Liveable Cities in Japan: Population Ageing and Decline as Vectors of Change

The challenge of creating liveable cities is emerging as a major policy priority around the world. Globalization, the emerging network society, increasing mobility, and the environmental, economic, health and social imperatives to create more sustainable and liveable cities have combined to increase pressures, primarily on local governments and actors to reinvigorate urban governance, urban planning and urban design. One essential aspect of this project is the improvement and vitalization of urban spaces. In this regard, Japan has significant challenges, stemming from its distinctive history of urban space management, its low proportion of public space in cities, and its aging and imminently shrinking population. At the same time, however, Japan has important opportunities and strengths stemming from its legacies of urban built form, the exceptional vigour of its place-based communities, and its rapidly aging and imminently shrinking population. This paper explores some of the opportunities and challenges facing attempts to build more liveable cities in Japan.