Roppongi Hills in Tokyo is often mentioned as one of the largest and most successful city renewal projects that have ever been made after World WarⅡin Japan. The project started in 1984 and took about 17 years to complete. The plan involved the city government, the land developer Mori Building Co., and the residents living in the construction area. Just to reach agreements with 500 right holders, the company had spent over 15 years (“Roppongi Hills.”). The concept of the renewal plan seems totally opposite from that of Jane Jacobs, but there is a point in the history of this Roppongi renewal plan that is equivalent to her philosophy. Jane Jacobs’ idea regarding a local community in the city was accidentally realized in the process of building the Roppongi Hills half a century later in Japan.
Roppongi Hills are one of the largest and most gorgeous mega-complexes in Japan. They include offices, apartments, shops, restaurants, cafés, movie theaters, a museum, a hotel, a major TV studio, an outdoor amphitheater, and several parks. They are located in the Roppongi district of Minato Ward and cover 11.6 hectares of the area. About 20,000 people work in the offices, restaurants, and shops and 2,000 people live in the residential towers. On weekends, about 130,000 people visit the site (Matsutani). They feature many of the latest earthquake-resistant technologies such as damping walls, green mass dampers, and emergency power generator systems. They also have a self-sustaining cogeneration and water supply system so that they can function by themselves even when a big earthquake hits (“Safety and Security”). 25% of the site is covered with green, which eases the heat-island effect and makes the temperature in the area 2-3 degrees C l...
... middle of paper ...
...nt city redevelopment in Tokyo today.
Works Cited
Bremner, Brian. “Rethinking Tokyo.” BusinessWeek. Bloomberg L.P., 4 Nov. 2002. Web. 11
Nov. 2011.
“Environment and Greenery.” Mori Building Co. Mori Building Co., N.d. Web. 12 Nov.
2011.
Jacobs, Jane. The Death and Life of Great American Cities. New York: Random House. 1989.
Print.
Kubota, Hikari. Roppongi Hills to Jumin-undo [Roppongi Hills and the local residents’
movement]. Kubota Hikari Office. N.d. Web. 21 Nov. 2011.
Matsutani, Minoru. “As Status Symbol, It Tops the Rest.” The Japan Times. The Japan Times,
10 Nov. 2009. Web. 11 Nov. 2011.
“Roppongi Hills.” Mori Building Co. Mori Building Co., N.d. Web. 12 Nov. 2011.
“Safety and Security.” Mori Building Co. Mori Building Co., N.d. Web. 12 Nov. 2011.
“Urban Design by Mori Building.” Mori Building Co. Mori Building Co., N.d. Web. 12 Nov.
2011.
Phillips, Cabell. The New York Times Chronicle of American Life: From the Crash to the Blitz 1929-1939. New York: Mac Millan, 1969.
Henretta, James A., and David Brody. America: A Concise History. Vol. 1. Boston/New York: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2009.
Dorsett, Lyle W. Billy Sunday and the Redemption of Urban America. Grand Rapids: W.B. Eerdmans Pub, 1991.
Bernstein, Peter L. (2005). Wedding of the waters: the Erie Canal and the making of
Ellis, Edward Robb., and Jeanyee Wong. The Epic of New York City. New York, NY: Carroll & Graf, 2005. Print.
Jacobs, Jane. "12-13." The Death and Life of Great American Cities. New York: Random House, 1961. N. pag. Print.
Harrison, Robert Pogue. “America: The Struggle to Be Reborn.” The New York Review of Books. NYREV, 25 Oct. 2012. Web. 25 Nov. 2014.
...ainment, Japanese culture, and shopping in the form of Japanese themed outdoor shopping malls, the Japanese American National museum, a handful of Buddhist temples, public murals that ooze culture and history, and an endless number of ramen establishments. Many experts talk about how contradictions bring about change and eventually reinvention, but the interesting thing about Little Tokyo is that the change is actually the source of new contradictions as the neighborhood struggles to maintain its cultural identity while also expanding and transforming to attract more leisure seekers. There is no question that change will occur in Little Tokyo, the question is, as F. Kaid Benfield puts it, “whether that change can be managed so that it inures to the benefit of Asian-American residents, institutions and businesses, and whether it will be environmentally sustainable.”
...city of Tokyo. This was built in 1995. The ground floor has been left open, public space ceded to the street and the house serves as parking. On the first floor service elements and areas of day is located and the top floor is reserved for rooms. The curtain covers the two floors enclosing the space. Behind the curtain there are several sliding glass walls inside to create a private space and isolates it from the sound.
8. Berrol, Selmacantor. The Empire City: New York and Its People. West Port, Conn: Praeger, 1997.
Eckley, Wilton. “From Kentucky to Detroit City” (Chapter 5). Harriette Arnow. New York: Twayne, 1974. 85-100.
"Three Architects Selected to Receive the 2009 American Institute of Architects Thomas Jefferson Award for Public Architecture." American Institute of Architects (2009): N.p. Web. 4 Jun 2011. .
Epstein, Edward. "SF Takes on Urban Scrawl". San Francisco Chronicle April 1, 1999. A17, A22.
Jonnes, Jill. “South Bronx rising: the rise, fall, and resurrection of an American city.” New York: Fordham University Press. (1986).
Jackson, Kenneth T. The Encyclopedia of New York City. 2nd ed. New York City: Yale University Press, 2010.