Minoru Mori

President and CEO of

Mori Building Co., Ltd.

　

Compared to other global leading cities, Tokyo's competitiveness and attractiveness has been declining year by year. Homes and offices are cramped, and the average commute for people traveling to Tokyo business centers is 70 minutes each way. Tokyo also lacks adequate roads, parks, and hospitals, and existing amenities are not just lagging behind European and American cities but also other Asian cities. If the situation remains unchanged, Japan could well become a dropout even in the face of a world economic recovery.

However, the situation is not without hope. Fundamentally reorganizing the urban structure of low-rise sprawl, consolidating small parcels of land into larger plots and using vacant airspace more efficiently could give citizens of Tokyo more spacious living quarters and more free time. Cities represent a major frontier for investment, and at the same time, redeveloping urban centers can change the industrial and social structure and people's attitudes toward how they live.

　Investment should be concentrated in urban centers to fully draw on the economic potential and be based on a grand design for compact, highly centralized, but comfortable living environments. I call this the "Urban New Deal Policy,"and within the Economic Strategy Council, an advisory panel to the prime minister, I have been recommending that urban redevelopment be considered a matter of national strategy.

Information technology has been singled out as a strategic national policy. How can this be linked to urban redevelopment? Once developed, IT is beneficial and makes life more convenient, allowing vast amounts of information to be transmitted quickly. But genuinely important information and thoughts can only be achieved appropriately through face-to-face meetings. Cities are above all places that make human interaction, exchange of information, and sharing of thoughts possible.

　Truly attractive cities are those in which leaders in various fields get together with their peers, to open up opportunities for new ideas and new business models. Creating such cities is essential for revitalizing and renewing Japan's strength. In this sense, IT and urban redevelopment go hand in hand and are essential for the creation of a comfortable lifestyle.

　World history demonstrates that in every era, prosperous civilizations have built great cities that prospered for many generations and created urban cultures and lifestyles. Those cities also played the role of catalysts for attractive societies and information exchange in business as well as tourism.

　With an aging population and a declining birthrate, Japan cannot hope to enjoy the same strong economic growth as in the past. Today, as individuals hold vast pools of financial assets totaling 1,400 trillion yen, we have one last chance to lay the foundations of a prosperous urban lifestyle for the future. Good quality social and the urban infrastructure stock we build today will serve as a firm groundwork for the mature society to come.

To revitalize and boost the attractiveness of urban centers, it is vital to consolidate small plots of land into larger parcels and to build high-rise buildings, while retaining and effectively increasing sufficient open space. Efficient land use should free up space for open green areas, thereby improve the urban environment, create compact, integrated high-rise cities which incorporate areas for work, housing, entertainment, education, caregiving, and relaxation.

　Efficient land use would double the space available to individuals for housing and daily activities, and they could, simultaineously, enjoy more free time by living closer to their work place. People could spend more time with their families or on hobbies or studying. This would help create more diverse lifestyles, stimulate new demand for consumption and services and invigorate urban-based development such as entertainment, culture, education, and information that will propel the Japanese economy in the future.

　Earthquake-resistant high-rise construction technology has made great strides in recent years, allowing safe buildings to be erected at a reasonable cost. In today's environmentally-conscious times, it is not sustainable nor acceptable to continue the custom of "scrap-and-build"over a relatively short time cycle which has long been widely accepted in Japanese cities.

　Now that buildings can be constructed to last 100 or 200 years, we also need to develop appropriate new attitudes to lving in such spaces. Rather than clinging to the traditional ideal of singlefamily homes on tiny lots, people will be able to enjoy higher standards of comfort if they choose to live in urban settings where facilities, open spaces and the total environment are shared efficiently.

All of the above is not simply a pipe dream, Through the Atago Green Hills and Roppongi Hills development projects, Mori Building Company. is currently engaged in works to put into actuality the "Urban New Deal Policy" I have just described.

　The Atago Green Hills project, scheduled for completion in October 2001, is designed to preserve the lush greenery of the historic Atagoyama Hills area. The mix-use complex harmoniously combines Seishoji, a Buddhist temple standing on the site, with twin high-rise buildings for office space and residences. Furthermore, Roppongi Hills, which is now under construction to be completed in spring 2003, is based on the concept of a "cultural heart for Tokyo." The complex is an integrated, mix-use development with a 54-story office building, 800 residency units, a panoramic art museum 200 meters above the ground, a hotel, cinema complex, retail shops, a broadcasting center and other urban amenities, and will also offer open spaces through the preservation of the gardens of the ancient daimyo (feudal lord) estate of the Mohri family.

　Each of these projects has been designed to make the optimum use of existing local features and offer a rich and varied urban living experience. The projects have been praised as genuine models of urban redevelopment, and we hope that they will provide the impetus for the creation of an affluent environment and fulfilling lifestyle in a comfortable urban setting.