Places People live in [3] New Town ni Sumituzukeru (Continue to Live in the New Town)

This book is a collection of lectures delivered by Atsushi Miura between 2019 and 2020 at the Ochiai Danchi Shopping Street. The Street consists of shops within the Ochiai Danchi rental housing complex, which is managed by the Tokyo Metropolitan Housing Supply Corporation. The lectures were hosted in a building rented by Yokomizo Jun, an architect who shared it with his wife. The Ochiai Housing Complex, established around 1975, had been in operation for nearly half a century. Like other long-established housing complexes in Japan, the entire complex was aging, area’s vitality was waning, and the originally planned shopping street was steadily declining. Yokomizo’s architectural design office has a snack bar called ​"Studio Megane" where neighbors gather and engage in various projects to revitalize the Tama New Town area. Such town-revitalization projects are becoming increasingly popular in new towns across Japan in an attempt to prevent this decline.
 
This book is the result of a series of talks given by nine experts who explored reasons behind declining Japanese towns, comparison with ​towns in other countries, and whether Japan as a whole is in decline, if so, how to survive such a situation?
 
The first five chapters, of which I wrote the first chapter, explore the origins of Japanese apartment complexes and new towns, the future direction of housing policy, and a fresh perspective on new towns. The next three chapters examine the history and current state of new ​towns in London, Paris, and Vienna, illustrating how each town reflects the unique circumstances of each country while fostering initiatives that aim to sustain and evolve for future generation. The final two chapters examine Japanese as well as global trends concerning the renewal of apartment blocks and new towns.
 
Thus, the book provides comprehensive insights into sustaining life in a new town.
 

(Written by OTSUKI Toshio, Professor, School of Engineering / 2025)