Urbanization is occurring at an unprecedented pace around the world. Cities that expand without proper regulatory frameworks or planning often end up with exacerbated urban challenges, including deteriorating living conditions, and become increasingly vulnerable to disasters.
To address these challenges that emerge from urbanization, World Bank Tokyo Development Learning Center (TDLC) launched the City Partnership Program (CPP) in 2016. The objective of CPP is to leverage Japanese cities’ knowledge and cutting-edge technologies to accelerate urban development projects in developing countries. Six Japanese cities (Toyama, Kitakyushu, Kyoto, Kobe, Fukuoka, Yokohama) currently partner with TDLC to share their knowledge and experiences with developing countries.
As part of CPP, Toyama City and TDLC co-published a case study in 2017 titled “Development Knowledge of Toyama City,” which summarizes the city’s urban development initiatives under its compact city policy. This year, a second case study, titled “The Development Story of Toyama,” was released.
In this event, Mayor Masashi Mori and other key policy administrators of Toyama City unpacked their difficult journey towards transforming into a compact city, and discussed how Japan’s compact city development approach could be applied to developing countries.