Stacked
Comments: 10
Where is everyone going to live?
This is a cut-up of a full-page ad which ran in the paper recently for an apartment complex which is being built, or has just opened, or something. I forget where it is (I was really just interested in the graphic for its looks and scissored it sans details— the ferocity of the population explosion issue attached to it didn’t really hit me until later).
According to the half-snipped line of copy still attached to original cutting, the complex accommodates 1,502 families.
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Posted to Oh, the Humanity • 2003.03.03 (Mon) • 22:18
Comments
Posted by 8bitjoystick.com 2003.03.04, 01:09
I think that every SUV owner in the US should spend some time in Japan to learn about how to conserve space and resources and to see that mega populations are very real.
Posted by eliot 2003.03.04, 02:02
But why conserve space when we have so much of it? If people enjoy driving SUVs and they meet the needs of the family, then let them enjoy it! They’re the ones paying for it in cash… Now energy wise, that’s another deal.
Posted by 8bitjoystick.com 2003.03.04, 05:50
I think it is a cultural difference between the US an Japan. The US strongly believes that “Bigger is Better” and will do anything to achieve it regardless of the long term goals and it’s greater affect of society and environment. Japan on the other hand has had conformity can community elivated to an almost cult like stature in their culture. The Japanese proverb “The nail that sticks up gets hammered down” describes the value placed on status quo over the individual. There is no way the SUV would ever catch on in Japan due to cultural differences between the US and there. I grew up in the Northwestern US and have seen nature be replaced with condos and an surreal rate.
Posted by Necroist 2003.03.04, 08:31
Wow, didn’t know that Japan would be short of space so fast. These apartment complexes are very common here in Singapore. Everyone almost practically lives in one. Being an island, we are practically running on really limited space.
Oh before I forget, I want to say Hi to all of you guys, this is my first comment although I’ve been lurking around for sometime now.
Posted by James 2003.03.04, 15:23
I think there’s some misconceptions regarding population pressures in Japan. True, there are a lot of Japanese, and Tokyo is extremely crowded, but the population density is lower than in Belgium or the Netherlands. Here in Asia, both Taiwan and South Korea have greater population densities. Also, Japan is bigger in size than all but three European countries - France, Spain and Sweden. The island of Kyushu is larger than Switzerland. The problem is more one of overconcentration of things like jobs, schools and political power in the Tokyo-Kawasaki-Yokohama and Osaka-Kyoto-Kobe areas, which results in the Soviet-stlye apartment complexes pictured above. Also, can a moratorium be declared on usage of the “nail that sticks up…” proverb? Every book and magazine article published since at least the mid-70s (and probably earlier) has used this line in attempting to “explain” Japan to the West.
Posted by gomichild 2003.03.04, 16:15
I think that the more express trains coming into service will make this kind of facility a bit redundant. There are lots of benefits to living outside of Tokyo, especially for families, and easy to do if you know that your commuting time is cut in half.
I agree with James on the “nail…” thing too - most Japanese people I know are trying to be hooks, not nails…
Posted by Kurt 2003.03.05, 01:18
just to add my 2 cents (or yen if you prefer, which is worth even less), I live in Warabi, about 30 minutes outside Tokyo’s Shinjuku station (by regular train) in Saitama. Until very recently, Warabi was the most densely populated city in all of Japan. Yet, rice fields and community gardens (which used to be rice fields), large patches of uninhabited land, etc. surround (along with many homes and apartment buildings of course). Boxed in we surely are not (not yet anyway).
Jeremy, when I saw the picture at first glance I thought you were going to talk about one of these that was built somewhere in Japan (sorry, forgot where), and which recently, by court order, the developer of said complex was ordered to lop off the top few floors (I forget how many) because the judge ruled in favor of local residents that claimed the apartment complex was too high and it had destroyed the character of the city, and had resulted in citizens’ homes being perpetually in the shade. (Your several references to scissors and cutting/snipping was amusing in this light).
And yeah, I’ll add to the chorus that says the hammer/nail proverb is a little old at this point. That said, I just did a search of my site and I see that I alluded to it once (granted, obliquely). Sigh….
Posted by 8bitjoystick.com 2003.03.05, 08:32
Ok so I should have quoted Tezuka Osama instead.
Posted by jh 2003.03.06, 11:51
Good points about the centralised nature of Japan with so many functions being squeezed into particular areas (especially Tokyo, obviously). From time to time there’s talk of moving the government out of the city, or moving something somewhere, in the hope of winning some equilibrium, but I get the impression that these are just acknowledgements of a problem that is basically insoluble. Future development could be moved out, but people don’t seem to want to move.
As for living in the country, hell yes. This is something I’ve often thought about but the rail infrastructure, as good as it is in Japan, can’t really support it yet unless you’re especially determined to do it. I know someone who lives in Gunma and works in Shinjuku (a three-hour commute each way) but he’s obviously an extreme case.
Kurt —- didn’t know about that ruling you mentioned, but it’s good to see the rush to hyper-density balanced with some quality of life considerations, no matter how relative they may be.
Posted by Kurt 2003.03.08, 12:03
Jeremy (and others interested), I found an article about the ruling, just so it doesn’t look like I was talking out of my ass (a common assumption!). Story is here: Court orders developer to lop a building in half
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