Urban Development Strategy and Project Management:Challenge of Minato Mirai 21

From Authors:　Hiroshi Kishida, Morio Udsuki

Urban development projects must be carried out in an integrated way on the basis of an explicit development strategy and a detailed plan. MinatoMirai21 is a proto type for urban development projects and has the potential to become a universal standard for these carried out elsewhere in the world. The features of this book are as follows. First, we have endeavored to present not a partial but a complete image of the development project. Second, we seek to provide a clear understanding through illustration of the book with plans and photos. Third, the authors have sought to provide technical evaluations of particular aspects of the plan and their use in practice. Fourth, there is a focus on continuous, dynamic, multi-dimensional project management. It should be possible for the reader to derive a clear overall image of the project and its aims, and a detailed understanding of each aspect of the project management process. It gives us great pleasure to publish this mature translation by Mr. John Blakeney who was worked closely with Hiroshi Kishida to ensure it conveys the meaning of the Japanese original.

Biographical Notes

Hiroshi Kishida was born in 1945 in Chiba Prefecture, Japan. Having graduated in Architecture from Waseda University he went on to study for a Master’s Degree at the University of Tokyo. In 1969 he began work in the Yokohama City Government where he built up experience in many fields of urban planning including: land use planning, new town development, urban redevelopment and urban design; he has also attained a professional qualification as an engineer in the construction field. He finished his career with the city government as section chief for the urban planning section and director of community development law. For 4 years from 2005 he was an official in Yokohama Minato Mirai 21 Corporation, responsible for area management in the Minato Mirai 21 district. From 2007 he taught a course in Project Management at the School of Art and Architecture at Waseda University. He has been a Senior Visiting Research Fellow and a Senior Advisor to the United Nations University Institute of Advanced Studies since 2009. His previous publications are “Safety and Renewal in Urban Development” (joint author, published by Gakugei Publishers, 1999) and “Urban Planning and Regional Decentralization” (joint author, published by Gakugei Publishers, 2000). (Chapters 1-3).

Morio Udsuki was born in Tokyo, Japan in 1953. He is an architect and urban designer. He graduated from Waseda University where he also completed a Master’s Degree. He studied abroad at the University of Stuttgart in former West Germany before working in the Urban Planning Offices in Stuttgart and Hanover. He also headed the Setagaya Ward Urban Design Office and Setagaya Community Development Center before taking up his present post as Professor of Design in the School of Art and Architecture at Waseda University. He also holds a PhD in Engineering. His publications include “Community Development and the Revision of City Centre Revitalization Law” (Chushin Shigaichi Kasseika Sanpo Kaisei to Machizukuri) (join author, Gakugei Publishers), and “Group Homes with a Courtyard for Elderly People” (Ninchisho Konensha, Nakaniwa no aru Gurupu Homu) (Editor, Hobunsha Publishers). (Chapter 4).

John Blakeney was born in Dublin, Ireland in 1982. He graduated in Geography from Trinity College, Dublin before moving to Kyoto, Japan as a participant on the Japanese Government run JET Program in 2006. He lived, worked and studied in the country for the following 5 years, devoting much of his time to study of the Japanese language. He also spent 2 years conducting research for a Master’s Degree in Urban Planning at the University of Tokyo on urban regeneration policy and practice in Yokohama City Center through which he became involved in this project. (Translator).