81
a managed suburban residential area with lower density and higher ratio of green
space is possible. Such measures will also contribute to making the entire urban
form of the city more compact. The measures include, but are not.
limited to, the assembling of neighboring plots, the greening of vacant plots, the
trading of plots in the chances of building reconstruction, and housing design with
more open spaces.
There should be many other ideas to re-evaluate and manage a grey – actually
“green” in a sense – urban environment to create sustainable urban neighborhoods.
In any case, such transformation of space or physical environment should be well
planned and well designed.
4.5 Shaping the “Urban-Rural Grey”
4.5.1 Land Use Transformation in Suburban Tokyo
The National Population census reported that Tokyo experienced rapid population
growth from 3.7 M in 1920 to 11.4 M in 1970 mainly due to rural migration
(Statistics Japan 2000). During this period, urban expansion continuously occurred
in peri-urban rural areas. Through the process of urban expansion, the rural areas
developed before World War 2 have already been integrated into the current urban
fabric of Tokyo center. The rural areas developed after World War 2, however, have
formed the current residential bed-town communities in suburban Tokyo.
Figure 4.29 shows an example of typical land use changes in suburban bed-town
communities. The aerial photos cover the urban fringe of Funabashi city in Chiba
prefecture some 30 km east from Tokyo’s center (Imperial Palace). In 1947,
Funabashi’s urban fringe was rural: farmland and forest dominated. Tokyo’s urban
expansion had reached Funabashi between 1947 and 1970, and residential
communities had developed along with construction of inter-city railway infrastructure. Up until 1997, residential development continued and this shapes the foundation
of current urban fabric. Between 1997 and 2016, urban expansion moderated because
of stabilization of the increasing population, but small housing developments still
continue to appear. Consequently, a scene typically in Funabashi is a small-scale
mixture of farmland, forest, and housing. It seems that the mixture is a result of urban
sprawl on rural land without any (or ineffective) concern for land use regulation.
4.5.2 Area Division System and Agricultural Promotion
Regions
However, urban-rural mixed land is basically controlled by land use regulations,
from both urban and rural planning perspectives. Area Division System (ADS) is
the land use regulation designed to make a boundary between urban and rural areas
4 The Value of Grey
a managed suburban residential area with lower density and higher ratio of green
space is possible. Such measures will also contribute to making the entire urban
form of the city more compact. The measures include, but are not.
limited to, the assembling of neighboring plots, the greening of vacant plots, the
trading of plots in the chances of building reconstruction, and housing design with
more open spaces.
There should be many other ideas to re-evaluate and manage a grey – actually
“green” in a sense – urban environment to create sustainable urban neighborhoods.
In any case, such transformation of space or physical environment should be well
planned and well designed.
4.5 Shaping the “Urban-Rural Grey”
4.5.1 Land Use Transformation in Suburban Tokyo
The National Population census reported that Tokyo experienced rapid population
growth from 3.7 M in 1920 to 11.4 M in 1970 mainly due to rural migration
(Statistics Japan 2000). During this period, urban expansion continuously occurred
in peri-urban rural areas. Through the process of urban expansion, the rural areas
developed before World War 2 have already been integrated into the current urban
fabric of Tokyo center. The rural areas developed after World War 2, however, have
formed the current residential bed-town communities in suburban Tokyo.
Figure 4.29 shows an example of typical land use changes in suburban bed-town
communities. The aerial photos cover the urban fringe of Funabashi city in Chiba
prefecture some 30 km east from Tokyo’s center (Imperial Palace). In 1947,
Funabashi’s urban fringe was rural: farmland and forest dominated. Tokyo’s urban
expansion had reached Funabashi between 1947 and 1970, and residential
communities had developed along with construction of inter-city railway infrastructure. Up until 1997, residential development continued and this shapes the foundation
of current urban fabric. Between 1997 and 2016, urban expansion moderated because
of stabilization of the increasing population, but small housing developments still
continue to appear. Consequently, a scene typically in Funabashi is a small-scale
mixture of farmland, forest, and housing. It seems that the mixture is a result of urban
sprawl on rural land without any (or ineffective) concern for land use regulation.
4.5.2 Area Division System and Agricultural Promotion
Regions
However, urban-rural mixed land is basically controlled by land use regulations,
from both urban and rural planning perspectives. Area Division System (ADS) is
the land use regulation designed to make a boundary between urban and rural areas
4 The Value of Grey