Japan’s capital Tokyo is the largest city in the world according to the United Nation’s world urbanization survey; it stood proudly at the third position in the list of world’s most liveable cities. It is commendable how the city has maintained its standard of living despite of its huge population and purely based on its man power and vision.
High spirited city-Tokyo lies in the subtropical climate zone, with hot and humid summers and very mild winters, it lies around the boundary of three seismic plates which makes it vulnerable to earthquakes, the city has felt strong shivers a couple of times in the past too, with earthquake causing a lot destruction but it has to be credited to the never give up spirit of the city and its inhabitants, it has not only walked over the past but also has travelled a long way to reach its present situation.
The environment consciousness- Despite of the industrial growth and urbanized culture of the city, it deserves a pat on the back for making consistent efforts for the reduction of green house gases and encouraging greenery in the surroundings. It proudly boasts about sharing the second position with Amsterdam in the list of ‘least polluted city of the world’. Under the 10 year project for green Tokyo adopted in 2006, the plan is to increase the number of trees in the roadside to one million. Despite of all its need for space, the city has not compromised in dedicating 36% of its land area to natural parks which is not only crucial for maintaining ecological balance but also biodiversity.
The population swells during day time as people from adjacent area, cities and villages travel to the capital for work and education. Despite of the large population, the population ratio shows least dependency as the percentage of people lying in the working age bracket is about 69.4% while the percentage of the dependent population being only about 18.8%.
Economy- The city has the world’s largest metropolitan economy and contributes remarkably to the total GDP of the country. It has the head offices of various banking and insurance services, it is also the center of Japan’s broadcasting, publishing and transportation business. The economy is mostly based on agriculture, fishery, forestry, export and it is also hugely dependent on tourism.
Education and health- Tokyo is one of the few cities of the world with the best air connectivity. The city gives enormous importance to education and health. It provides the best education and health services to its people with many colleges and universities and health centers located in the city. Apart from the usual education it also has universities providing vocational courses to its students. Fitness and physical and mental wellbeing is one of the major concerns of the state and its people.
The people of Tokyo excel the skills in maintaining the right balance between work and leisure. There are a number of museums, theatres for performing art and art centers in the city. Music concerts keep happening from time to time. Despite of the disciplined life the people of this city live, they celebrate the little happiness of festivals and joys of small things in life with equal vigor. Many celebrations and festivals are celebrated throughout the year on a huge scale.
The city has been devastated twice in the past once due a severe earthquake in 1923 and then during World War II. If you go around the city, you’d come across very rare buildings and art pieces that you can call ancient, most of what the city has, has an urban approach and a modern outlook due to the fact that most of it had to be rebuilt and designed and hence are recent in its occurrence.
With the dynamic spirit of the city and its people, how it is surging ahead on the path of development, the opportunities the city has to offer to its inhabitants, rising economy and the freshness the city has in its approach, it is indeed one of the top 10 liveable cities of the world.
