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https://doi.org/10.1080/09555803.2017.1353537
Copy DOIJournal: Japan Forum | Publication Date: Mar 16, 2018 |
This article introduces the idea of the Constructed Underground as a form of non-visible space under and around the Yamanote line tracks. The term Constructed Underground is intended to describe spaces that exist at street-level as a result of overhead construction, but function visually, spatially and culturally like underground spaces. Central Tokyo's landscape is filled with artist-run projects, long-standing small businesses that have avoided modernization, Snack bars and facets of counterculture, disused spaces, parking lots and places that lack a clear relational identity. In relation to the Yamanote line loop in central Tokyo, the train stations and their tracks act as transitional spaces, nodes, borders, and lines. Ikebukuro, Ueno, Shibuya, and Shinjuku, are among examples of central hubs in Tokyo that have developed around their main train station. Much of the track of the Yamanote loop is elevated, with a ground level space that does not quite fit spatial models of commuter-oriented hubs of Tokyo. This article attempts to contextualize such spaces, defining them as non-visible places, which exist as a facet of the mega-city's constructed underground landscape.
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