From Global Business City to Tourist City
Published on Sun 10 May 2015
Postmodern Transformation of Tokyo's CBD into a Tourist Destination
On May 1st Dr Keisuke Enokido, Professor of International Tourism at Hannan University, Osaka, led a constructive research seminar on the tourismification of business districts, using a case study of new forms of area management in Tokyo.
In anticipation of the opening of the V&A in Dundee, and efforts to draw international visitors and tourists to the city, colleagues from the schools of Town and Regional Planning and Business joined Professor Enokido and local city centre practitioners to learn more about the restoration of Tokyo’s railway station.
A number of insights emerged. First, core to the process of increasing visitors to Tokyo’s Central Business District (CBD) has been the role of the private sector, specifically Mitsubishi, a major land owner in the district. Second, recognition of the heritage value of the old railway station and the building’s restoration, have been an important economic driver in extending the vitality and viability of the area. Third, explicit use of transferable development rights has been made to extend the land value of adjacent buildings. Centred around this critical transport node, the CBD is becoming a more mixed use area – extending – but also potentially diluting – Tokyo’s role as a global business city.
Prior to becoming an academic, Professor Enokido worked as a city planning consultant and urban designer in Tokyo. Major projects he has been involved with include the waterfront redevelopment in Yokohama. Professor Enokido had been invited to the University by Professor Deborah Peel to witness the transformational waterfront development taking place in Dundee and to explore the collaborative potential of international lesson-drawing.