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Introduction
Nowhere in the world can one find railway station complexes as large as in Japan. The railways themselves play a central role in urban transportation in Japanese cities, connecting suburb to centre, and city to city. The urbanization that Japan experienced in the twentieth century was accompanied by rapid development of the railway network within urban regions. At the same time, Japanese city centres were deeply affected by railway station development and redevelopment (Onishi, 1994).
Transit-oriented development (TOD) in Japan is a fundamental characteristic of all central city urban development, and is almost exclusively rail-based and specifically not intermodal. TOD refers to the land use characteristics of areas where transit is being promoted (Dittmar and Ohland, 2004; Lund et al , 2004). Higher density development and mixed land uses have been used in North America and elsewhere to promote public transit use. TODs in North America typically combine road-based transportation and one or more forms of public transit. After the Second World War, the railway became one of the most important tools for development in Japan, particularly in the context of a weak planning system (Sorensen, 2002). As a result of suburbanization with relatively undeveloped road infrastructure, commuting by train and subway became the most effective way to travel for most people who live in the suburbs and work in city centres. This urban spatial development created unprecedented demand for railway services, which were then met by the railway companies. In the late 1990s, the train line density was 1.01 km of line for every square kilometre with 86 per cent of all travel in Tokyo by rail. The comparable figures were respectively 0.74 km/km2 and 65 per cent in London and Paris, and 0.41 km/km2 and 61 per cent in New York (Focas, 1998). In spite of the large part of the travel market occupied by the railway and the intensity of the operations, the companies are involved in much more than rail operations. Since 2000, railway station redevelopment has become one of the most significant new urban regeneration programmes underway in major Japanese cities. The stations and adjacent railway properties are undergoing physical transformation to accommodate new urban functions and to enhance the passengers' travel experience. The surrounding neighbourhoods...