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Excellent blog about Japanese zoning: http://urbankchoze.blogspot.com/2014/04/japanese-zoning.html http://urbankchoze.blogspot.com/2014/04/japanese-zoning.html

tkgally 6y ago
That's a good reference. In adding to zoning, there are other factors that contribute to the large number of viable tiny businesses here in Japan. One is that small shops aren't bound by as strict accessibility and fire regulations as in some other countries. A restaurant or bar, for example, that seats no more than a dozen customers and is staffed by just one or two people will often have a correspondingly tiny restroom that could not be accessed by someone in a wheelchair; the shop itself might not be wheelchair accessible, either. And often there is only one exit, the front door, even for shops on upper floors of buildings. In many cases, I suspect, adding requirements for wheelchair accessibility and a separate fire exit would increase the construction costs and unproductive floor space so much that the shop would no longer be economically viable. I was a freelancer here for twenty years. While I didn't run a shop, I did run my business out of my home, and my impression was that it was much easier to do that in Japan—in terms of taxes, relations with neighbors, etc.—than it would have been in the United States, where I was born.
- squidpie 6y ago
  Obviously the specific implementation of accessibility within private home-front businesses is a complicated issue. However, I find your suggested solution of excluding disabled people from accessing small local shops rather asinine, especially considering how particularly beneficial such shops would be. I am not here to debate or offer specific solutions, but I want to encourage able bodied folks to take the following axiom into account when discussing accessibility. disregarding material constraints, disabled people should be able to access public spaces and attend public events.
  - tkgally 6y ago
    > I find your suggested solution of excluding disabled people from accessing small local shops rather asinine I wasn't suggesting a solution. I was describing the situation in Japan and offering two explanations for why that situation might be as it is.

tkgally 6y ago

That's a good reference. In adding to zoning, there are other factors that contribute to the large number of viable tiny businesses here in Japan. One is that small shops aren't bound by as strict accessibility and fire regulations as in some other countries. A restaurant or bar, for example, that seats no more than a dozen customers and is staffed by just one or two people will often have a correspondingly tiny restroom that could not be accessed by someone in a wheelchair; the shop itself might not be wheelchair accessible, either. And often there is only one exit, the front door, even for shops on upper floors of buildings. In many cases, I suspect, adding requirements for wheelchair accessibility and a separate fire exit would increase the construction costs and unproductive floor space so much that the shop would no longer be economically viable. I was a freelancer here for twenty years. While I didn't run a shop, I did run my business out of my home, and my impression was that it was much easier to do that in Japan—in terms of taxes, relations with neighbors, etc.—than it would have been in the United States, where I was born.

squidpie 6y ago
Obviously the specific implementation of accessibility within private home-front businesses is a complicated issue. However, I find your suggested solution of excluding disabled people from accessing small local shops rather asinine, especially considering how particularly beneficial such shops would be. I am not here to debate or offer specific solutions, but I want to encourage able bodied folks to take the following axiom into account when discussing accessibility. disregarding material constraints, disabled people should be able to access public spaces and attend public events.
- tkgally 6y ago
  > I find your suggested solution of excluding disabled people from accessing small local shops rather asinine I wasn't suggesting a solution. I was describing the situation in Japan and offering two explanations for why that situation might be as it is.