Public open space design in Tokyo urban environment: a historical overview

Abstract

This article questions how the making of public open space have been changing in Tokyo. It identifies specificities of urban fabric and open spaces in Edo, the former Tokyo. It questions how the making of public open space was influenced by Western style and approach in Meiji period (1868-1912). And, how in 1990s Privately Owned Public Spaces (pops) changed public open space design in its scale, quantities and qualities. Specifically, the paper looks at: (a) gathering spaces in Tokyo traditional urban fabric; (b) how first parks were inspired by Western landscape design; (c) when plazas started to be designed in Tokyo; (d) Roppongi Hills as a reference project of one of the first mix-use facilities re-development plan in Tokyo with highly designed pops.