Discover Tomorrow: Tokyo 2020

OlympicTokyoSo Tokyo will host the 2020 Olympic Games.

Thatis the second time for the Japanese capital city to win the bid. In 1964, the Tokyo Olympic Games was held for the first in Asia. At that time, Japan was improving its infrastructures and launched the famous “Shinkansen” bullet train.  The Olympics boosted Tokyo’s urban development with the opening of new highways and metro lines1.

The 2020 Games will not have the same objectives since the city has already the necessary infrastructures2.

We can argue that they will not be as impressive as the 2008 Games.  Beijing’s Games have transformed the city giving new landmarks to the city with the “Bird’s nest” or the “Water cube”. That is not what is planned in the case of Tokyo. The priority will be to give back its global status to Tokyo3 and also to experiment new ideas to make the city even greener.

The 2020 Games will be hosted in the city center of Tokyo, in one of the most urbanised country; we can sincerely hope that in addition to new athlectic records, we will also witness the birth of new sustainable urban models.

  1. Essex, Stephen and Brian Chalkley (2003), Urban transformation from hosting the Olympic Games, University lecture on the Olympics . Barcelona, Centre d’Estudis Olímpics (UAB). International Chair in Olympism (IOC-UAB), http://olympicstudies.uab.es/lectures/web/pdf/essex.pdf accessed September 13, 2013. []
  2. Smith, Austin (2013, July 3). Tokyo 2020: the urban legacy of Tokyo 1964, GaijinPot, http://injapan.gaijinpot.com/live/news-live/2013/07/03/tokyo-2020-the-urban-legacy-of-tokyo-1964/ (accessed September 13, 2013. []
  3. Acuto, Michele (2013, September 8); The Olympics go downtown for Tokyo 2020, The Conversation, http://theconversation.com/the-olympics-go-downtown-for-tokyo-2020-17905, accessed September 13, 2013. []

Sebastien Goulard

Ph.D. in political science (EHESS, Paris); M.A. in social sciences (EHESS, Paris); M.A. in international relations (IRIS, Paris), B.A. (Hons) in international political studies (ESE - Nottingham Trent University)

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OpenEdition suggests that you cite this post as follows:
Sebastien Goulard (September 16, 2013). Discover Tomorrow: Tokyo 2020. URBACHINA. Retrieved February 12, 2025 from https://doi.org/10.58079/v2jx


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