An interesting article about how the program to reduce the old neighbourhoods with wooden houses and replace them with more modern, less easily burnable, buildings.
I always felt sad when an old fashioned building disappeared but in the end it is for the good, though I kind of wish they could keep the character of the neighbourhood a little more by using more traditional style but built in a less flammable way.
Not only Tokyo, but I think Kyoto will suffer from this too as some of them more traditional streets may have to be rebuilt and might already be under some kind of compulsory purchase order from the government. I.e. if an old building is sold, only the government can buy it. They do this to ensure that the small plot is not rebuilt but are be merged with the next plot to at least make a fire break around the new building. I wonder what they are doing regarding protecting the character of the tourist areas.
by stuartcw