From Megastructure to Megalopolis: Formation and Transformation of Mega-projects in Tokyo Bay

Abstract

The Tokyo Bay is characterized by one of the highest concentrations of mega-projects in Asia. However, the tradition of mega-project development in this region can be traced back to the megastructural movement in the 1960s from which it drew inspiration in planning and design. From the megastructural movement in the 1960s to the ongoing mega-projects in Tokyo Bay, there has been a marked evolution in planning concepts and urban development strategies. Underlying these changes is the substantial transformation of economic patterns and social ideologies that occurred as Japanese society entered the post-industrial era. To examine the formation and evolution of urban design ideas in Tokyo Bay, this paper focuses on two epochal mega-projects, Tange's 1960 Tokyo Bay Plan and the Yokohama Minato Mirai 21, and compares them in terms of their socio-economic objectives, planning approaches, relationships between architecture and infrastructure and the notion of symbolism embodied in the project. Through the analysis, it is argued that these mega-projects were both instruments and products of the major socio-economic re-structuring of the time. They represented an idealistic effort to create total environments that serve as model cities of their eras.

Acknowledgements

The author would like to thank Gary Hack and Jonathan Barnett at the University of Pennsylvania for their comments on an earlier version of this paper, and Michael Southworth and the anonymous reviewers of JUD for their comments in the process of revision.