Urban Pedevelopment of Civic Districts in Japan Castle-Towns in Nineteen Century

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The modernizing process of Japanese local cities includes five characteristic schemes for urban planning in three distinctive periods, as follows.The first is the redevelopment of castle-districts and their surroundings to change them from feudal towns to modern ones. In the early 1870's, the Meiji government announced that castles should be demolished because they were symbols of feudalism. One reform was to lacate the seats of prefectural offices in the hearts of major castle-towns. Most of the beautiful and magnificent castles were destroyed, and the moats and small artificial lakes that were important for the towns' spatial structure were filled up. Furthermore some redevelopment projects in castle districts and surrounding areas were put into practice in order to create modern cities and towns. These included the construction of public buildings and facilities and the formation of a central business district in each city.The second scheme occurred during the changing process from … More feudal to modern society, and created open physical spatial structures to suit the concentrated national transportation system, such as the railway network established in the early 20th century. In order to build modern urban structures, various sorts of projects were planned and completed in all important towns : for example, and efficient road network, a special district for government offices, or a new railway station were often built on the land reclaimed by filling up a moat or lake. The key scheme in this process was how to lay out the railway and where to locate the station that would be one more important center in the future. In some cities, a railway station was built in the mid-town area in order to revitalize the whole urban structure ; in other cities, it was located far from the center to conserve the historical area. New street systems and urban structures had to be created to suit this newly built railway system. These spatial structures have playd an important role in sustaining the urban growth and modernization of most castle-towns. Less