Quote:
Originally Posted by Hot Rod
Sorry guys, I joined this thread late (was in Japan)_.
So I just HAD to comment on whoever posted the comment that Tokyo/Osaka dont have skyscrapers. B!S!
Both cities have MULTIPLE CBD's, each with wall to wall skyscrapers. While there are not many supertalls, both cities have a significant number of towers much taller than ours.
Since someone commented on Tokyo's CBD's (Shinjuku, Tokyo Central, etc), I will name those for Osaka (since I just came from there).
Umeda (in Kita, aka North): this is the MAIN NEW downtown and is FULL of skyscrapers that radiate around the MAIN Osaka Station (rail, subway) and underground/above ground shopping complexes.
Namba (in Chuo, aka Central): this is the older downtown area where buildings are shorter but nonetheless significant. This is definitely much more street oriented (where Dotomburi, Ebisaibashi, Shinsaibashi, etc etc shopping districts are). Namba is at the end of Mido-suji Avenue (the MAIN N-S street).
Tennoji (in East): This is a old area becoming new with skyscrapers.
Osaka Business Park: Also in East, it is near the Osaka Castle and looks like Century City in LA.
Minami (aka South): This area is a very new downtown highrise district near the waterfront and has a decent mix of highrise residential and office.
There are more, yet smaller business districts of course.
POINT IS, Osaka is amazing. If you ever get the chance (and guts) to drive [or take a cab], go on the Hanshin Expressway loop around the central city and all you see is wall to wall skyscrapers. It is an awesome sight at night, where the buildings are lit up with neon signs, it's simply amazing yet still Japanese!
Tokyo has more buildings in general but Osaka definitely kicks butt. I think Osaka is a little more 'authentic' in a way (whereas Tokyo is quite a bit Westernized). I prefer Osaka personally - it's more managable, whereas Tokyo is way over the top.
Osaka is Vancouver's sister city. If there is ANY city we should be looking to for urban planning downtown (density), we SHOULD BE LOOKING TO THEM. Osaka has a very nice mix of height and Density in multiple CBD's. I'd say we should definitely try to take some pointers on Umeda/Osaka Station - which is complete with the HEP 5 multi-level department store and FERRIS WHEEL!!
Wouldn't it be nice if we had something similar at Waterfront?
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Cool. I love Osaka.
However, I believe
Yokohama is Vancouver's Sister City although
Osaka has some Business Ties with Vancouver.
Osaka does certainly have Skyscrapers as well as Tokyo... but I was referencing that it's not wall to wall super-talls, as some may have envisioned it, but still very dense. I didn't mean to imply that there are no skyscrapers... but rather that height is not always equal to density.
In many ways, the higher a building is the more disconnected it can become from the street as you need to set them back further too.
Downtown is quite dense, but imagine we had 10-story density along major arterials and transit routes round the city? Something like Joyce station is nice... but shorter towers like the west end are nice too... and very livable.
If you flew out of Kankuu you went through Sakai to the south. There's a LOT of people in Sakai alone, and it's like a Richmond/Surrey of Osaka. The Midosuji line (Red line) ends there and if you get off at Shinkanaoka and walk around you see lots of low and mid-rises, but the population of Sakai alone has a population density of : 5,556/km according to wikipedia (5.5x Surrey). That includes two huge parks and Large Mall (Diamond City Centre) and despite being on the edge of the urban area.
If we want to increase density, we should concentrate more on mid-rises outside the core and infill, as opposed to going taller and taller and taller.
One thing Japan does VERY VERY well is densify around Train stations. officedweller has mentioned this a few times, but why doesn't the city institute a policy like this around stations like Rupert, Renfrew, Nanaimo, 29th... and arguably... Commercial Drive (could have taller mid-rise buildings here)