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Agents of Transformation and the "Death" of Urbanism Preeminence of the Decorated Shed Staging Uncertainty |
[1L4] THE PORT OF NAGOYA. Nagoya is the fourth largest city in Japan, located in the middle of the Tokaido megalopolis between Tokyo and Osaka. A center for high-tech industry, it was bombed heavily during World War II, and has been rebuilt according to modern planning principles. The economic and industrial activities of the greater Aichi prefecture, of which Nagoya is the focus, account for approximately 1 percent of the global economy. Due to the exaggerated emphasis placed on Tokyo and Osaka, however, Nagoya remains overshadowed by these cities culturally and politically, despite the fact that it is in many ways more advanced urbanistically. As a result of Nagoya’s ‘second-rate’ city status, its vast extent of reclaimed land has been preserved for industry and distribution. Without the kind of international attention and government investment in experimental projects found in Tokyo and Osaka, Nagoya has maintained a completely functioning, production-driven port. However, this is about to change.
Several of the currently active manufacturing operations are technologically outmoded, and will soon be shut down to make way for other uses of the land. Future plans similar to those implemented in Tokyo and Osaka will transform the port into a more sophisticated business and culture center. The Aichi International Exposition, scheduled for 2005, will be held in Seto City, located twenty minutes northeast of Nagoya. Nagoya will now be a major recipient of massive government funding for new infrastructure, including a new shinkansen railway to parallel the Tokaido line, a string of three large suspension bridges to connect a new loop road, a new international airport and cultural center on an artificial island in Ise Bay, new local railways to connect the airport to the city, and jet foil terminals in the port. Like the enormous undertaking to make Nagano accessible to the 1998 Winter Olympic Games, Aichi prefecture anticipates a similar feat to prepare for the 2005 Expo, which is also located in a remote mountain site. Moreover, because the port of Nagoya will serve as a gateway from the new airport, much of the construction will occur within the port itself, on route into the city. The question remains, however, whether city planners will follow in the footsteps of the other cities, or seek originality in their designs. Images: 1. Aerial View of Chubu Region, 2. Satellite Image of Nagoya
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A Master's Thesis in Architecture at Rice University by Blaine Brownell. Copyright © 1998 by Blaine Brownell. All rights reserved. |
