Before the Master Plan: Architecture as Cultural Hypothesis for Shinagawa Ura, Tokyo

Harvard GSD

Over the past two decades, a sameness has emerged in the physical form of urban development. Districts in Boston, London, Singapore, and elsewhere increasingly share the same planning logic, building types, public spaces, and aesthetic language. While these models have proven effective at attracting initial real estate investment, they have also produced a growing architectural self-similarity that weakens local identity, limits cultural imagination, and ultimately diminishes the long-term…