Tokyo: Reinventing the modern Asian metropolis through adaptive strategies

Tokyo is a resilient metropolis that has reinvented itself after multiple disasters. The city's spatial pattern, institutions and governance, and its urban culture have sustained the growth and rebuilding of a densely built city with an extensive public transportation network, which can serve as a model for cities around the world. This chapter explores key transitional moments in the history of the city, focusing on the particular character of urban development and planning decisions. As the capital of the new Meiji government in the mid-19th century, Tokyo transformed rapidly. Public and private leaders introduced new industries and infrastructures and set up new government districts, effectively reinventing the city and ultimately turning it into one of the largest cities in the world and a global player. Twice destroyed in the 20th century by a major earthquake and the Second World War, the city's history and development in response to multiple disasters and challenges hold lessons for cities in Asia and worldwide in terms of employing adaptive strategies to nurture resilience and sustainable development.