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The Making of Urban Japan: Cities and Planning from Edo to the Twenty First Century (Nissan Institute/Routledge Japanese Studies) 1st Edition
Purchase options and add-ons
- ISBN-100415354226
- ISBN-13978-0415354226
- Edition1st
- Publication dateJuly 22, 2004
- LanguageEnglish
- Dimensions8.5 x 0.91 x 11 inches
- Print length404 pages
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Editorial Reviews
Review
'Meticulously researched and impressively presented ... a tremendous resource for the serious scholar.' - Geographical Association
'This book should establish itself as the first port of call for both students and scholars embarking on a study of Japanese urbanism and planning history ... a highly sophisticated work' - Environment and Planning/Government & Policy
'A very well written work' - Urban Studies
'This book is extremely well researched, very well written, clearly focused and up to date.' - Geography
'Meticulously researched and impressively presented ... a tremendous resource for the serious scholar.' - Geographical Association
'This book should establish itself as the first port of call for both students and scholars embarking on a study of Japanese urbanism and planning history ... a highly sophisticated work' - Environment and Planning/Government & Policy
About the Author
Product details
- Publisher : Routledge; 1st edition (July 22, 2004)
- Language : English
- Paperback : 404 pages
- ISBN-10 : 0415354226
- ISBN-13 : 978-0415354226
- Item Weight : 1.65 pounds
- Dimensions : 8.5 x 0.91 x 11 inches
- Best Sellers Rank: #816,727 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #344 in City Planning & Urban Development
- #405 in Urban Planning and Development
- #961 in Human Geography (Books)
- Customer Reviews:
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There are a variety of myths about what makes Japanese urban development work (or fail): "It works because it’s top-down." "It works because Douglas MacArthur imposed strong property rights." "It works because of Japanese traditions of impermanence."
Sometimes – often – essential simplifications are useful. And there’s no type of book more boring than the one that promises to tell you how “everything you know about X is wrong,” and then proceeds to offer a bunch of minor caveats to the basically-correct narrative you already knew. Thankfully, this isn’t that kind of book.
Instead, what you come away with is an appreciation for how wrong each of these narratives is: Japanese land use is a delicately-balanced synthesis of centralized and scattered power. If you take away an essential story or lesson, it should be the contingency of outcomes. It works because the central planners were powerful enough to preempt local government but not powerful enough to sideline landowners. It works because local governments encouraged modernization but never had enough funding to execute urban renewal. It works because otherwise strong property rights coexisted along with Land Readjustment. It works because the postwar US and Japanese authorities did not fully enforce their own edicts. It works because of the mini-kaihatsu loophole.
It works because a very specific sequence of institutions rose and declined over a very eventful century, and none of them had the time, power, or money to fully execute its vision.
I am really just writing this note to let potential readers know that my book is winner of the International Planning History Society book award for best single-author book in planning history 2000-2003, awarded at the IPHS conference in Barcelona in July. For me, that is just about the best possible affirmation of the value of the book.
I am also pleased to inform you that a new paperback edition was released during May of 2004. I have included below three excerpts from recent reviews in relevant journals.
Best wishes,
Andre Sorensen
Reviews:
`Andre Sorensen has written a very important book. More than any English language study now available, it unlocks a major puzzle in understanding modern Japan - why has a country that has excelled at industry and efficiency in its economy (and transport systems) failed so miserably in providing a high urban quality of life for its citizens? ... A very well written work'-
Urban Studies
`Meticulously researched and impressively presented ... a tremendous resource for the serious scholar.' -
Geographical Association
`This book should establish itself as the first port of call for both students and scholars embarking on a study of Japanese urbanism and planning history ... a highly sophisticated work'-
Environment and Planning/Government & Policy
Top reviews from other countries
I would note that I disagree vehemently* with many of Sorensen’s opinions, but this is still a fantastic read. The book is about 90% fact and 10% opinion so it’s easy to tolerate.
*In a nutshell, he tends to focus on the downsides of Japan’s uniquely centralized planning system despite its remarkable successes.