern infrastructure.
4 The Value of Grey
4.3 Shaping the “Grey Urban Environment”
4.3.1 “Grey” in Urban Context
“Grey” in Sect. 4.1 mainly focuses on the mix of urban land uses (residential, commercial, and industrial) and rural land uses (farmland, forest, etc.). In the Sects. 4.2
and 4.3 we take a closer look into the urban area, “Grey” is interpreted more broadly:
(1) diverse types of “grey”, not only “urban-rural”; (2) mix of uses, forms, and densities; (3) border between private and public; and (4) flexible transformation of land
uses. These represent the elements of adaptable planning embedded in the Japanese
urban planning system.
4.3.2 Grey Urban Environment in Tokyo
The view of inner-city and suburban areas of Tokyo from the observatory of the
Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building located in Shinjuku, one major urban
center in central Tokyo, well illustrates the grey urban environment of Tokyo
(Fig. 4.14). A mix of buildings – large buildings along skeletal roads and small
buildings of different sizes and uses – is seen. The difference between this view and
the view of European or North American cities from tall buildings is immediately
noticeable.
4.3.3 Grey Urban Environment in Tokyo
The view of inner-city and suburban areas of Tokyo from the observatory of the
Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building located in Shinjuku, one major urban centers in central Tokyo, well illustrates the grey urban environment of Tokyo (Fig. 4.14).
A mix of buildings – large buildings along skeletal roads and small buildings of different sizes and uses – is seen. The difference between this view and the view of
European or North American cities from tall buildings is immediately noticeable.
In a residential area near Ikebukuro, another major urban center in central Tokyo
a little north of Shinjuku, large-scale redevelopments stand in contrast to existing
small-scale urban environment (Fig. 4.15). A few minutes east from that location,
an urban environment in transition is found: aging buildings and unmanaged vacant
plots (Fig. 4.16). To the south of the Ikebukuro urban center, construction of a new
road along existing streetcar tracks is in progress (Fig. 4.17), and is also changing
surrounding land uses and buildings. The road is being constructed after urbanization, so many existing buildings must be demolished to construct the new road, a
prime example of modern infrastructure.
4 The Value of Grey