What’s the difference between New York and Tokyo?

It was about twelve years ago that I had visited Tokyo for the first time. Ahead of my travel, I had visualised the city to be full of houses with curved roofs that extend far beyond the walls to protect from rains and decorative prices of dragons, birds or fish on the lower corner of the roofs, and lantern or bells hanging, all in myriad colours. I had also imagined seeing a lot of women and men in kimonos, decorated ones for women and rather simpler ones for men. My imagination had stemmed from the storybooks and comics that I had read in my school and college days. However, upon reaching in Tokyo and moving around the city, I found no trace of all these. The buildings were all modern, western style structures, many of them being skyscrapers and the city criss-crossed with flyovers and viaducts of metro and other mass-transit systems. The men and women were all dressed up in western clothes. Whether it was the built spaces or the way the people had dressed up, one could not distinguish between Tokyo and New York! Same types of flyovers, viaducts for metro rails, skyscraper buildings, automobiles cluttering the roads, besides, of course, the dresses that the people wore.

During the weekend, I planned to visit places around the main city and requested the driver to show me a traditional Japanese house, describing to him the features that were in my mind. He understood, but said that we would have to go to the outskirts. Finally, almost 30 kilometres away, we found a traditional house, which was indeed what I had read and seen in books and comics. As for the dresses, per chance, there was marriage ceremony conducted in the hotel where I was staying, in which the guests and hosts were seen wearing kimono and similar traditional dresses, much to my satisfaction. But the conclusion was very clear, that the urban design is undergoing a change- steadily and speedily.

Universalisation of urban design

Change in urban design is metamorphic not only in Japan, but in many cities across the world and India is no exception. Bengaluru was well known for its independent/unique houses with tiled roofs and surrounded by coconut palms and other fruit trees. By now, such houses have become a rare sight as most have given way to multi-floor housing units. I had served in Mangalore in the early 1980s and was impressed with the fact that the overarching urban form of the city was defined by the coconut trees (or palms), as practically no house was taller than such palms. However, by now, the skyline of the city has undergone a big change, with multi-story buildings taller than the coconut palms. The city has undergone a big changeover in its form.

The industrial revolution in the USA and Europe happened in the 19th century and accelerated the urban migration. However, the countries that have large population such as China and India entered the phase of significant industrialisation only by the middle of the 20th century, which hastened the growth of urbanisation. In 1900 just 15 per cent of the world’s population lived in towns and cities. By 1950, the ratio rose to 30 per cent, to 39 per cent in 1980 and 57 per cent in 2022 . There are currently 512 cities with a population of one million or more and they hold 23 per cent of the global population. Growing urbanisation has put pressure on the urban land mass. This led the cities to opt for high rises, sacrificing the traditional buildings that proved be much less cost-effective in the wake of the fast-rising land prices.

The vertical growth of the cities led to cluttering of the streets, accentuated by a sharp rise in the number of automobiles. The total number of automobiles on road in India (urban plus rural) was 0.3 million in 1951 and has rose rather mercurially to 326.3 million in 2020 . This led to the demand for flyovers and mass rapid transit systems such as the BRTS and metro rail, which in turn led to construction of flyovers and viaducts in a continuously increasing number and length, giving the cities a concretised look, overwhelming/ radically transforming the traditional form and landscape.

Along with the vertical growth, cities also faced the diminution of water bodies, with lakes and rivers shrinking due to drying up of the inflows of fresh water and encroachments on the embankments. Yet another casualty was shrinkage of the green patches and the open spaces (maidans). The growth of slums accompanied the rising urbanisation. Eventually, slums came to defined as a necessary component of a city. Consequently, all cities started looking alike, having a network of high-rise buildings of similar architecture, with criss-cross of flyovers, and a liberal sprinkling of informal settlements. The traditional skyline, form and landscape of the cities seemed gone!

The positive scenario

Many countries and cities in the Europe have remained steadfast in retaining and nurturing the urban forms. Cities like Amsterdam continue to look the same over the centuries, in most localities and neighbourhoods and the by-laws of the Municipalities ensure that. However, newer layouts and business districts have been allowed to stray away from the traditional looks and form on the grounds of space and cost efficiency. Yet, in travelling through most of the European city, one would get the feel of traditional urban forms in good measure.

In India, while most cities in their entirety have lost their form almost for good, some localised initiatives to re-establish the traditional looks and design are notable. Some railways stations such as Guwahati, Lucknow and Varanasi have been renovated with the traditional form and looks. Airports such as Kochi has been redeveloped with traditional forms and design, reminding of the cultural heritage of the region. Many temples and other religious buildings have retained the local traditions on form and layout. Academic institutions such as the Banaras Hindu University and the Nalanda University have made a mark in adopting and projecting the local traditions for the buildings and the ecosystem.

The way forward

Cities have been recognised to represent the economic strength of the region. However, the significance of the cities as the representatives of the cultural and social heritage and the traditional arts and architecture has to be brought to fore. The process could be universal to all the cities, but the outcome should be unique for each city. Each city should have an Urban Design Wing in the Town/City Planning Authority and this Wing should determine the broad contours of the form and looks of the city and the individual buildings and other structures, in line with the traditions of that city and it should be duly reflected in the Building Manuals of the Cities. A National Mission on Urban Design could support this objective well.

Whether it was the built spaces or the way the people had dressed up, one could not distinguish between Tokyo and New York! Same types of flyovers, viaducts for metro rails, skyscraper buildings, automobiles cluttering the roads, besides, of course, the dresses that the people wore