Tokyo Gaien redevelopment under review amid conservation protest

The new plan could see more than 120 trees, which are three meters or taller, saved.

Sounds like a win-win.

We currently have five stadiums/grounds crammed in that limited downtown space. Does that area really need five stadiums/grounds?

The proposed plan seems best, i.e., to transition to three stadiums/grounds (which still seems like a lot), thus increasing open space and greenery percentage, while preserving the vista of Yoyogi’s ginkgo-lined street and limiting the height of buildings around those trees.

We currently have five stadiums/grounds crammed in that limited downtown space. Does that area really need five stadiums/grounds?

Of course it does. When they bid for the next Olympics, or international events like expos, etc they can say they have all of the "enviornmentally friendly" modern facilities that meet strict C02 minimal emission output requirements already in place and that preparation will cause no destruction the environment or disrupt local people's lives.

if you want trees go to Niigata, this is Tokyo

@tora

”…preparation will cause no destruction the environment or disrupt local people's lives.”

You obviously have never lived nearby any on e of these major constructions. I agree with Kazuko, Aoyama jingu gaien is one of the most beautiful spots during the fall foliage season and I do hope the trees can be saved.

> You obviously have never lived nearby any on e of these major constructions. I agree with Kazuko, Aoyama jingu gaien is one of the most beautiful spots [SNIP]

I guess my post was a failed attempt at sarcasm.

Dango bongToday  07:54 am JST

if you want trees go to Niigata, this is Tokyo

I hope this is sarcasm too. By now we all know what a difference greenery makes to the heat and so on during summer.

I know next to nothing about this development but the ones in the photo are some weird shaped trees.

That's not the natural shape of a gingko. Is there a reason they are pruned into such a strange shape? Extreme pruning is common in Japanese cities, but its normally "butcher it top to bottom", not "leave it wide at the bottom but make it tall and super pointy".

It is a good plan. Lets move forward with it.

That's not the natural shape of a gingko. Is there a reason they are pruned into such a strange shape? Extreme pruning is common in Japanese cities, but its normally "butcher it top to bottom", not "leave it wide at the bottom but make it tall and super pointy".

Stop hacking the existing ginkgo tree every two years with stick trunks. How much money would the city save? Leave their canopy alone if you want fresh air.

Jingu Stadium is historic, like Koshien. It should be renovated, not demolished and replaced.

The other stadiums and grounds there don't have the same significance, and as such, can be demoed and replaced.

Of course, all of the trees of Ginkgo Avenue should be preserved in place.

A quick google came up with a report on how the trees are pruned. Its done on purpose to produce "healthy growth and preserve the beautiful vista of the avenue".

樹木の健やかな生長を助け、美しい並木の景観が保たれているのです。

http://www.meijijingugaien.jp/gaien-news/2011/012436.html

I fully agree with anyone saying the city needs more greenery and understand the desire to protect what greenery there is. Just my opinion/taste, but the above photo looks like what you might do with mini conifers in a hyper formal French garden like Versailles. It looks weird on this scale and in this context. The link shows the trees from 2011, and the taller and pointier they get, the worse it looks to me.

Excellent. Win for the protesters. Keep the trees.

while preserving the vista of Yoyogi’s ginkgo-lined street 

Kazuko@ If you think Jingu Gaien is the same place as Yoyogi, you're obviously not from Tokyo. They are completely different places, quite a long ways apart!

Japanese see no value in having street trees, haven't you noticed. They love the sweltering heat and lack of shade. Give me concrete and bitumen any day I hear them say.

Whenever this story comes up, it brings to mind a comment made by a “Nihon Tora” here last year(?) regarding the green open space in Tokyo only being 7.4%, compared to New York, Seoul and London. (27%;27.9% and 33%). I am pleased that the developers seem to have had a change of heart.

Seoul probably only has green space because there is a mountain in the middle of the city. There is a tower you can visit at the top of it. Seoul has the world's most high rise buildings, and is super built up, way more than Tokyo.

Kobe is the same, with lots of green space which is actually mountains. This should not be confused with a city with lots of flat green space which has been saved from development, like NYC, London, or the green city that impressed me most in Japan, Mito in Ibaraki.

It does seem that developers and constructionists are at war with trees. Even disregarding the atmosphere, some places have tree that are beautiful or favorites of people or even somewhat sacred. Building around the trees seems like a good solution. Make the things being constructed adapt to the trees. If it can't be done where they are, build somewhere else.