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🏙️ Secrets of Japanese Urbanism

An in-depth look at what makes Tokyo's streetscapes so distinctive. Consider the restaurants: Greater Tokyo has 160,000, versus 25,000 in metropolitan New York. The piece credits three things — 'zakkyo' mixed-use buildings, pocket neighbourhoods of low-rise mazes, and lenient bottom-up reg

Danu Poyner

· 1 minute

Secrets of Japanese urbanism
noahpinion.blog

An in-depth look at what makes Tokyo's streetscapes so distinctive. Consider the restaurants: Greater Tokyo has 160,000, versus 25,000 in metropolitan New York. The piece credits three things — 'zakkyo' mixed-use buildings, pocket neighbourhoods of low-rise mazes, and lenient bottom-up regulation of signage — that together made it economical to cram small businesses into the upper floors of city buildings, creating one of the world's most beautiful modern urban landscapes.

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Danu Poyner

Danu is a writer and founder of Grokkist, a learning community in the deepest sense. His work centres on coherence, curiosity, and helping people make sense of themselves in relation to ideas, experience, and one another.

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