Tokyo Region and Nishitokyo City

Agenda for Urban Farmland Conservation
and Green Infrastructure Development
in a Sprawled Suburban City in Tokyo, Japan

80km

Nishitokyo City
“West Tokyo”

40km
20km

Tokyo Station
Akito Murayama
Associate Professor, Department of Urban Engineering,
School of Engineering, The University of Tokyo
murayama@up.t.u-tokyo.ac.jp
Akiko Iida
Project Assistant Professor, Department of Urban Engineering,
School of Engineering, The University of Tokyo

Population
Tokyo Region: 38 million
Nishitokyo City: 200,000

July 5, 2019 | The 10th International Association for Landscape Ecology Congress (IALE 2019)
Università degli Studi di Milano-Bicocca, Milan, ItalyNishitokyo City Land Use | Residential and Agricultural Mix
FarmlandPublic Land
Single Family Home
Multi Family HomePark

Farmlands 125m Mesh (1987)

Nishitokyo City Land Use | Residential and Agricultural Mix

Farmlands
remain as aresult of
scattered urban
developments
on former
agricultural area
Most of thefarmlands arecultivated byprofessional
farmers

Land Use (1987)

2Sumiyoshi-cho

Farmland in residential area
producing vegetables

3

Farmlands are gradually transformed toresidential area by “mini-developments”

l Farmlands are transformed to other land uses
when farmers die and properties are inherited toyounger generations.
l High inheritance tax forces property owners tosell a part of their properties.

Land Use (2017)

Farmlands 125m Mesh (2017)

Sumiyoshi-cho

Mukoudai-cho

Landscape contractor growing
various trees and plants for sale

Mukoudai-cho

Farmlands also transform toparking lots4

Nishitokyo City Land Use Zoning and Farmlands

Re-Evaluation of Scattered Urban Farmlands
l Urban planners used consider the scattered urban farmlands as a
failure of modern urban planningl Recently, there are views to re-evaluate the situation in a positive way

Farmland (2017)
Farmland (1987)
Land Use Zones by City Planning Act
Low Rise Residential 1
Low Rise Residential 2
Mid-High Rise Residential 1
Mid-High Rise Residential 2Residential 1
Residential 2
Quasi Residential
Neighborhood Commercial
Commercial
Quasi Industrial
Industrial Area
Exclusive Industrial

l Farmlands close in residential areas offer various benefits to urbandwellers
l Intensive discussion in Nishitokyo City Planning Committee

5

Nishitokyo City Planning Committee

6

Nishitokyo Studio 2017
Shaping Ecodistricts in the Tokyo Suburbsl Advisory committee to the city mayor onurban planning issues

Urban Farmland and Green Space Conservationin the Regeneration of Sprawled Urban Areasl Zoning change, district vision and plan,
designation and removal of Productive
Green Zones (PGZ)
l Usually procedural and not innovative

Urban Project Studio

Master Thesis Atelier

On-Site Workshop

The University of Tokyo

Politecnico di Torino

October 2017 - January 2018

October 2017 - January 2018

UTokyo and PoliTo
March 2018l Protection of PGZ and other farmlands isa big issue•

Working group to propose innovativeideas to balance farmland conservationand housing development•Murayama as chair of the working group•

Almost no budget! > collaboration withuniversity studio works
City Planning Committee• Academics (Urban Planning)• Agricultural Industry• Retailors• Police / Fire Departments• Community Leaders• Volunteer Citizens
Productive Green Zones (PGZ):• City Council Members
Urban farmlands mostly protected by 2022

78

Proposal to the City Mayor on
Urban Farmland Conservation and Value Creation

Proposal to the City Mayor on
Urban Farmland Conservation and Value Creation

1. Current conditions of urban farmland and urban farming

3. Measures for urban farmland conservationl Decrease of urban farmlands and progress of land use transformationl Connecting housing development and urban farmland conservationl Release of Productive Green Zones (PGZs) and “2022 problem” when the 30years designation of PGZs will expire

l Visioning of a new residential and agricultural mixed urban spacel Condition of farming and real estate management of the farming families:
they rely on real estate businesses (sale or rental of their lands/buildings) for
their incomel Creating a business model for farmers and farmland owners

l Promoting communication between farmers and non-farmers

4. Model projects and programsl Communications (including conflicts) between urban farmers and dwellers

l Construction of various model housing with private farmlands (detachedhouses, townhouses and apartments)l Collaboration with park and green space measures in the city government
2. Benefits of urban farmlandsl Conservation of cultural landscapel Introduction of rental farmlands to residents of local communities and remoteurban areasl Promotion of citizens’ health through fresh foods and recreational/educational
opportunitiesl Renovation of factories and warehouses with rooftop farmlands and organic
restaurantsl Enhancement of ecosystem services such as climate mitigation, flood
prevention and disaster risk reductionl Promotion of agri-lifestylel Support for young entrepreneursl Development of alternative food systeml Establishment of district-scale management organizations
910

Publicizing the Proposal on Urban Farmland Conservation

Mayor
Koichi Maruyama(Nishitokyo City)

City Planner
Sadao
Claudia
MatsumotoCassatella(Nishitokyo City)(PoliTo)

Akito
Murayama(UTokyo)

Akiko
Iida
(UTokyo)

Giancarlo
Cotella(PoliTo)

Marco
Santangelo(PoliTo)

Upper 3 Photos: Skylark Times https://www.skylarktimes.com/?p=16046

The proposed agenda was formalized as a proposal to Nishitokyo City mayor from thecity’s urban planning committee and is expected to change the existing planning policies
and introduce new projects and programs associated with urban farmland conservationand green infrastructure development.
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Claudia Cassatella and Akito Murayama eds (2018) : http://hdl.handle.net/11583/2712031