UvA-DARE (Digital Academic Repository) Station area developments in Tokyo and what the Randstad can learn from it Chorus, P.R.W.E. Publication date 2012 Link to publication Citation for published version (APA): Chorus, P. R. W. E. (2012). Station area developments in Tokyo and what the Randstad can learn from it. General rights It is not permitted to download or to forward/distribute the text or part of it without the consent of the author(s) and/or copyright holder(s), other than for strictly personal, individual use, unless the work is under an open content license (like Creative Commons). Disclaimer/Complaints regulations If you believe that digital publication of certain material infringes any of your rights or (privacy) interests, please let the Library know, stating your reasons. In case of a legitimate complaint, the Library will make the material inaccessible and/or remove it from the website. Please Ask the Library: https://uba.uva.nl/en/contact, or a letter to: Library of the University of Amsterdam, Secretariat, Singel 425, 1012 WP Amsterdam, The Netherlands. You will be contacted as soon as possible. UvA-DARE is a service provided by the library of the University of Amsterdam (https://dare.uva.nl) Download date:02 Oct 2021 6 Corridor studies In the previous chapter the development patterns of 99 station areas in the Tokyo Metropolitan Area were explored by analyzing their respective node and place values. The correlation analysis revealed that certain combinations of transport (the node) and land use (the place) factors had a stronger influence on structuring station area redevelopments than others. The highest correlation, and thus the strongest influence on structuring station area developments in Tokyo, was found by comparing the node values “proximity to CBD” and “number of train connections” with the place value “workforce”. In this chapter the development patterns as identified by the node-place model are further analysed by focusing on railway corridors. Station area developments in Tokyo and what the Randstad can learn from it Why railway corridors? Various studies (e.g. Bertolini, 2007; Cervero, 1998; Curtis et al., 2009; Dittmar & Ohland, 2004; Fillion & McSpurren, 2007) have pointed out that a successful integration of transport and land use requires plans covering the entire metropolitan region that are consistent over a long period of time. The importance of the region is further underlined by the fact that, at least in the Netherlands, the majority of our daily activity and mobility patterns take place at a regional level (Ruimtelijk Planbureau, 2006). Consequently, an approach is needed which is able to coordinate the daily activity and mobility patterns at this level. In this thesis it is hypothesized that a focus on railway corridors offers the best chance for this. There are various reasons for this (Bertolini & Rietveld, 2008). First, within a railway corridor origin (residential areas) and destination (working and leisure areas) locations can be developed in a coherent way. This allows a developer to design an integral strategy for the whole area aimed at specific target groups. Second, a focus on the railway corridor allows for a coordination of plans between different station areas. In this way destructive competition between station areas can be avoided and instead synergies between them can be promoted. In a similar way, a focus on the railway corridor can stimulate better transfer options between different modes of transport. And last but not least, a focus on the railway corridor makes it possible to utilize public transport in a more efficient way by focusing on redevelopments that generate off-peak travel or bi-directional traffic flows. In this thesis a railway corridor is defined as a railway line operating on a regional level including the land surrounding the stations of that line. It is realized, however, that railway corridors operate on different levels (e.g. national, international, and local level). Moreover, railway corridors are part of a network, and consequently the focus should be on the network rather than on the corridors for coordinating transport and land use development at the regional level. The reason that this thesis focuses on railway corridors is purely a pragmatic one. Tokyo has an extensive metropolitan railway system which is owned and operated by several private companies, rather than just one. Each private railway company owns and operates a particular part of the network for which they have obtained exclusive franchises. Consequently, the main focus of each company is on the development of its own ‘railway territories’, rather than on investments elsewhere in the railway system. However, this does not mean that private railway companies do not cooperate with each other. For issues covering the whole metropolitan region, i.e. travel fare, safety, Pasmo (a smart card for public transport in Tokyo) and railway policies, a so-called ‘Association of Private Railways’ exists in which private railway companies are united. Furthermore, many private railway operators offer through-services with lines operated by mutual direct train services with other private railway companies thereby reducing the number of transfers and thus increasing the convenience for its passengers. This has prevented regional interests from being overlooked by subregional/local interests in Tokyo. The aim of this chapter is to explore a number of questions focused on railway corridors: - 144 - Chapter 6 - Corridor studies 1. Does a focus on railway corridor allow for locations to be planned and developed in a coherent way as Bertolini & Rietveld (2008) argue? 2. Does a focus on railway corridors result in synergies between station areas, or in other words, is it a useful tool for preventing competition between station areas as is argued? 3. Does a focus on railway corridors allow for a better coordination between different modes of transport? 4. Does a focus on railway corridors result in off-peak travel and bi-directional traffic flows as Bertolini & Rietveld (2008) argue? The findings from these questions should indicate whether or not a railway corridor is an appropriate level for coordinating transport and land use developments at the regional level. With the above questions in mind a number of railway corridors in Tokyo will be analyzed in the next paragraphs. In the conclusion (6.4) an answer will be given to the questions posed above. 6.1 Analyzing railway corridors in Tokyo In Tokyo the railway corridor plays an important role in people’s daily activity patterns. Shopping, leisure, amusement, universities, residences and offices can all be found along the same railway corridor. These activities are made accessible by offering a large variety of train services within a railway corridor ranging from local, semi-local, express, rapid express and limited express trains33 that run at high frequencies. In Japan railway lines are operated in exclusive franchises by private railway companies of which the majority also owns the railway lines (see chapter 4). In addition, they operate buses which serve to complement the railway network or to provide feeder services. Private railway companies also possess considerable amounts of land much of which tends to be concentrated along their own railway lines. This has enabled them, as is demonstrated later on in this chapter, to develop an integral area strategy in which generating synergies between their core businesses of transportation, real estate and retail play a pivotal role. High passenger numbers and profitable transportation services have proven that this model seems to work quite well in Japan. 33 The difference between these service levels is that local trains stop at each station, while limited express trains/services only stop at a limited number of stations. - 145 - Station area developments in Tokyo and what the Randstad can learn from it Railway corridors are not only developed by private railway companies. In fact, several models exist. For example, in the case of the development of Tama New Town (a large town built in the west of Tokyo in the 1960s) the railways were owned and operated by private railway companies, while the surrounding land was mainly developed by public and semi-public organizations (Kiuchi & Inouchi, 1976; Tanabe, 1978). Another yet more recent example is the Tsukuba Express line (Chorus, 2008). This commuter line commenced its services in 2005 and is owned and operated by a third sector railway company in which local governments and some private corporations have invested. As for the development of the land along the Tsukuba Express railway line: 20 projects are underway of which 11 are being developed by local governments, 7 by the urban renaissance agency (a national semi-public housing corporation), 1 by a local public housing corporation, and 1 by a land owners association (Urban Renaissance Agency, 2009) In this chapter the focus will lie on railway corridors that are owned (i.e. the railways and surrounding land) and operated by private railway companies. Two railway corridors will be analysed in this chapter. They are: 1. the Toyoko line between Shibuya and Yokohama, owned and operated by Tokyu Corporation 2. the Odawara line between Shin-Yurigaoka and Shinjuku, owned and operated by Odakyu Corporation These railway corridors were not randomly chosen, but closely relate to the station areas analysed in the node-place model in the previous chapter. Railway corridors were selected that contained at least five of these station areas in order to get a representative image of the corridor involved. Furthermore, the railway line needed to operate on the regional level in order to be in line with the definition used for a railway corridor in this research. For Tokyo this meant that subway lines were excluded as they in general, when not taking into account their through-connections, operate on a local (inner-city) level.