This report describes the results of a two-week joint-study program involving Japan's
Waterfront Vitalization and Environmental Research Centre and the Waterfront Regeneration Trust of Toronto, Canada.
The joint study program took place in November 1996 with in the context of two international symposia organized by WAVE in Kobe and Tokyo, at which experiences of waterfront development in the cities of Oslo, Norway; Johore Bahru, Malaysia; Darling Harbour in Sydney, Australia; Toronto, Canada; Kobe and Yokohama were reviewed and compared.
Noteworthy among the conclusions of the symposia was the recognition that while different organizational forms are being employed to bring about the redevelopment of the waterfronts under review there is a common emphasis on regaining public access and a common goal of improving the quality of life in the respective city-regions. In some cases such as Yokohama, Johore Banru and Toronto, achieving this second goal involves redeveloping the waterfront as a strategic action in the re-structuring of the urban region of which it is a part. This report focuses essentially on a comparison of the Toronto and Lake Ontario waterfront redevelopment experience and those of the six Japanese waterfronts visited during the joint-study program; Kitakyushu, Hakata and Fukuoka; Kobe, Yokohama and Tokyo.
The report is in three parts. First, there is a comparison of the Canadian and Japanese port management systems to set a context for waterfront development. Second, there follows a comparative analysis of the Toronto and Japanese approaches to waterfront development including the administrative and organizational framework, the roles of the public and private sectors, community and citizen involvement, project planning and development, and the integration of waterfronts into the urban fabric and the surrounding region. The concluding section of the report contains some ideas and suggestions that Japanese waterfront planners may wish to consider as they continue their mission to provide Japanese citizens with the high quality waterfronts that they need and want.
