gTokyo: a comfortable metropolis of clear skies and greeneryh

[Mulboyne]

[Taro Toporific]

"metropolis of clear skies and greenery”
Arrrrg. Confess. You posted that just so I would have a stroke, didn't you Mulboyne?

.

[Mulboyne]

[Captain Japan]

That mandate is so flawed and hopeless that it is tough to give any kind of commentary. But to start, the average park in Tokyo is a pit of ash and gravel. Is that going to change?

[TFG]

It probably is a comfortable place to live when Ishihara is getting 20.000,000 Yen under restaurant tables all the time.


Residents in Tokyo have filed a complaint with prosecutors claiming that Gov. Shintaro Ishihara received 20 million yen from supporters in 2005 but didn't declare it as a political donation.

The accusation was filed against Ishihara and his secretary, who serves as treasurer of his fund management office, accusing them of violating the Political Funds Control Law.

http://mdn.mainichi-msn.co.jp/nation...na014000c.html

[Charles]

That mandate is so flawed and hopeless that it is tough to give any kind of commentary. But to start, the average park in Tokyo is a pit of ash and gravel. Is that going to change?

Sure it will. ISTR someone recently posted a thread about a plan to dye the gravel green.

[dimwit]

[blackcat]

thats one of the problems of being inbred, loss of vision....hence the blinking

[Mulboyne]

[Captain Japan]

One of the triggers for this concept was a proposal by Tadao Ando, who is also the chief designer for the Olympic plans. There is currently a landfill site built of waste and surplus soil from construction excavations in Tokyo Bay near Odaiba, which could also be said to be the ocean gateway to Tokyo. The idea was to turn this entire island green. The island is roughly the size of the Imperial Palace and, with your cooperation, we are planning to turn it into a forest.

Concrete-sama? For him, I envision green-painted concrete.

[L S]

I think the city can have whatever goals they like on making the city more green, but in reality it is the investment in new construction that will dictate the feel for the city and hopefully set a development attitude in Tokyo. So my question to the man in the know, Captain, is: Are there are any signs that new property developments in Tokyo will keep moving towards more green space, more accessible skylines, eco-rooftops, etc.?

[Captain Japan]

Garden plots to cover prime land in Shibuya
Gomiuri

From April, residents of Shibuya Ward, Tokyo, will be able to grow their own vegetables and flowers on new garden plots the ward government is opening in the heart of the ward, where land prices can be astronomical.

Developers could not conceal their astonishment on hearing that the ward plans to turn about 2,330 square meters of ward-owned prime real estate close to the entertainment districts near JR Shibuya and Ebisu stations into "ward residents garden pots." The land is worth about 6.8 billion yen.

Three sites are to be turned into garden plots: An 820-square-meter site where a primary school once stood to the east of Shibuya Station; a 1,030-square-meter site on the grounds of an old primary school gymnasium north of Yebisu Garden Place; and a 480-square-meter vacant lot south of Odakyu Sangubashi Station.

Per square meter, the land east of Shibuya Station is valued at 4.45 million yen, the land in Ebisu at 1.69 million yen and the Sangubashi land at 2.9 million yen, according to the ward's fiscal 2005 table of assets.

Land prices in central Tokyo have further risen since then, leading a ward official to comment, "Market prices could be even higher."

The land will be divided into 110 plots of about 10 square meters, and the cost of farming each plot is expected to be about 1,000 yen per month, according to the ward.

The ward plans to begin accepting applicants in February, and will open the allotments on April 1, but applications will be limited to ward residents who must either be elderly or families with children. There is no agricultural land in the ward, according to the ward's parks department.

[Captain Japan]

Are there are any signs that new property developments in Tokyo will keep moving towards more green space, more accessible skylines, eco-rooftops, etc.?

Roppongi Hills has a large park area. Midtown's is even bigger. But just as those complexes in no way represent the average Tokyo office building I think it would be misleading to think of these two as examples of Tokyo going green.

I haven't seen a study but I suspect these rooftop gardens are but a mere drop in the bucket when the entire "heat island" phenomenon is considered. When you think of the surface area of a building's exterior that is exposed to the sun, the roof is a small amount.

The "cool biz" campaign attempts to get people to dress cooler so that less energy is wasted on air conditioning. Likewise, I see the rooftop garden as just another "cool biz" - i.e. trying to get something for nearly nothing. I would argue that a far more effective solution would be to improve the efficiency of older buildings' HVAC systems. In one of my offices in Tokyo, some of the salarymen would tape paper over the air vents because the A/C was somehow uncontrollable and made the room too damn cold in the summer.

Then there is Tokyo's proclivity for paving every inch within a road's right of way with concrete.

[Buraku]

That mandate is so flawed and hopeless that it is tough to give any kind of commentary. But to start, the average park in Tokyo is a pit of ash and gravel. Is that going to change?

" Builders no longer have to submit copies of ``ministry certificates'' attesting to the integrity of construction methods and the building materials when having their blueprints reviewed, unless the inspectors explicitly ask for them "
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601101&sid=afp3Gaer2_Vs&refer=japan

[FG Lurker]

[Iraira]

[Jack]

Tokyo is much greener than New York or London would be. Houses with even tiny gardens plant stuff. The Imperial Palace site and numerous parks (Hibiya and Yoyogi parks and others could name more) make Tokyo greener than many larger cities. But of course no one in here will agree with that.
New York, from downtown all the way up to 59th Street where Central park starts, show me any green space. I could say the same of London and Paris. You'll throuw Hyde park and Jardin de Luxembourg at me and then the Imperial Palace grounds beat them in size.

[Jack]

[Takechanpoo]

[Samurai_Jerk]

Tokyo is much greener than New York or London would be. Houses with even tiny gardens plant stuff. The Imperial Palace site and numerous parks (Hibiya and Yoyogi parks and others could name more) make Tokyo greener than many larger cities. But of course no one in here will agree with that.
New York, from downtown all the way up to 59th Street where Central park starts, show me any green space. I could say the same of London and Paris. You'll throuw Hyde park and Jardin de Luxembourg at me and then the Imperial Palace grounds beat them in size.

[omae mona]

Tokyo is much greener than New York or London would be. Houses with even tiny gardens plant stuff. The Imperial Palace site and numerous parks (Hibiya and Yoyogi parks and others could name more) make Tokyo greener than many larger cities. But of course no one in here will agree with that.

The reason may be that your opinion doesn't seem to be backed up by facts (at least from what I can see). The New York Times writes, regarding Tokyo:

City park space totals one-ninth of that available to New Yorkers

(this is a 20-year old article, and perhaps there was some improvement since 1987, but I don't think they have multiplied parkspace ninefold).

New York, from downtown all the way up to 59th Street where Central park starts, show me any green space. I could say the same of London and Paris. You'll throuw Hyde park and Jardin de Luxembourg at me and then the Imperial Palace grounds beat them in size.

By cherrypicking a heavy business district in New York and comparing it with the Imperial Palace, of course Tokyo looks green. How about comparing the chunk of Manhattan from 59th street up to 110th, between 5th avenue and CPW, with the few square kilometers just east of the Imperial Palace? You'll get the opposite result, obviously.

I believe the 9-to-1 ratio may be accurate. I've heard similar figures elsewhere. Tokyo is way behind on park space.

[Jack]

[FG Lurker]

Tokyo is much greener than New York or London would be. Houses with even tiny gardens plant stuff. The Imperial Palace site and numerous parks (Hibiya and Yoyogi parks and others could name more) make Tokyo greener than many larger cities. But of course no one in here will agree with that.

The problem with Japanese cities in general is that a huge percentage of the architecture is unbelievably ugly. Yes, there are some attractive buildings but the majority of what makes up Japanese cities is at best bland but usually much worse.

[FG Lurker]

[Gilligan]

Simply planting grass on school playgrounds would make a bit of difference. OK that may not be exactly what is meant, but it is a personal pet peeve.

[Mike Oxlong]

[quote="Jack"]青]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue-green_across_cultures#Japanese
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ao_(color)
Think Jack don't know shit, eh.

[Greji]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue-green_across_cultures#Japanese
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ao_(color)
Think Jack don't know shit, eh.

They don't have Kentucky Blue Grass in Canada?

[Behan]

If you think of NYC as only Manhattan that might be true to some degree, but the other four burroughs are greener.

The brownstones in Brooklyn have back yards, admittedly small. My father used to live in one.

Houses in the Bronx, Queens, and Staten Island have small yards, too.

[Samurai_Jerk]

If you think of NYC as only Manhattan that might be true to some degree, but the other four burroughs are greener.

The brownstones in Brooklyn have back yards, admittedly small. My father used to live in one.

Houses in the Bronx, Queens, and Staten Island have small yards, too.

Don't forget upstate Manhattan. Besides, even downtown there are a lot more tree-lined streets then you see in Tokyo.

[Mike Oxlong]

They don't have Kentucky Blue Grass in Canada?

Bluegrass is not named for its leaves, which are always green without a hint of azure, anil or topaz, whether they grow on limestone, granite, sandstone or igneous substrata. The grass is named for the seed heads, which appear during the spring and summer when allowed to grow unshorn and unmolested to a natural height of two to three feet.

An unmown field of seeding poa pratensis waving in a June breeze is unmistakably blue. If it appears otherwise, something is wrong with the eye of the beholder, and he or she should consult an ophthalmologist.

http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9F0CE2D7143CF930A35755C0A965958260
I'm sure Jack could recommend a good eye doc