Green Housing and Sustainable Settlements

for Cities and Urban Dwellers Webinar.

The case of Tokyo, Japan.
November 1, 2023

Rosita SAMSUDIN, PhD

Tokyo College, The University of Tokyo

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Cities and urban dwellers

Medieval cities

The Medieval Paris,

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Plan_de_Paris_vers_1550_color.jpg 2
 Cities and urban dwellers
Garden City Model [Ebenezer Howards, 1891]

Garden City Model, https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Garden_Cities_of_To- Letchworth Garden City,

morrow#Media/File:Diagram_No.2_(Howard,_Ebenezer,_To-morrow.).jpg https://www.cnu.org/publicsquare/2017/01/10/garden-towns- 3
need-some-garden-city-thinking-succeed
Cities and urban dwellers
Towers in the Park [Le Corbusier, 1925]

Plan Voisin, http://www.fondationlecorbusier.fr/

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Sustainable development

Sustainable Development

the 1987 Brundtland Report, Our Common Future:

“development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the
ability of future generations to meet their own needs” (WCED, 1987).

underlines the relationship between human and nature [resources]

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Human and nature in urban development

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 Human and nature in urban development

Dilemmas

Urbanization reduces & transforms the

Melbourne presence of nature in cities (Samsudin et. al.
Avg. of 13 North
American high-density
2022).
cities

Chicago
Shanghai Nature is important for human well-being, but
Bangkok
Hong Kong
Barcelona urban living can lead to people’s
disconnection to nature (Beery et al. 2023).

The relationship between park provision ratio (ha/1000 residents) Conceptions of ‘nature’ in Asia contexts are
and population density in cities (Tan et al. 2013).
diverse & underdiscussed (Droz et al. 2022).

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Human and nature in urban development

the values of nature

[non-anthropocentric values / [anthropocentric values /

eco-centric values] people-centric values]
intrinsic values instrumental values relational values

material non-material
benefits [non-instrumental]
benefits
material
[instrumental]
benefits
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Sustainable urban development
The Case of Japan

Hokkaido

Tohoku

Kansai
Chugoku
Kanto

Chubu

Kyushu Shikoku
Okinawa
Japan Regions,
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:
9
Army_Regions_of_Japan_1885.png
 Sustainable urban development
The Case of Tokyo

Yoyogi Park, Higo Hoshokawa Garden,

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Yoyogi_Park_and_Shinjuk Rosita Samsudin, 2022
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u_seen_from_Shibuya_Stream.jpg
 Nature exhibits multiple functions/ services.

microclimate microclimate
recreation
biodiversity cultural public space
public space

public space public space

public space cemetery

public space

public space
public space
public space

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Tokyo urban landscape, Rosita Samsudin, 2023
 Edo Tokyo [1600-1868]

A city built in harmony with nature;

A city built on water (Jinnai 1995).

A typical
Feudal system urban planning approach;
yamanote with a socio-spatial segregation is based on natural
shrine, source:
National Diet topography:
Library Japan
yamanote [山手 – ‘higher city’]
shitamachi [下町 – ‘lower city’]

A garden city :
traditional gardens are mostly located within
A typical
shitamachi along
yamanote & a symbol of social status.
the river, source:
National Diet
Library Japan
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Nature in Tokyo’s urban development

industrialization period western-style parks for recreation purposes

post 1923-Great Kanto earthquake nature for urban resilience during disasters

post WW 2 nature as evacuation area

economic boom [1953-1973] nature for economic growth [loss of nature]

ageing population [around 2000s] nature for human well-being

Today PPP as attractive vehicles for re-greening

Source: Kumagai et al., 2014

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 Tokyo : A city built in harmony with nature

Meiji Jingu Gyoen

an important Shinto shrine, surrounded by

a man-made forest [70 ha]
100,000 trees, donated by people across
Japan & planted by volunteers
Meiji Jingu Gyoen,
https://www.meijijingu
.or.jp/ Shinto shrine :
symbolizes a harmony with nature;
is characterized by the presence of nature

serves religious function & as a public

space; creates cooling effect & reduces
Meiji Jingu Gyoen,
Sebastian Herrmann on
urban air temperature
Unsplash
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 Tokyo : Everyday-life nature matters

Post 1923 Great Kantō Earthquake

(Imperial Capital Reconstruction Project):

52 mini parks were built near elementary

schools: for emergency measures & to
Neighborhood park, improve living environment due to
Rosita Samsudin, 2022
congestion, serve as ‘local community
centers’ (Borland 2022).

Inoshita Kiyoshi (1923): small parks

designed for children and spread throughout
the city were better than large parks for daily
lives of residents (Borland 2022).
Neighborhood park,
Rosita Samsudin, 2021

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 Tokyo : Everyday-life nature matters

Sudo Park [top]:

was donated by Sudo family to Tokyo

Higo-Hosokawa Garden [bottom]:

privately owned, publicly accessible
Sudo Park,
Rosita Samsudin, 2022
Both were built based on Shan [山 =
mountain] & Shui [水 = water] elements 
makes use natural scenery & symbolizes
the belief of divine power

The preservation represents people’s

connection to nature & appreciation of
Higo-Hosokawa Garden,
nature.
Rosita Samsudin, 2021
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 Tokyo : Re-connect ecological network in cities

Otemachi – Marunouchi – Yurakucho

[OMY]

OMY is a key district for Japan’s economy.

It used to be the home of feudal lords during

Edo period, characterized by beautiful
gardens.

Modernization of OMY began since Meiji

period [industrialization], brought by
“London Block” Marunouchi. Source: https://www.tokyo-omy- Japanese students who studied urban
council.jp/en/area/
planning in Europe.
Note: Mitsubishi Ichigokan [1894], designed by British architect Josiah
Conder. The first Western-style office building in Japan.
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Tokyo : Re-connect ecological network in cities

Imperial Palace is an invaluable nature at

the city center.

The wildlife that lives at the Imperial Palace

flows over into Marunouchi.

Imperial OMY
Palace PPP establishes “2014 Guideline for the
Redevelopment of the OMY District”.

A key goal:
to make OMY an urban hub in which
economy, environment, & society co-exist in
harmony.

OMY, GoogleEarth, retrieved on 15 June 2023

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Tokyo : Re-connect ecological network in cities

Otemachi Forest

was motivated by plot ratio relaxation

policy for large-scale developments that
enhance their host district

afforestation & pre-forest [3,600 m2]

mimics a real forest by gathering trees
from the mountains in Kanto region
to connect ecological network with
Imperial Palace

helps to mitigate UHI & provides a

comfortable public space
Otemachi Forest, Rosita Samsudin, 2023
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 Tokyo : Re-connect ecological network in cities

Meguro Sky Garden

was built over a circular flyover (7,000

Meguro Sky Garden, source:
https://www.city.meguro.tokyo.j
p/douro/shisetsu/sports/tenku.
html
sqm) and is connected to a residential
building, a library and sport facilities  to
also revitalize the area

Meguro Sky Garden, source:

https://commons.wikimedia.org
/wiki/File:Meguro_Sky_Garden
_20130506_006.jpg

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 Tokyo : Re-connect ecological network in cities

Ginza "Satoyama“ & Ginza Honeybee

Project (2005)

Located at the rooftop at a building in

Ginza – an urban development inspired by
beekeeping.

“Made in Ginza for Ginza” (Growing Local,

Ginza in Edo period, Eating Local)  self-resilient
https://www.ginza.jp/
en/history
To produce honey & to reduce the negative
impacts of urban heat-island effect.

https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/
ファイル:西淡水池.JPG
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 Tokyo : Preserve & revive biodiversity in cities

Tokyo Bird Sanctuary Park

Located on an industrial reclaimed land

[1966- 1970], which was initially planned
for the relocation of Tsukiji Market.

Tokyo Bird Sanctuary Park was created

Tokyo,
GoogleEarth, 15 June 2023 following the proposal from nature
societies and community after noticing a
large number of wild birds came to this
area.

https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/
ファイル:西淡水池.JPG
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Human and Nature in sustainable urban development

“How we see nature affects how we see cities” (Capek 2010).

Re-drawn from Human Ecology - Basic Concepts for Sustainable Development

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http://www.gerrymarten.com/human-ecology/chapter09.html
 “Our eyes do not divide us from the world but
unite us with it.
Let this be known to be true.
Let us then abandon the simplicity of separation
and give us unity its due.
Let us abandon the self-mutilation which has
been our way and give expression to the potential
harmony of man-nature….
Man is that uniquely conscious creature who can
perceive and express.
He must become the steward of the biosphere.
To do this, he must design with nature”

- Ian L. McHarg, Design with Nature, 1995

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 Thank you.
contact: rosita.samsudin@mail.u-Tokyo.ac.jp

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 Bibliography
Beery, Thomas, Anton Stahl, Olafsson Sandra, Gentin Megan, Sanna Stålhammar, Christian Albert, Claudia Bieling, et al. 2023.
“Disconnection from Nature : Expanding Our Understanding of Human – Nature Relations,” no. January: 470–88.
https://doi.org/10.1002/pan3.10451.
Borland, J. (2022). In memory of future earthquakes: Controversial new form and function of a commemorative statue in 1920s Tokyo.
Journal of Material Culture, 27(3), 238–258. https://doi.org/10.1177/13591835221086874Capek, Stella M. 2010. “Foregrounding
Nature: An Invitation to Think about Shifting Nature-City Boundaries.” City and Community 9 (2): 208–24.
https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-6040.2010.01327.x.
Droz, Layna, Hsun Mei Chen, Hung Tao Chu, Rika Fajrini, Jerry Imbong, Romaric Jannel, Orika Komatsubara, et al. 2022. “Exploring the
Diversity of Conceptualizations of Nature in East and South-East Asia.” Humanities and Social Sciences Communications 9 (1): 1–12.
https://doi.org/10.1057/s41599-022-01186-5.
Jinnai, H. (2020). The locus of my study of Tokyo: From building typology to spatial anthropology and eco‐history. Japan Architectural
Review, 3(3), 271–283. https://doi.org/10.1002/2475-8876.12167
Kumagai, Yoichi, Robert B. Gibson, and Pierre Filion. 2014. “Evaluating Long-Term Urban Resilience through an Examination of the
History of Green Spaces in Tokyo.” Local Environment 9839 (May): 1–22. https://doi.org/10.1080/13549839.2014.887060.
Samsudin, Rosita, Puay Yok Tan, and Vincent Chua. 2022. “Social Capital Formation in High Density Urban Environments : Perceived
Attributes of Neighborhood Green Space Shape Social Capital More Directly than Physical Ones.” Landscape and Urban Planning
227 (104527). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landurbplan.2022.104527.
Tan, Puay Yok, James Wang, and Angelia Sia. 2013. “Perspectives on Five Decades of the Urban Greening of Singapore.” Cities 32: 24–
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