Compact City and Mayoral Entrepreneurship
A Study of Success and Setbacks in Two Japanese Cities
Yasuo Takao (Curtin University)
Controlling urban sprawl is one of the paramount challenges confronting cities worldwide. Examining the experiences of Aomori City and Toyama City in Japan, I find that the transition to compact urbanization in Japanese municipalities primarily stems from the innovative efforts of individuals or groups shaping policies. I contend that this accomplishment is chiefly due to adept local mayors with the acumen to address specific local needs. The “compact city” is one of the key responses of urban policy for tackling the pressing challenges that cities are facing, such as environmental sustainability, economic viability, and social cohesion. Nonetheless, understanding Japan's compact city policies requires considering the historical trajectories of past events and decisions made by policymakers.
Japan's experience highlights policymakers’ utilization of the compact city concept as a tool for regional city revitalization. This trend is unlike those in Western countries, where it's primarily seen as suitable for major cities like Melbourne, Vancouver, and Paris aiming to mitigate environmental impacts and enhance quality of life. By 2020, approximately 12% of Japan's 1,700 municipalities had adopted a compact urban plan guided by national policy. While most municipalities followed this trend to seek national subsidies, some, such as Aomori and Toyama, pioneered localized policy models.
The authority of Japan's local mayors is notably robust compared to their counterparts. In Japan's local government system, mayors possess exclusive rights to propose budgets and bylaws, while the assembly holds decision-making authority. This practice grants mayors significant influence. To address urban sprawl and ensure the accessibility and mobility of local community members, variables such as increasing demands, available resources, and geographical context intersect with compact city policy choices. However, the decision-making processes behind concrete policy outcomes remain unclear. This article argues that municipal governments serve as strategic intermediaries between national administration, local communities, and various stakeholders' interests.
A significant finding is understanding the role of mayors as intermediate agents who connect local knowledge and needs to national policy and foster collaboration among city departments. When equipped with relevant policy expertise, mayors play a pivotal role in shaping policy agendas and coordinating responses to urban challenges. However, despite the importance of mayoral leadership, most local governments affected by urban sprawl in Japan do not actively pursue compact city development. Therefore, mayors' expertise, drive, and exercise of discretionary power, along with their beliefs in policy coordination, are critical to addressing urban challenges.
Aomori's plan and Toyama's model represent two contrasting approaches to urban development. Aomori's plan followed a monocentric pattern, with a single central urban pole drawing in businesses and people from the surrounding areas. This was expected to create a concentration of economic activity and population in the city center and lead to the migration of people from the periphery towards this central hub. On the other hand, Toyama's model adopted a polycentric approach, which is characterized by the presence of multiple urban centers or hubs spread across the region. Each hub was designed to be walkable, complete with its own amenities and residential areas. These hubs are connected through a public transit system, which allows for more efficient movement between them. Another notable difference between Aomori City and Toyama City lies in their mayors' respective entrepreneurial styles: Aomori City's mayor favored regulatory control, while Toyama City's mayor adopted an incentive-based approach. Toyama's use of financial incentives positively motivated residents and businesses, therefore highlighting the importance of citizen willingness to compact city implementation.
By transforming policy initiatives into actionable decisions, mayors leverage resources such as staff support, national subsidies, media coverage, and the support of local assemblies. In this study, citizen consent was crucial for effective implementation, which emphasizes the importance of engaging affected communities in policy decision-making. This observation leads to my assertion that the successful implementation of compact city policy largely depends on the affected citizens’ willingness to move into targeted areas. Understanding the impact of mayoral entrepreneurship requires a consideration of specific local conditions such as existing political structures and what unique opportunities exist across policy areas. Further research is essential for a deeper understanding of how mayoral entrepreneurship shapes compact city development and its broader implications globally.
Yasuo Takao is a political scientist in the research areas of comparative politics and international relations with the geographical emphasis of Northeast Asia and the United States. His research interests include aging populations and post-growth societies, gender equality, intergenerational equity, immigration policy and low carbon leadership. His written works include National Integration and Local Power in Japan (Routledge, 2020), Japan's Environmental Politics and Governance: From Trading Nation to Eco-Nation (Routledge 2016), and Reinventing Japan: From Merchant Nation to Civic Nation (Palgrave Macmillan 2007).