Overview

"Japan has led the world in urban innovation, design and planning, successfully combining high population with functionality, cleanliness and low levels of crime. This text sets out to explain the reasons for this success, showing how both natural and human-made factors influence urban life. Interdisciplinary, comprehensive and up-to-date, this book shows how the physical cityscape of climate, buildings and infrastructure interacts with social and cultural factors to produce a unique environment. Divided into four parts, the volume addresses: the social, cultural and physical determinants of the Japanese urban environment, showing how cultural values have influenced the historical evolution of cities; the climate, energy use and leisure provision in the city from an environmental perspective; the infrastructure of the Japanese city and its growth since the Second World War, illustrating how technical ""hardware"", such as the subway systems, operates effectively because of the social, economic and cultural ""software""; and the future of urban design in Japan, indicating the impact of national and local planning, the uses of advanced technology and methods for urban redevelopment. With contributions by a wide range of Japanese specialists, this work addresses the full complexity of the urban environment. The authors show how a dynamic synthesis of traditional Eastern socio-cultural influences with Western building and engineering techniques led to the modern Japanese city."

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9780080433592

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Professor Shigeru Itoh Japanese Urban Environment is the book of its kind in English literature and...should attract the worldwide interest of scholars, researchers, and urban designers. Professor Norman Pressman Sch of Urban and Regional Planning, Univ of Waterloo ...this must be considered a landmark book. In fact, it constitutes the most comprehensive analysis ever undertaken that is currently available. This work is...indispensable to anyone concerned about the future of large-scale human settlements building upon the lessons of Japan. It...will be an invaluable resource for scholars and practitioners. It is impressive in scope and very important, thus making a unique international contribution to the existing literature on urban development. Professor Daniel Jones The Pennsylvania State University ...The breadth and depth of the view provided by this book is impressive and convincing in demonstrating the qualities that distinguish Japan's urban centers from their Western counterparts. This well-organized book is written by leading Japanese professionals and scholars and it offers many lessons worthy of the attention of those who are concerned with the urban quality of life. Kuniko Fujita ... will be extremely helpful to urban practitioners, providing detailed social and technical knowledge of Japan's urban environment as well as an examination of the historical and cultural factors that have helped to develop the distinctiveness of the Japanese urban environment. Urban Studies Sir Peter Hall Ranging over a wide range of subject matter, from air and water quality to energy use, transportation and telematics, Japanese Urban Environment is an important collection for any worker in the field. Town Planning Review

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