Arfakhashad Munaim discusses the plazas and underground corridors of one of Tokyo’s busiest transit hubs as both a social space and a mega-urban infrastructure
Tokyo is a landscape of striking complexity and colour. Upon arrival, we see a carnival of neon signs and unfamiliar symbols. Shibuya, Kabuki-cho, Akihabara and Roppongi are the names of places with an abundance of skyscrapers, subways, shopping arcades and pedestrian pathways. Throughout the day and night, these areas overflow with human activity. At all levels of the built environment – underground, street-level and high-rise – there is a pulsing, vital movement.
Nishi-Shinjuku, a subsection of the Shinjuku ward in Tokyo, Japan, stands out for its impressive verticality paired with surprising sterility. Its skyscrapers are visually stunning from afar and among the tallest of the high-rise buildings in Japan. But up-close at street level the area is a desert of asphalt, glass and steel, parceled and planned for offices, universities and hotels, with pedestrian movement and retail activity diverted to underground corridors.
The more than 180,000 people who work in Nishi-Shinjuku are isolated in massive high-rise buildings during the day and abandon the area in the evening. Outside peak commuting and lunch times, extensive underground corridors and their retail and restaurant spaces are sparsely used or entirely vacant. The discrepancy between the availability of space and its degree of use results in an ‘underutilised-overbuilt’ condition. This condition is not the inevitable result of planning efforts. It occurs when efficiencies in economics and transportation trump concerns for how people could experience and live in a city. In this article, we explore how this condition was created in Nishi-Shinjuku while proposing alternative modes of urban development.
The Development of Nishi-Shinjuku
Denne historien er fra October - December 2016-utgaven av My Liveable City.
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Denne historien er fra October - December 2016-utgaven av My Liveable City.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
The Urgency of Waste
Sarah Ekblad illuminates the need for new, sustainable waste removal infrastructures and services to encourage behaviours that ultimately reduce waste
Shaping Futures
Chetan Kulkarni explains the systems that contributed to the rapid infrastructural development of Dubai between 1999 and 2010
De Hallen From a no-go Area to a Hotspot
Architect André van Stigt describes how a former tram depot has been transformed into a place for leisure, crafts and education.
Reviving Wastelands
Marina Khrustaleva describes how planting beautiful parks on abandoned land can revitalise an urban region.
The Vanishing Wadas of Pune
A unique style of housing may soon be history unless new ways to preserve its glory are discovered and implemented. Neha Tambe shines a light on the situation
Being Private in Public Places
Bas Losekoot takes Shyam Khandekar on a journey of cities and their public spaces where people thrive in their solitude amongst lively crowds
Underutilised-Overbuilt Re-reading the Urban Underground of Nishi-Shinjuku
Arfakhashad Munaim discusses the plazas and underground corridors of one of Tokyo’s busiest transit hubs as both a social space and a mega-urban infrastructure
A Healthy Strategy to Tackle Soil Contamination
How can we improve the quality of soil in order to re-create healthy places for healthy people? Hélène leriche and Prof. dr. Hans van Veen, an expert in microbial ecology, look for processes more respectful of our environment
