Land Use Planning and Conservation Policy in the Tokyo Metropolitan Area

Tokyo has witnessed rapid growth and dramatic socio-economic transformation in the last half-century. The most remarkable changes in land use have taken place in suburban municipalities, where agricultural and natural land continue to be converted to residential and industrial uses, often without comprehensive planning. This chapter qualitatively explores land use changes in the Tokyo Metropolitan Area (TMA) by analyzing policies, discussing the institutional features, including flexibility and possible loopholes, and socio-economic context behind changes of land use. And, this chapter calls for an evolution of land use planning and land resource conservation system geared more toward adaptive and sustainable urbanization.