THE ROLE OF THE LOCAL GOVERNMENT'S PLANNING AND COORDINATION SECTION IN AN UNPRECEDENTED MOVE TO UNDERGROUND THE MOTORWAY IN THE MIDDLE OF YOKOHAMA CITY

Abstract

In 1968, Akira Tamura, who subsequently became a renowned Japanese town planner, was assigned by Yokohama’s socialist mayor Asukata the difficult task of resolving a tangled argument over the route selection and structure of the new urban motorway. Tamura had joined the city administration in the same year on Asukata’s request. He earlier ran a private practice as a town-planning consultant and had proposed the “Six Spine Projects” to remodel Yokohama in 1964. The motorway solution became the first achievement by the new administrative section named the "Planning and Coordination Section, ” which undergrounded a part of the new elevated motorway project in the city center and rerouted its connecting roadway to the suburban motorways. The solution required prolonged re-negotiation among the concerned parties, including the national ministries. The critical stage of negotiations started once the central government had made its formal and legal decision on this project.