*This article is based on information as of February 2026.

1. The "Light" of Modern Urban Planning: Innovative Housing Policy in Weimar Germany

Modern urban planning techniques such as zoning and superblocks, which Jacobs would later criticize, were not originally designed to destroy cities. Their origins lie in solving the enormous urban problems of the 19th and early 20th centuries.

Mietskaserne (rented barracks) - misery and the spread of disease

Following the Industrial Revolution, large cities such as Berlin experienced a rapid population influx, resulting in the proliferation of high-density housing complexes for workers known as "Mietskaserne" (rented barracks). As noted in historical museum documents, these buildings were built in multiple layers around a courtyard, and compared to the front building (Vorderhaus) facing the main street, the rear building (Hinterhaus), which was set back, had significantly worse lighting, ventilation, and sanitary conditions. The overcrowded and unsanitary conditions of many workers crammed into one small room made it a life-threatening living environment where diseases, including various infectious diseases, could easily spread.

Article 155 of the Weimar Constitution and the Hauszinssteuer (Housing Interest Tax) financial scheme

In order to overcome this dire situation, the Weimar Constitution, enacted in 1919, clearly stated in Article 155, Paragraph 1, "To everyone healthy housing...", demonstrating the state's commitment to guaranteeing the living environment of its citizens.

What is particularly noteworthy here is the mechanism by which the funding was secured. The hyperinflation that hit Germany after World War I wreaked havoc on the economy, but it also had the by-product of essentially wiping out the mortgage debts of landlords who had borrowed money to build apartment buildings before the war. In 1924, the German government introduced the "Hauszinssteuer" (housing interest tax), which collected "unearned income"-like profits from property owners whose debts had essentially been wiped out by this inflation. This enormous tax revenue was then vigorously circulated as funds (low-interest loans, subordinated mortgages, etc.) for the construction of new public housing. This is an impressive example of successful urban policy through capital reallocation.

Light, air, sun, and the colors of Bruno Taut

Architects, who had ample funds, built one modern housing complex after another under the slogan of providing "light, air, and sunshine" to everyone. The concept of "Existenzminimum" (minimum dwelling), which functionally designs the minimum amount of space necessary for living, later became a global standard at CIAM (International Congress of Modern Architecture: held in Frankfurt in 1929, etc.). Also in the 1920s, Margarete Schütte-Lihotzky designed the "Frankfurt Kitchen," the origin of the modern system kitchen, which maximized the efficiency of circulation.

The Berlin Modernist Housing Estates (built mainly between 1910 and 1933), which are also registered as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, are the culmination of this era. Architect Bruno Taut, who later lived in Japan and praised Katsura Imperial Villa as "so beautiful it brings me to tears," was involved in the design of these housing estates (including the Hufeisensiedlung), introducing a "color scheme" that used vivid, contrasting colors on the exterior walls and interiors of large housing estates, which tended to be monotonous. These housing estates continue to function as homes for Berliners to this day.

▲ The Horseshoe Housing Estate (Hufeisen Siedlung) in Berlin, a UNESCO World Heritage Site that is still in operation today

2. The Transformation of Ideas and Jacobs' Counterattack: The New York LOMEX Project

Modern urban planning began with the lofty ideal of providing a hygienic environment for workers, but as time went on, it became linked to the spread of automobiles (motorization) and huge development capital, causing a major transformation in its nature. Zoning, which strictly divides cities into functions (residential, labor, and commercial), and top-down large-scale development (Urban Renewal) that connects these areas with highways, became mainstream in the United States after World War II.

Robert Moses' "Meat Cleaver"

In New York City, the man who pushed for this top-down development was Robert Moses, known as the "Master Builder." He boasted that "the only way to do business in an overcrowded city is to cut it open with a meat axe." He designated dilapidated urban areas as "slums" and used bulldozers to remove them (slum clearance), then replaced them with huge highways and impersonal high-rise housing complexes.

The LOMEX Project and Jacobs' "Four Principles"

One of Moses's biggest projects was the Lower Manhattan Expressway (LOMEX), a massive project to build a 10-lane elevated highway through southern Manhattan. If it had gone through, it would have divided what are now SoHo and Little Italy, physically destroying and eradicating 14 existing city blocks, and forcing thousands of residents and local businesses to move.

Jane Jacobs, a simple journalist living in Greenwich Village, responded by organizing a fierce opposition movement, arguing that "cities are not machines but complex, interconnected ecosystems." In her 1961 book, The Death and Life of Great American Cities, she sharply criticized the urban planning of the time and established four principles for maintaining vibrant and safe urban spaces.

The grassroots struggle led by Jacobs and others eventually generated enormous political pressure, and the LOMEX plan was miraculously scrapped in 1969. By putting her life on the line, she dramatically shifted the needle in the history of urban planning, from top-down "development" to bottom-up "urban development."

▲The area around Greenwich Village in New York that Jacobs successfully protected from massive highway development

3. Comparative Data: The Destructive Power and Evolution of Megaprojects

In order to accurately grasp the physical and economic impact that top-down development (urban renewal) derived from modernism has on cities, we compare data from past unfinished overseas projects (LOMEX) with a contemporary redevelopment example in Japan (Azabudai Hills). It is noteworthy that in modern times, the focus of development has evolved from "infrastructure supremacy" to "coexistence with nature and multi-functionality."

4. Reality and fact-check of housing conditions in Japan

Modernist architecture and Jacobs's theories, which originated in Europe and the United States, have been adopted in a unique way in Japan, resulting in modern urban development. Here, we will conduct a fact-check on the current state of public housing, which led Japan's postwar housing policy, and the lifespan of Japanese wooden houses, an issue that cannot be avoided when discussing modern urban development.

The reality of public housing in the 1950s: Were bathrooms standard equipment?

The Japan Housing Corporation, established in 1955 to alleviate the serious housing shortage after the war, established the modern lifestyle of "separating eating and sleeping areas (introducing the dining and kitchen = DK)" in urban Japanese life. This groundbreaking "2DK" floor plan was heavily influenced by European modernism, such as the Frankfurt Kitchen mentioned above.

However, it's important to be wary of popular myths about the living environment of the time. According to a paper by the Architectural Institute of Japan (analysis in 2025, etc.), the estimated floor area of public housing and public corporation housing in the 1950s, such as the public corporation's "55-4N-2DK" type, was approximately 35.16 m2. The paper points out that the simple myth that "public corporation housing was 3.3 sq. m. larger than public housing, and used that space to add a dining room, kitchen, and bathroom" needs to be reconsidered. The fact is that there was a clear distinction between "bathroom availability" and "non-availability" depending on the type of housing unit at the time (e.g., the 54C-1 type had a bathroom), and bathrooms were not uniformly installed in a specific proportion across all housing complexes at the time; rather, various prototypes were trial and error.

Fact Check: Is it true that Japanese wooden houses only last 30 years?

In Japan's urban development, one of the most frequently cited factors preventing the utilization of existing stock (old buildings) is that "Japanese wooden houses have a short lifespan of about 30 years, and will soon require scrap-and-build (rebuilding)." However, this statement contains a serious misunderstanding due to a mix-up of statistical data.

According to frequently cited analyses such as data from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, the average age of houses demolished between 2008 and 2013 was about 32.1 years. However, this is onlyAge at time of dismembermentand the physical structure of the building."lifespan"It's not that.

Jacobs argued that "old buildings are important infrastructure for nurturing new ideas." Japan's scrap-and-build mentality, in which buildings are demolished after just over 30 years for social reasons despite their physical lifespan of nearly 70 years, can be said to be destroying the "urban margins (diverse rent ranges)" that allow entrepreneurs and cultural figures to start their activities at low cost.

5. Application to local cities: A practical approach in Toyako Town, Hokkaido

Jacobs's concepts of "the value of old buildings" and "maintaining diversity," which we have looked at so far, are also powerful prescriptions for Japan's regional cities, which are facing population decline. For example, let's consider Toyako Town in Hokkaido, which has abundant tourism resources and an agricultural base, as a model.

Moving away from scrap-and-build and diversifying investments in the "bathing tax"

An analysis of Toyako Town's urban development plan points out that one of its challenges is the "weak connections between key industries such as agriculture, fisheries, and tourism." This means that the interactions within the ecosystem are being disrupted. At the same time, the town is experiencing an increase in vacant houses and stores that have been abandoned before their lifespan is over.

Rather than relying on top-down development where the local government borrows heavily to build huge new facilities (such as tourist centers), it is important to renovate and utilize the existing vacant houses scattered throughout the town as a network.Toyako Town has a powerful independent source of revenue, namely the "bathing tax," which generates approximately 124.35 million yen per year (as of the fiscal year ending March 2022 settlement) due to inbound demand and other factors.

Part of this strong cash flow should be diversified and invested not just in infrastructure maintenance, but also in things like "subsidies for entrepreneurs to renovate vacant houses." Infusing new functions (mixed-use) into old stock that still has a physical lifespan is Jacobs' way of rebuilding a resilient local economy.

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