Gray, Nolan. “Why Is Japanese Zoning More Liberal Than US Zoning?” Market Urbanism, 19 March 2019, https://marketurbanism.com/2019/03/19/why-is-japanese-zoning-more-liberal-than-us-zoning/Links to an external site.. Accessed 1 November 2024. 

The article examines Japan’s zoning system compared to the United States, focusing on the features behind Japan’s more liberal, inclusive approach. In Japan, zoning laws allow more as-of-right development, meaning most property types (such as mixed-use and residential), can coexist across various zones without extensive permitting or special local restrictions, given they comply with the rest of the zoning code. The zoning system itself is determined at a national level, which is already quite a significant difference from America’s multitude of potentially excessive zoning codes per local municipality. Furthermore, Japan’s zoning system has only 12 zoning categories, each accommodating a wide range of uses, allowing a variety of residential, commercial, and industrial buildings to coexist within the same area. 

This zoning approach contrasts sharply with the U.S., where zoning laws often restrict development to preserve neighborhood character or limit density. The article attributes Japan’s flexibility to a system of national standards that reduce local interference, promoting affordability and diversity in urban housing by simplifying approval for projects of all sizes. The author’s analysis suggests that the U.S. zoning system’s complexity and local control contribute to a more exclusionary, segregated housing market. U.S. property owners and local governments tend to prefer restrictive zoning to protect property values and neighborhood aesthetics, often resulting in suburban sprawl, high housing costs, and limited mixed-use options. In comparison, Japan’s zoning encourages compact growth and reduces bureaucratic obstacles, leading to a more dynamic urban environment with fewer barriers for property development and business operation.

Particularly interesting is the effect this land use system has on the housing market. Bertaud writes about how overly-restrictive regulations like zoning might hinder market forces unnecessarily, but the liberal nature of the Japanese zoning system allows for a flexibility to meet housing demand and even perhaps over-supply it (housing is permitted for development in all but the one industrial-exclusive zone). Abundant housing has the effect of lowering the cost of housing, and housing is abundant in part due to the zoning conditions (the process of developing is much more expeditious in Japan because there aren’t nearly as many restrictions as there are in America). According to the book Emergent Tokyo, Japan doesn’t even really have limits on the subdivision of parcels, with the only exception being a regulation that requires a two-meter access path for entry from the street. This means that lots can often be divided to be quite small and still be available for development, further decreasing building cost and increasing density.

Japan's urban planning prioritizes high-density housing to adapt to limited space and a longstanding preference for compact urban living, but aside from mentioning the downsides that allow for the possibility of these regulatory conditions (high taxes and a xenophobic immigration policy) the article didn’t mention the potential downsides to such a regulatory arrangement in practice, such as challenges related to noise, privacy, or property value concerns that may arise with such flexible zoning. The author has advocated elsewhere for the abolition of zoning, by which he may be underestimating some benefits of U.S. local zoning controls (which can help preserve green spaces and restrict development in ecologically sensitive areas, for example). Japan’s lack of restrictions might lead it to rely more on Privately Owned Public Spaces (POPS) as a market-driven solution for maintaining some green space in the city. Despite these areas for deeper exploration, the article provides a compelling look at how Japan’s minimalist approach to zoning aligns with efficient urban environments and meaningfully contrasts with Western zoning practices that often prioritize rigid land-use control over flexibility and density. 

Other sources:
Almazán, Jorge, and Studiolab. Emergent Tokyo: Designing the Spontaneous City. ORO, 2022.

Bell, Austin. “Filling In the Missing Middle: Lessons From Japanese Residential Zoning.” The Urbanist, 25 October 2016, https://www.theurbanist.org/2016/10/25/filling-in-the-missing-middle/. Accessed 8 November 2024.

Gray, M. Nolan. Arbitrary Lines: How Zoning Broke the American City and How to Fix It. Island Press, 2022.“Japanese zoning.”

‍Urban kchoze, 6 April 2014, https://urbankchoze.blogspot.com/2014/04/japanese-zoning.html. Accessed 8 November 2024.

Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport. Urban Land Use Planning System in Japan. Outline of City Planning System Urbanization Promotion/Control Area Land Use Zone and Regulation Building Control Incentive System District Plan. January 2003, Tokyo, Japan, https://www.mlit.go.jp/common/001050453.pdf. Accessed 1 November 2024.

Sandra. “How Japan does city planning by not doing city planning?” Hapa's Japan, 15 October 2021, https://hapasjapan.com/zoning/. Accessed 8 November 2024.

‍(Youtube video) Why Japan Looks the Way it Does: Zoning.