Asiatikistic Tokyo, Asiatikistic Manila?

Metro Manila, as it appears in 2010- the picture still doesn't show the delirious construction boom of the last three years which saw supertalls being built, but it provides a good appreciation of the multi-centric organization of the metropolis

All projections point to Asia being the next fulcrum of the world, the so-called Asian Century. It may come as early as 2016 when China is predicted by OECD to become the world's richest economy (PPP). Japan has become the sole catalyst of the region for sometime now, but predictions by credible economists point to many countries leapfrogging ahead this time around. The region is already home to the world's biggest metropolises. It is fascinating to watch how these mega-urbes are adapting to the changing times. Just with their populations alone, they are throwing European models out of the window-  and, admittedly or not, are following the Japanese which designed Tokyo their way and won. Tokyo, a multi-centric congested city with mostly narrow streets, developed instead into the most modern giant urbe in the world, crisscrossed by futuristic overhead highways & railroads which connected its multiple virtually co-equal centers (Chiyoda-Marunouchi-Ginza, Shibuya, Shinjuku, Shinagawa, etc.), a blueprint actually followed most assiduously, inadvertently or otherwise, by the supposed to be American-style Manila (American-style CBD's but in reality, a Tokyoite multi-CBD organization of the city), and to a lesser extent (fewer centers but just as congested) Jakarta, Bangkok, the Chinese cities, etc. Though Bangkok was the first Southeast Asian city to copy an extensive Tokyo-style ribbon of elevated expressways that connected its airport to the center & beyond, with an airport link of the Skytrain to boot, while in Manila, the airport monorail is still being debated. It should be noted here that the Manila monorail will give the right first impression to the city because it will pass through a really spectacular scenery: the skyscrapers of the Fort framed in by skyscrapers of Makati on the left and by the skyscrapers of Ortigas just up ahead, with a spectacular lake to the right ( Manila should start thinking of "iconic" views now to make its mark & that monorail ride will provide it). In its evolution, Manila has been consciously eyeing its neighbor Hongkong (but due to narrow geographical features of the latter, it would not really be wise) or  LA (also spread-out but Manila has had far more skyscrapers than LA long ago) but as we'll prove in this blog, the evolution of a multi-centric, spread-out Manila mirrors more the evolution of Tokyo.

Tokyo itself is actually a collection of cities which call themselves wards (the 23 wards have their own councils) like Shinjuku, Shibuya, etc. Just like Metro Manila (the Tokyo Metropolitan area includes the wards of Tokyo and nearby areas of the Kanto region like Chiba, Saitama, Yokohama, etc, forming the wealthiest region of the world with a nominal GDP of $1.9 trillion). Tokyo doesn't have broad ground-level boulevards that connect the eastern Taito direct to the western Setagaya, but no problem, they just built elevated metropolitan expressways which were faster, more comfortable & scenic anyway (besides being futuristic, if you may). Typical Japanese: it improved on its deficits, instead of being limited by accepted theories from elsewhere & its style degraded by wishful thinking.

Tokyo's many CBD's are connected at ground level by relatively narrow boulevards (Meiji Dori, that connects Shibuya to Shinjuku & Ikebukuro is mostly two-lane, while Aoyama Dori which connects Chiyoda to Shibuya is mostly four-lane) but lined them with impressively designed medium-to-high rises which are not only impressive on the streets themselves but especially from the elevated expressways & railways. Right now, the modern, First-World CBD's of Manila are connected by what tourists call as slums especially around the southern Pasay & Paco areas which tourists have to traverse in getting to the sights in the coastal Manila area (less eyesore in going to the north, actually impressive). Developments should be encouraged along Buendia Avenue, which connects Makati to Manila, where the Pasay portion belongs more in a Mindanao provincial city for its rundown & topsy-turvy appearance than in a capital city.

 This blog is a logbook of my fascination with the changing face of the exploding Asian mega-urbes. Mostly, it will follow Manila, the second richest capital in Southeast Asia (but predicted to be the richest by 2020 , with Manila & Jakarta overtaking Singapore) & Tokyo (my ideal Asian metropolis), but we'll cover everybody else, especially  the fulcrum of the region itself, China.

Introducing Manila

clip by tkdwarrior2

Below are the biggest CBD's of MetroManila