Abstract
Roads has important role in modern city planning due to as elements of the structure of the city and to comprehend the city for both dwellers and visitors. Although the traditional city planning of Japan has been using the methods that adapted to the conditions of the surroundings topography or history, the concept of modern city planning cannot explain such methods and its advantages enough. This paper aims to study about the influence to the actual city formation that was given by the appearance of the modern city planning and its road development. The study site is Shinobazu-Dori Street in Bunkyo, Tokyo, and its surrounding area which was the edge of Edo in the past until the modernization occurred through The Meiji-Taisho Era. This study used several maps from past to nowadays and the minute proceeding record of the meetings of Tokyo City Improvement Committee. Then this study found two evidences: First, before the concept of the beltway road system, a streetcar played a significant role in development of the modern road as the new transport facility; and the second, the actual influence of road development turned out to be different according to the topographical or historical condition.
