Go Shinohara, Member of the Yokohama City Assembly, was one of the presenters at WaterfrontExpo 2011 in Glasgow this week.
His presentation on the Yokohama waterfront (above) was one of several on how the waterfront regeneration aspirations of four international and three UK cities actually have turned out in practice and how their achievements to date are helping to boost the local economy and generate new investment.
Yokohama’s waterfront hosted many of the manufacturing plants that played a major role in the Japan’s dramatic growth during the post-war years. However, in recent years, changes in Japan’s industrial structure and economic globalisation led to a change in its role from a mass-production site into one of high-tech plants and R&D centers. Now, the City of Yokohama sees the industrial and infrastructure redevelopment of this area as central to strengthening its international competitiveness.
