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I believe a number of factors tell the tale: * As noted, the zoning laws and general policies surrounding real estate have made it so that residential developm

I believe a number of factors tell the tale: * As noted, the zoning laws and general policies surrounding real estate have made it so that residential development keeps with demand. In every developed area, the buildings consistently climb to 8 stories high. I can't speak for Europe but this is something the U.S. simply cannot do within its existing policy regime, now that the automobile suburbs are built out. It's stuck with an escalating price bubble for the foreseeable future. * The shinkansen itself cannot be underestimated either. Other cities tend to be like "suburbs of Tokyo" in the Japanese model, taking pressure off the city to go supertall. * Although you can find neighborhoods with large office parks and highways(e.g. Akasaka), the zoning laws permit using your home to do business, which reduces average commutes and requirements for dedicated workspace, and goes a long way to explain the high degree of similarity between any two random urban streets in the country. * The rail lines are also real estate companies, which creates a virtuous cycle around every transit stop to pile on amenities and maximize the attractiveness of each neighborhood. You have to go quite far out to find "sleepy" train stations. * The keiretsu business model that built contemporary Japan is likewise intertwined with the transit and development pattern. The economics of the conglomerate dictate that business units should complement and support each other which allows for a certain degree of robustness, further encouraging neighborhoods that have many similar patterns. Even in Sapporo, with it's 19th-century gridded blocks designed by an American, the overall development is distinctly Japanese. U.S. style patterns tend to favor superlative extremes of optimization - the biggest, the fastest, the most profitable - and not average case outcomes. Manhattan may be exceptional simply because we've assumed every city should be exceptional.

jpatokal 8y ago
You're missing two large factors: * Tokyo is in a very active earthquake zone. Building earthquake-proof supertalls is even more expensive than usual, and not practical in the large portions of the city built on reclaimed land. * Sunshine laws make it very difficult to build tall buildings even when zoning regulations otherwise allow it. This is why you often see weirdly shaped (triangular etc) buildings in improbable places. Shinkansen commuting is also a fairly marginal phenomenon, the cost is prohibitive and I recall reading that the number of active Shinkansen commuter passes is measured in the thousands (for a megalopolis of 30 million plus).
- m_mueller 8y ago
  TBF I find their sunshine laws make sense. Tokyo to me feels way more liveable than any Western megacity I know.
  - mercurysmessage 8y ago
    I agree. Tokyo is my favourite city, for many reasons. Livability and comfort being two of the top. I've already lived mid-term in Tokyo, and I see myself returning in the future.
    - m_mueller 8y ago
      right. it looks a bit ugly at first if you're not into it, but living there after a while it all really makes sense. great people too generally - friendly and welcoming like in a big village, yet leaving you alone when you need it like in a big city. perfect for my tastes.
- greggman 8y ago
  someone found their way around at least some of those laws at there are around 14-15 relatively tall buildings going in Shibuya. The Shibuya Cast building opened last year. 30 stories? The Stream building , 38 stories hasn't opened yet but it's close. Google Tokyo will move there in late 2019. The new station building is 35-40 stories Across the tracks from. The Stream building a new 40 story building will start soon in the area with all the music instrument stores. South exit, the new Tokyu Plaza will be 19 stories. Up Tamagawa Dori across from The Cerulean is a new 2O story building . Behind 109 a 29 story building is going in. 1/2 a block from Tokyu Hands a new 20 story building is up. The new Parco will be 19 stories. The Shibuya City Hall next to NHK is under construction 2 buildings . one 20 stories. the other 39 Right across from them another 20+ story building just finished. Behind Tower Records an 20 story hotel is going in. In a Omotesando in the neighborhood behind the Apple Store a giant 30+ story complex is going in. Only one has not started construction the businesses in the area to be reconstructed are closing. Oh and not Shibuya but there's a 41 story apartment building going in at Musashi Koyama station.
knuththetruth 8y ago
And perhaps the most important difference from the American economy: Housing is viewed as a disposable commodity, with an approximately 30 year shelf-life and depreciating value. Land in Japan does hold its value, but (at least post-bubble) at nowhere near the level of insane, speculative fluctuations driven by US-style “financialization.” Land values mostly track with inflation, like they did in the US before housing became an investment vehicle for Global Capital.
- clairity 8y ago
  yes, it's unfortunate that we lose sight of the main purpose of a home: to be a safe place to live and commune with others, not a cold financial instrument. when you think about how housing prices should change, you'd expect it to correlate with a macroeconomic growth measure like gdp or inflation. if it doesn't, then you'd probably first expect something obvious like (1) many people are looking for homes (high demand) (2) people are fighting fiercely for prized urban properties (focused demand/limited supply) (3) we've run out of land/homes (short supply) but rather, it's excess capital chasing excess returns, to accumulate more excess capital, with no thought to the underlying asset.
JumpCrisscross 8y ago
> this is something the U.S. simply cannot do within its existing policy regime The only policy regime preventing this is a cultural one. Americans think of their houses as piggy banks, not places for them (and their neighbours) to live.
- deleted 8y ago
  [deleted]

jpatokal 8y ago

You're missing two large factors: * Tokyo is in a very active earthquake zone. Building earthquake-proof supertalls is even more expensive than usual, and not practical in the large portions of the city built on reclaimed land. * Sunshine laws make it very difficult to build tall buildings even when zoning regulations otherwise allow it. This is why you often see weirdly shaped (triangular etc) buildings in improbable places. Shinkansen commuting is also a fairly marginal phenomenon, the cost is prohibitive and I recall reading that the number of active Shinkansen commuter passes is measured in the thousands (for a megalopolis of 30 million plus).

m_mueller 8y ago
TBF I find their sunshine laws make sense. Tokyo to me feels way more liveable than any Western megacity I know.
- mercurysmessage 8y ago
  I agree. Tokyo is my favourite city, for many reasons. Livability and comfort being two of the top. I've already lived mid-term in Tokyo, and I see myself returning in the future.
  - m_mueller 8y ago
    right. it looks a bit ugly at first if you're not into it, but living there after a while it all really makes sense. great people too generally - friendly and welcoming like in a big village, yet leaving you alone when you need it like in a big city. perfect for my tastes.
greggman 8y ago
someone found their way around at least some of those laws at there are around 14-15 relatively tall buildings going in Shibuya. The Shibuya Cast building opened last year. 30 stories? The Stream building , 38 stories hasn't opened yet but it's close. Google Tokyo will move there in late 2019. The new station building is 35-40 stories Across the tracks from. The Stream building a new 40 story building will start soon in the area with all the music instrument stores. South exit, the new Tokyu Plaza will be 19 stories. Up Tamagawa Dori across from The Cerulean is a new 2O story building . Behind 109 a 29 story building is going in. 1/2 a block from Tokyu Hands a new 20 story building is up. The new Parco will be 19 stories. The Shibuya City Hall next to NHK is under construction 2 buildings . one 20 stories. the other 39 Right across from them another 20+ story building just finished. Behind Tower Records an 20 story hotel is going in. In a Omotesando in the neighborhood behind the Apple Store a giant 30+ story complex is going in. Only one has not started construction the businesses in the area to be reconstructed are closing. Oh and not Shibuya but there's a 41 story apartment building going in at Musashi Koyama station.

knuththetruth 8y ago

And perhaps the most important difference from the American economy: Housing is viewed as a disposable commodity, with an approximately 30 year shelf-life and depreciating value. Land in Japan does hold its value, but (at least post-bubble) at nowhere near the level of insane, speculative fluctuations driven by US-style “financialization.” Land values mostly track with inflation, like they did in the US before housing became an investment vehicle for Global Capital.

clairity 8y ago
yes, it's unfortunate that we lose sight of the main purpose of a home: to be a safe place to live and commune with others, not a cold financial instrument. when you think about how housing prices should change, you'd expect it to correlate with a macroeconomic growth measure like gdp or inflation. if it doesn't, then you'd probably first expect something obvious like (1) many people are looking for homes (high demand) (2) people are fighting fiercely for prized urban properties (focused demand/limited supply) (3) we've run out of land/homes (short supply) but rather, it's excess capital chasing excess returns, to accumulate more excess capital, with no thought to the underlying asset.

JumpCrisscross 8y ago

> this is something the U.S. simply cannot do within its existing policy regime The only policy regime preventing this is a cultural one. Americans think of their houses as piggy banks, not places for them (and their neighbours) to live.

deleted 8y ago
[deleted]