Abstract
This study presents an analysis of forms of street-blocks in a selected case-study area in Shinjuku. It focuses on the changes of the geometrical properties of selected block formation during the development between 1886 and 1997. At first it illustrates the origins and arrangement of the area’s early urban pattern. Secondly, it shows how the selected block forms developed, and how the block pattern reached its present stage. The study deduces how the initial properties of the blocks influenced the manner of their transformation and present properties, and also how they adapted to emerging changes. Keywords: street-block; shape analysis 1. Introduction investigates how blocks adapted to emerging changes The diversity in forms of street-blocks in Tokyo and how the initial forms of the blocks determined the is a result of the complex process of urban growth. manner of their transformation. Since their initial arrangement, street-blocks have been subject to changes of density and transformations 2. Methodology in land use due to changing economic and social A case study area was selected for the analysis on r e q u i r e m e n t s . I n t h e c a s e o f c e n t r a l d i s t r i c t s o f the basis of its rich historical context and complex the city, existing blocks established during earlier morphological structure. The study illustrates the morphological periods have been subject to adaptation evolution of its urban pattern from 1886 until 1997. rather than replacement (Conzen 1968). In that sense, In order to identify land use patterns in the late Edo the initial arrangement has a fundamental effect on the Period the study used the map Ichigaya Ushigome-Eizu future properties of the block: it is a major determinant 1857 (Shinjuku-ku Kyouikuiinkai 1978). Due to the of the space during the period of initiation, and a major great impact of plot pattern on the form of block, this determinant of the processes of adaptation during the study analyzes maps which present the block boundary period of transformation (James, Vance 1990). together with individual property lines, i.e. cadastral In central Tokyo, the process of city growth has maps. For detailed analysis and measurements the given rise to the formation of blocks characterized by following maps were utilized: great geometrical and spatial complexity. The irregular a) Tokyo Jissoku-zu 1886 (Shinjuku-ku Kyouikuiinkai arrangements of neighborhoods and diversity in block 1978) forms have produced a strikingly unique urban fabric. b) Tokyo Jissoku-zu 1895 (Shinjuku-ku Kyouikuiinkai By examining the particular formation of selected 1978) blocks from central districts in Tokyo, this paper c) Ushigome-ku Zenzu 1907, 1922 (Shinjuku-ku attempts to illustrate how the initial block geometry Kyouikuiinkai 1978) developed and reached its present state. d) Kasaihoken Tokushu Chizu 1948 (Toshi Seizusha Using cartographic records of the selected case 1948) study area, the study first identifies the initial block e) HaiMappu Shinjuku-ku 1997 (Seikosha 1997) forms and illustrates the logic of their preliminary In order to analyze the block evolution process, a r r a n g e m e n t . S e c o n d l y i t a n a l y z e s t h e e v o l u t i o n this study examined and compared the following p r o c e s s a n d u n c o v e r s t h e m o r p h o l o g i c a l p h a s e s parameters in each morphological phase: which are essential for development; it illustrates - Number of blocks the characteristics of each development phase; it - Block size - Block perimeter length (including length of cul-de- sac alleys) *Contact Author: Kogut Jakub, Doctoral Candidate, H o w e v e r i t m u s t b e m e n t i o n e d t h a t t h e Hosei University, 3-7-2 Kajino-cho Koganei-shi, Tokyo, Japan m e a s u r e m e n t s o f b l o c k s h a p e c a r r y a d e g r e e o f Tel: 080-5503-7213 inaccuracy, due to inaccuracies in the historical maps e-mail: kubakogut@hotmail.com and the number of modifications in block boundaries ( Received October 11, 2005 ; accepted January 26, 2006 ) Journal of Asian Architecture and Building Engineering/May 2006/66 61 during development. In this respect, the measurements The much smaller samurai properties were distributed of block shapes are approximations. between daimyo estates and were constrained by hilly topography (Sorensen 2002). Such arrangement of 3. Analysis the city was reflected in the early urban pattern of the Context: The case study area is located in Shinjuku, surveyed area (Fig.2a.). The largest block was occupied one of the 23 wards of Tokyo. The surveyed area by a Feudal Lord estate and servants. Surrounding c o v e r s a p p r o x i m a t e l y 4 5 h e c t a r e s a n d i n c l u d e s smaller blocks were occupied by samurai properties, the following districts: Yaraicho,Yokoteramachi, temples and shrines. Those blocks were mostly oblong Minami-Enokicho, Ichigaya-Yamabushicho, parts and densely subdivided. The general organization of of Iwatocho,Tansumachi,Ichigaya-Yanagicho,Kita- blocks followed the manner which could be found in Yamabushicho, Kagurazaka, Bentecho, and Enokicho. most blocks of western Tokyo, at that time: blocks A t t h e p r e s e n t t i m e t h e c a s e s t u d y a r e a i s were divided into two rows of plots which backed characterized by mixed land use (the majority is on to each other. The shorter side of blocks generally Residential and Apartment) and population densities measured about 40 to 60 ken (73-109 m), which was range from 100 to 300 people per hectare (Shinjuku-ku the result of the modular plot depth (20 – 30 ken = 36 Tochiriyou 2003). – 54m). The length of the block was constrained by the transportation network and it appears that it was not determined by a particular module. S u r v e y s h o w s t h a t t h e l a r g e s t b l o c k ( w i t h i n t h e s u r v e y e d a r e a ) o c c u p i e d b y t h e F e u d a l L o r d measured around 24 ha and was irregularly shaped. The surrounding eleven blocks were much smaller, measured around 1.7 ha and had relatively compact form: eight of these blocks were quadrilaterals of an oblong shape, slightly disturbed by site topography. Two blocks located in southern part of a site had an L-shape, consisting of two concave edges (Fig.2a.). Table 1. Block Properties in 1895 Parameter: Blocks Blocks All A B Blocks Number of Blocks 11 39 50 Fig.1. Shinjuku. Location of Case Study Area Average Area of Blocks (ha) 1.7 0.5 0.8 Early development - until 1895 Average Perimeter In the Edo Period (from 1600 to 1867), the case Length of Blocks (m) 586 286 352 study area was located in the western part of Edo (the name of Tokyo during the Edo Period), a region called The second phase of urban development was related Yamanote. The patterns of early urban development of to the Meiji Restoration and the development of the Yamanote were structured by three factors: topography, Feudal Lord property. About 1890 the large property the basic road network and the Feudal Lord (Daimyo) was fragmented into a number of blocks (Fig.2.b). estates. The hilly terrain determined the road system The central part of the former Feudal Lord property a n d p r o p e r t y d i s t r i b u t i o n , w h i c h r e s u l t e d i n t h e was partitioned into two large blocks: the one in irregular configuration of street and block patterns. The northern and the one in the southern part. The eastern main roads followed principal ridges; the secondary and western parts of the former Feudal Lord property set of roads followed the valley floors, and smaller were subdivided into a number of quadrilateral blocks. ridge roads connected those two systems (Jinnai 1995). These blocks had the size of around 0.5 ha and were In the Edo Period the Yamanote region was mostly oblong in shape, in some cases disturbed by adjustment occupied by Feudal Lord estates, samurai, temple to the existing urban pattern. and shrine properties. Large Feudal Lord estates were Investigation of maps dated 1886 and 1895 suggests located along the main roads, making the best use that the formation of new blocks overlapped and of site topography by occupying the exposed slopes. precisely adopted the earlier plot pattern. As a result, 62 JAABE vol.5 no.1 May 2006 Jakub Kogut Fig.2. Case Study Area - Development of the Urban Pattern (Adapted from: 1886, 1895: Tokyo Jissoku-zu; 1948: Kasaihoken Tokushu Chizu; 1997: HaiMappu Shinjuku-ku) JAABE vol.5 no.1 May 2006 Jakub Kogut 63 the majority of these newly introduced blocks consisted of one or two properties. Moreover, a number of large blocks appeared at the western boundary of the former Feudal Lord property. Those blocks were created in the place where the urban structure created around 1890 met blocks formed in the Edo Period. The forms of these blocks were very irregular and characterized by a number of concave edges. Section 1895 – 1948 Comparison of maps published between 1895 and 1948 suggests that during that period the surveyed block pattern was subject to several modifications. The majority of large blocks were fragmented. In the case of large irregular blocks, they were partitioned into more compact ones (Fig.3a. and 3b.). A fragmentation process resulted in decreasing of the average block area size of all blocks from 0.8 ha to 0.6 ha together with a decrease in the average perimeter length of blocks (from 352m to 305m, a change ratio of 0.8). The highest area change ratio was related to blocks formed in the Edo Period, which decreased their average size from 1.7 ha to 1.0 ha (Tables 1 and 2). Modifications of small and oblong blocks formed around 1890 were related to plot pattern rather than to block form. As mentioned previously, in the initial phase the majority of blocks consisted of one or two plots per one block. Around 1925, the majority of these blocks were subdivided into two or three properties. Due to the small size of those blocks, the majority of plots had two or three frontage sides and a low depth (Fig.3d.). Table 2. Block Properties in 1948 Parameter: Blocks Blocks All A B Blocks Number of Blocks 17 50 67 Average Area of Blocks (ha) 1.0 0.4 0.6 Average Perimeter Length of Blocks (m) 436 261 305 Section 1948 – 1997 Development of a case study area in the postwar period is derived from the map HaiMappu Shinjuku-ku 1997, and shows radical change when compared with 1948. It suggests that modifications of block form were mainly prompted by the modification of plot patterns Fig.3. Outline of Block Evolution Typical for Surveyed Area (Figs.2c. and 2d.). The character of plot re-subdivision (Adapted from: 1886, 1895: Tokyo Jissoku-zu; 1907, 1922: during the postwar period is a clue to understanding Ushigome-ku Zenzu; 1948: Kasaihoken Tokushu Chizu; 1997: the present block properties. Unfortunately, the lack HaiMappu Shinjuku-ku) o f c a r t o g r a p h i c r e c o r d s i l l u s t r a t i n g t h e p r o p e r t y 64 JAABE vol.5 no.1 May 2006 Jakub Kogut configuration inside the blocks between 1948 and 1997 blocks was accompanied by a composite plot pattern makes such a process difficult to monitor step by step. which consisted of two kinds of plots: those originating However, investigation of maps dated 1948 and in the Edo Period as well as properties subdivided 1997 suggests several forms of the morphological around 1890 (Figs.2a. and 2b.). transformations of plots: in the case of originally The comparison of data shows that development of very large "samurai" plots (initially subdivided in the selected block formation had a great impact on the the Edo Period) a process of fragmentation gave rise geometrical properties of consisting blocks. However to long and, in some cases, complex dead-end alleys the character of changes in the period between 1890 (Fig.3c.). It must be pointed out that these plots were and 1948 differed significantly from that in the postwar not designed for dense urban purposes: they were period. elongated and faced only one side of the block. By The fragmentation of blocks into smaller ones contrast, shallow plots within small blocks originating was a common method of adjusting initial blocks to i n 1 8 9 0 w e r e w i d e e n o u g h t o a c c o m m o d a t e t h e more intensive land use. The fragmentation of blocks transverse subdivision of initial plots (Fig.3d.). mainly affected large blocks: those established in the The comparison of 1948 and 1997 data suggests Edo Period as well as irregular blocks created around that development of the block pattern did not affect 1890. However, as Fig.4. suggests, changes of block the average size of blocks. However the introduction number were mostly related to pre-war development of of dead-end alleys increased 1.4 times the average the area: between 1890 and 1948 the total number of periphery length of all blocks (from 305 m in 1948 to blocks increased from 50 to 67 (134 %), while between 415 m in 1997; Tables 2 and 3). Blocks originating in 1948 and 1997 from 67 to 72 (107%). During the pre- the Edo Period were affected the most: the average war period, the block partition process decreased the perimeter length of blocks extended more than 1.5 average area size of blocks from 0.8 ha (in 1895) to 0.6 times. ha (in 1948) and average perimeter length of blocks from 352 m to 305 m. The parameters of blocks created Table 3. Block Properties in 1997 in the Edo Period were subject to the greatest changes: average area was reduced from 1.7 ha in 1895 to 1.0 ha in 1948, and average perimeter of blocks went from 586 m (in 1895) to 436 m (in 1948). In the case of the postwar period, modifications in block forms were mainly determined by changes in plot pattern (fragmentation or amalgamation of initial plots), as a result of intensification of residential Parameter: Blocks Blocks B All density and changes in land use. This study shows A Blocks that creation of cul-de-sac alleys was common during Number of Blocks 19 53 72 the postwar development, especially in the case of re- Average Area of Blocks (ha) 1.0 0.4 0.6 Average Perimeter Length of subdivision of plots planned for detached housing. Blocks (m) 676 321 415 The introduction of cul-de-sac alleys increased the average perimeter of a block significantly: from 305 4. Conclusions m in 1948 to 415 m in 1997 (136 %). During the same This study shows that there are two phases of urban period, the average area of blocks remained constant development which had a great impact on the present (Fig.4.). block configuration of the selected case study area: the The introduction of cul-de-sac alleys affected blocks first one coincides with the Edo Period and the second established in both morphological phases, but in a with the development of the Feudal Lord property different way. Fragmentation of deep plots of "Edo around 1890. Despite a number of block modifications, blocks" caused the introduction of long and complex the present block pattern resembles to a large degree cul-de-sac alleys; consequently, the average perimeter that from 1890. length of those blocks increased drastically from 436 In both phases predominant type of initial block m in 1948 to 676 m in 1997 (155%). By contrast, short shape was the oblong one; however some blocks were and straight cul-de-sac alleys were introduced in blocks slightly deformed in order to adjust to site topography originating 1890, due to the small size of blocks and or the existing transportation network. the low depth of their plots. In the case of these blocks, Blocks created during the Edo Period were initially the average perimeter length of blocks increased from much bigger (average block size 1.7 ha) than those 261 m in 1948 to 321 m in 1997 (122%). created around 1890 (average block size 0.5 ha) In some cases, the whole plot or set of adjusting The adjustment of an urban pattern formed in 1890, plots was transformed into a single block, being cut which was characterized by smaller block size than off from its parent shape. As a result of such a process, the existing one (Edo Period), resulted in a number the "new" block was usually compact and regular, of large, irregular blocks. The complex form of those while the "parent" block reached a more complex form JAABE vol.5 no.1 May 2006 Jakub Kogut 65 (Fig.3b.). T h e f r a g m e n t a t i o n o f b l o c k s i n t o s m a l l e r quadrilateral ones as well as the lowest degree of modifications of the small oblong blocks (those created around 1890) suggest that this form of block (i.e. oblong shape measuring 0.4 – 1.0 ha) was the most suitable form for the development of the selected area. Acknowledgements: I would like to express my gratitude to Professor Makoto Shin Watanabe, Hosei University, for advice and methodological support. Special thanks is also due to Miss Yuri Sayawaki for her constructive criticism and support. References 1) Conzen, M.R.G. (1969) Alnwick, Northumberland: a study in town-plan analysis. Publication No. 27, London: Institute of British Geographers; reprinted with minor amendments and Glossary. 2) J a m e s E , Va n c e , J r, . ( 1 9 9 0 ) T h e C o n t i n u i n g C i t y. U r b a n Morphology in Western Civilization. Baltimore and London: The Johns Hopkins University Press. 3) Jinnai Hidenobu (1995) Tokyo A Spatial Anthropology Berkeley/ Los Angeles/ London: University of California press. 4) S e i k o s h a ( 1 9 9 7 ) H a i M a p p u S h i n j u k u - k u 1 : 2 2 0 0 . To k y o : Seikosha. 5) Shinjuku-ku Kyouikuiinkai (1978) Chizude Miru Shinjuku-ku no Utsurikawari Ushigome-hen. 6) Shinjuku-ku Tochiriyou (2003) Shinjuku-ku. 7) Sorensen Andre (2002) The Making of Urban Japan. Cities and planning from Edo to the twenty-first century. London and New York: MPG Books Ltd, Bodmin, Cornwall. 8) Toshi Seizusha (1948) Kasaihoken Tokushu Chizu (Sengobun) 2 Shinjuku-ku (1) Zentai-zu Houmenzu, Yaraicho Houmen 1:3000. Tokyo: Toshi Seizusha. Fig.4. Outline of the Geometrical Properties Change 66 JAABE vol.5 no.1 May 2006 Jakub Kogut
Journal
Journal of Asian Architecture and Building Engineering
– Taylor & Francis
Published: May 1, 2006
Keywords: street-block; shape analysis
