
Plan for Tokyo in 1960
- Masterplan
- Mixed Development
- infrastructure
- transit system
Kenzo Tange’s Plan for Tokyo 1960 was a visionary proposal aimed at addressing the unprecedented challenges facing Tokyo. By the late 1950s, Tokyo was experiencing rapid economic expansion and urbanization, driven by Japan’s post-war economic miracle. The metropolitan area faced issues of population growth, and the limitations of existing infrastructure. To address these issues, Tange proposed an ambitious 18-kilometer linear megastructure extending into Tokyo Bay, designed to accommodate 5 million additional residents and alleviate pressure on the city’s existing population of 10 million. Inspired by traditional Japanese urban design and modernist influences, Tange's Plan for Tokyo aimed to redefine urban development by shifting from a traditional radial system to a linear model that could accommodate future growth. With the principles of Metabolism—a movement that emphasized organic growth and modular expansion—Tange's plan sought to reconceptualize Tokyo as an expandable and adaptable urban system that could evolve over time to meet the needs of its residents and industries, such as the concept of “artificial land” along the bay which provides new spaces for development while alleviating pressure on the existing urban setting. By extending the city over water, the plan addressed Tokyo’s land shortage while introducing a clearly organized spatial structure that integrated architecture, infrastructure, and social vision. Although never realized, Tange’s proposal brings a new order and new meaning to the potential of large-scale, forward-thinking master planning.
Project Leads
- Kenzo Tange
Organizations
- URTEC (Urbanists and Architects Team)
- Japanese Ministry of Construction
Stages
- Schematic Design
- Design Development
- Planning


Site

Typology
Urban adaptation, infrastructure, transportation networksLand use type
Mixed UseSize
618,000 acres (Planned area)Population/density
16.2 people per acre (In the late 1960s)Community Infrastructure
- public transportation
- physical mobility