The growth paradigm and the shrinking cities. Tokyo Case Study

Abstract

Post-Fordist production systems, defined by flexible and delocalized production, brought in a shift in the geography of production. In consequence, a new dynamic in urbanization processes was forged affecting many cities across the world culminating in two -a priori- antagonistic types of cities: shrinking cities and global cities There is controversy in the definition of Tokyo, as some academic research point out the existence of the shrinking process whilst the city is consistently ranked at the forefront position within the global cities. Organized as a case study, this research analyses the city trajectory in order to shed light into the process taking place. The investigation shows the presence of a simultaneous, uneven process of growth and de-growth, well differentiated from city shrinkage as the negative implications of decline and failure are not present.