Understand Kyoto - Kyoto - page 338

Preservation Versus Development
In the last few decades, Kyoto has been gripped by a fierce debate: whether to preserve its
traditional cityscape or to demolish it and put up modern buildings. Many city residents
and politicians would love to turn Kyoto into a contemporary city like Tokyo or Osaka. In
contrast, many Japanese and foreign tourists would prefer that Kyoto remain a kind of liv-
ing museum for Japan's cultural heritage.
A new wrinkle has been added to the debate since the global financial crisis of 2008.
While Western economies were slammed by the crisis, the Chinese economy kept right on
growing. City leaders, hoping to cash in, announced plans to develop the city to appeal to
Chinese tourists. Most controversially, the city started construction of an aquarium in
Kyoto's Umekōji-kōen in 2010. Critics pointed out that Kyoto is not a maritime city and
argued that the city should build attractions that highlight the city's cultural traditions.
They said that Chinese tourists flock to the city's traditional attractions and can easily find
a larger aquarium in nearby Osaka. Still, construction on the aquarium continues.
Moving in the Right Direction
Fortunately, there are grassroots and political forces working to preserve the city and to
develop it in creative ways that celebrate its past. The city government recently enacted a
law that places height restrictions on new buildings. It has also restricted large and intrus-
ive billboards and neon signs (something you will surely appreciate if you've seen what
parts of Tokyo look like).
Better still, there are moves afoot to turn parts of the central Downtown area into
pedestrian-only zones during the daytime and early evening. In addition, the city has
banned outdoor smoking around Kyoto Station, in the Downtown shopping district and in
much of the Southern Higashiyama sightseeing district.
Perhaps the most welcome trend in the city is the so-called ' machiya boom,' in which
traditional Kyoto townhouses are being converted into extremely atmospheric restaurants,
cafes, bars and shops. If these machiya businesses succeed, it may stem the loss of the
lovely traditional structures, a few of which are carted away each day in the back of a
truck to be dumped into a landfill on the outskirts of the city.