Urban Spaces in Japan: Cultural and Social Perspectives

The use of space in Japan has been widely studied, and great refinement has been detected in the ways space is apportioned, utilised, and put on display in traditional architecture, gardening, and the visual arts. However, Japanese urban spaces more generally are not widely praised for their sensory, environmental, or democratic qualities. Certainly, conditions for managing urban spaces have been difficult indeed: bringing close to 100 million villagers to the Japanese cities in less than a century '¬ ; and one in which a war laid most of them to ashes '¬ ; meant relentless, often mindless development and change beyond recognition. As a consequence, not only foreign observers but also the Japanese themselves often deplore the spatial degradation of their urban centres, sometimes to the point of overlooking the attractions these do hold. The growth curve is reaching a turning point now, however, as general population figures in Japan have entered a steep and long-term decline and many cities too are verging on shrinkage. For many a suburb, industrial area, bedroom town, or provincial centre the consequences will be quite dramatic. Competition for residents, visitors, employers, and investors is intensifying, bringing new demands beyond those of quantity and functionality. Japanese urbanites can finally afford to take a step back and assess the qualities of their surroundings more critically, and great change lies ahead for urban planning which '¬ ; now that the pressure to provide basic infrastructure is subsiding '¬ ; may finally come into its own.