The Legacy of the Waternetwork from the Past: Characteristics and Types of the Covered Waterways in Tokyo

Abstract

Edo was once a city of water and everyday life was intertwined with its rich water network. Unfortunately, the connection with water was lost due to the rapid urban growth of the city and now most of the local scale water streams in Tokyo are culverted. They have turned into green streets and their tributaries into narrow pathways. The objective of this study is to trace the covered waterways in the broader network of the blue and green infrastructure of the city and to catalogue them in accordance with their different features like design and usage. In the first part, analysis is done on the legacy of the urban streams from Edo to Tokyo. Furthermore, the methodology and the results of the research are presented, showing a map of the covered waterways and their classification. For this reason, two different scales of the linear elements are assessed. The findings show that, based on a short section, considering the width and landscape design, there are four groups of types of which three are covered kind of types. Based on assessing a few hundred meters long segment, there and five groups of types based on their primary usage each having two sub-types except for the last that has only one. According to the results a conclusion is drawn that today most of the covered streams in the city have some commonalities in their design and how people use the space. Typically, the route of most of those ancient streams is accompanied by endless kilometers of pedestrian and cycling paths regarded as ''green ways''. Together they form a rich network spreading throughout the city. They represent inclusive public spaces that plays a vital part in strengthening communities and need further research.