Nara’s Sanjo SLOW Street
Keep an eye out for these key S.L.O.W. features:
– Absence of parking lanes.
– Frequently spaced trees and/or stone bollards.
– Curbless #SuperFlat facade-to-facade pavement. Continue reading Nara’s Sanjo SLOW Street
Category: urban complexity
Hierarchy of Japanese Streets (Version 2)
[ the original version is available here ] The transportation structure of Japanese cities can be decomposed into pedestrian and vehicular networks. In some places they run side-by-side, in other places they overlap, but for the most part, they are completely separate. Organizing the hierarchy in order of pedestrian volume, from greatest to least: Note that vehicular flow is high only in the middle ranks of … Continue reading Hierarchy of Japanese Streets (Version 2)
駅直結 “Station Direct Linked”
Station Direct Linked (駅直結) means unobstructed access to a rail station. Continue reading 駅直結 “Station Direct Linked”
The Ahistorical Vision of “Bus Before Rail”
There is a widespread assumption that urban transit should develop incrementally, progressing from bus to light rail to heavy rail, with the success of each mode justifying the viability of the next. – This model of development is ahistorical, if not revisionist. We know that historically profitable rail transit thrived long before buses arrived on the scene. Moreover, there are essentially zero documented cases of … Continue reading The Ahistorical Vision of “Bus Before Rail”
How Busy Are Tokyo Rail Hubs?
(Daily boardings in 2015 unless otherwise stated) Shinjuku 総合駅: ~1.67 million JR: 760,043 Keio: ~379,000 (757,823 on & off) Odakyu: ~246,000 (492,234 on & off) Toei Shinjuku Line: 140,967 Tokyo Metro: ~ 116,000 (231,340 on & off) Toei Oedo Line: 30,466 Ikebukuro 総合駅: ~1.31 million “1966年に新宿駅に抜かれるまで、当駅が1日平均乗車人員数で日本一だった” JR: 556,780 Tokyo Metro: ~274,000 (548,839 on & off) Seibu: ~242,000 (483,407 on & off) Tobu: ~239,000 (477,834 on & off) Shibuya 総合駅: ~1.22 million … Continue reading How Busy Are Tokyo Rail Hubs?
Walkability as Technology
walkability as technic Continue reading Walkability as Technology
Osaka – Human Centered City
We’ve all heard about how Paris wants to be car-free. We’ve all read about how Oslo wants to be car-free. But somehow, very quietly, Osaka is beating them there. This Japanese government report shows that between 2000 and 2010, the mode-share of private motor vehicles in Osaka (blue and purple) retreated from an already low 18.3% to a mere 14.6% Mode-share statistics for Osaka in 2010: Rail: 35.8% Walking: 24.0% Bicycle: 23.5% … Continue reading Osaka – Human Centered City
The Truth About Osaka
Some people just don’t have any common-sense when it comes to Osaka. Here’s Wikipedia: two screenshots from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Modal_share Zero percent cycling in a big Japanese city? This should have been flagged a long time ago! (Stats for 2010 are available here) For the Osaka data, Wikipedia cites Singapore’s Land Transport Authority: Which in turn cites a Japanese government survey: However, the Land Transport Authority appears to have interpreted … Continue reading The Truth About Osaka
Major Sky-Level Decks #デッキ論
This list is not comprehensive, but here are some of the largest Deck Level developments in Japan: Senri-Chuo shopping center in Osaka (on airport monorail line): huge deck level. Surrounding park areas are connected by pedestrian bridges, creating near total grade separation of vehicles and pedestrians. Very much like Tama Center. See also: http://senri50.com/c4489.html Tama Center: Wide deck level stretching 1100′ NW from Keio Tama Center … Continue reading Major Sky-Level Decks #デッキ論
Jiyugaoka – Shop Distribution
How many shops are within walking distance? While Jiyugaoka.net lists 1,937 shops*, not all of them are close to Jiyugaoka Station. It appears that roughly 3/4 of these are within 6 minutes of the station, but the distribution varies; super markets are more evenly spread, while restaurants are highly clustered. *This includes public facilities, service businesses, parks, and over a thousand listings under “gourmet“. This allows a … Continue reading Jiyugaoka – Shop Distribution
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