Springer Tokyo as a Global City: New Geographical Perspectives: 8 (International Perspectives in Geography, 8)

This book examines Tokyo’s changes, current challenges, and future trends through a new kind of regional geography and serves as an important source of comprehensive information about the past, present, and future perspectives of Tokyo as a global city. Regional geography relies on two main approaches. The traditional one addresses each geographical element of a region individually and in depth, in a descriptive and static manner. The other focuses on a region’s specific phenomena and realities as a starting point and proceeds to identify the region’s constituent elements and their interactions, which it records and explains in a systematic and dynamic manner. The present volume, unlike its predecessors, relies on the dynamic approach and endeavors to offer a fresh view of Tokyo’s new and diverse geographical realities, analyzed in a holistic, systematic manner allowing identification of its specific features. The book covers a broad range of topics including landform variations and volcanic activity, biodiversity concerns, transportation management, waste management, population issues, religious functions, and urban tourism, all of which facilitate understanding of the unique characteristics of Tokyo.  Extensive views from different fields of studies make the book a valuable reference to comprehend both the development of Tokyo into a global city and its sustainability. From the Back Cover This book examines Tokyo’s changes, current challenges, and future trends through a new kind of regional geography and serves as an important source of comprehensive information about the past, present, and future perspectives of Tokyo as a global city. Regional geography relies on two main approaches. The traditional one addresses each geographical element of a region individually and in depth, in a descriptive and static manner. The other focuses on a region’s specific phenomena and realities as a starting point and proceeds to identify the region’s constituent elements and their interactions, which it records and explains in a systematic and dynamic manner. The present volume, unlike its predecessors, relies on the dynamic approach and endeavors to offer a fresh view of Tokyo’s new and diverse geographical realities, analyzed in a holistic, systematic manner allowing identification of its specific features. The book covers a broad range of topics including landform variations and volcanic activity, biodiversity concerns, transportation management, waste management, population issues, religious functions, and urban tourism, all of which facilitate understanding of the unique characteristics of Tokyo.  Extensive views from different fields of studies make the book a valuable reference to comprehend both the development of Tokyo into a global city and its sustainability. About the Author Toshio KIKUCHI is a professor of geography and tourism science at the Graduate School of Urban Environmental Sciences, Tokyo Metropolitan University (TMU), Japan. He has been the leading organizer of the Department of Tourism Science at TMU since 2005 and the head of the department since 2016. He holds a doctorate in science from the Graduate School of Geoscience, the University of Tsukuba. He was an associate professor, Department of Geography, Gunma University (1984–1992), and an associate professor, Department of Geography, Graduate School of Science, TMU (1993– 2006), and he has been a professor in the Department of Tourism Science, TMU since 2007. He is a member of the Tourism Council and Eco-Top (Ecological Conservation Training of Personal Program) Committee of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government. He served as the chief editor of the Geographical Review of Japan from 2008 to 2012, the editor of the Journal of Geography (Chigaku Zasshi) from 2010 to 2016, and the chairperson of the Association of Japanese Geographers from 2015 to 2016. He received the Leading Professor Award at Tokyo Metropolitan