Cities, Autonomy, and Decentralization in Japan / / Philippe Pelletier, Carola Hein.

• VerfasserIn: Pelletier, Philippe,; Hein, Carola,
• TeilnehmendeR: Hein, Carola,
• Place / Publishing House: [Place of publication not identified] : : Taylor & Francis,, 2006.
• Year of Publication: 2006
• Language: English
• Physical Description: 1 online resource

Adding a new perspective to the current literature on decentralization in Japan, Cities, Autonomy and Decentralization in Japan, approaches the subject from an urban studies and planning approach. The essays in the collection present a cogent compilation of case studies focusing on the past, present and future of decentralization in Japan. These include small scale development in the fields such as citizen participation (machizukuri), urban form and architecture, disaster prevention and conservation of monuments. The contributors suggest that new trends are emerging after the bursting of Japan's economic bubble and assess them in the context of the country's larger socio-political system. This in-depth analysis of the development outside of Japan provides a valuable addition to students of Urban, Asian and Japanese Studies.

Table of Contents

1. Introduction: Decentralization and the Tension between Global and Local Urban Japan -- 2. Local Initiatives and the Decentralization of Planning Power in Japan -- 3. Concentration and Deconcentration -- 4. Financial Problems in the Japanese Local Public Sector in the 1990s -- 5. Centralization, Urban Planning, Governance, and Citizen Participation in Japan -- 6. Machizukuri in Japan -- 7. Whose Kyoto? Competing Models of Local Autonomy and Townscape in the Old Imperial Capital -- 8. Conclusion: Decentralization Policies.