Study on the Process of Realizing the Waterfront Recreational Spaces along the Canals in Tokyo Port

Abstract

The canals in Tokyo port were formed since Edo era,and were used as small vessel passage routes and the canal banks functioned as small landing places. Recently,water pollution in the canals increased leading to both sides of canals,changing to become to unsuitable places for civil living environments. The process of improvement of the canal environment and the prosess of the formation of the waterfront recreational spaces in the Minato area were sutudied and summarized in three stages. The first stage was the purification of the canal water by dredging and sand covering. These were the fundamentals for the waterfront recreational spaces. The second stage was the period that the planning of the waterfront recreational places became possible by the reconstruction of the inner embankments. The third stage was the construction of the promenades along the canal s and the waterfront recreational spaces by the public works and the private developments.