Reviews for Making of Urban Japan: Cities and Planning from Edo to the Twenty First Century

The average rating for Making of Urban Japan: Cities and Planning from Edo to the Twenty First Century based on 2 reviews is 5 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2015-07-20 00:00:00 Yash Khopra I'd strongly recommend this book for anyone wondering why Japanese cities are the way they are. Sorensen provides tons of interesting information about Japanese land use regulations and does so in an accessible, engaging way. There are a number of very helpful maps and data tables included in the book - my favourite was a table showing how in 1975, over 90% of the zoned area in Japan allowed multifamily housing. I would note that I disagree* with many of the author's opinions, but this is still a fantastic read. The book is about 90% objective reporting and 10% opinion so it's easy to tolerate. *In a nutshell: Sorensen is very quick to assume that Japan should move land use regulation to a more local level of government. It's a weird conclusion to draw given that the book describes exactly how Japan's federal regulation has led to excellent transit and walkability.

Review # 2 was written on 2018-11-08 00:00:00 Dean Hamilton A comprehensive description of Japanese urbanism from the 17th Century until the turn of the 21st Century. As an academic textbook, it relies on jargon and acronyms a fair bit particularly in the later half, but on the whole is very accessible. As someone interested in transport, particularly railways, I would have liked more analysis of Japan's public transport systems. The book goes into some detail about suburban railways and their role in urban development, but other than that doesn't discuss transport much other than to note its positive impact on Japanese cities. I cannot fault the author for that however, since such analysis is beyond the scope of this book. This is essential reading for anyone interested in Japanese cities and how they came to be.