“Once Asia goes suburban”???
I think Tokyo metropolitan area has about 16 million people living in the areas around Tokyo itself. Of course there’s really not much sprawl, but that’s because Japan is a crowded country with much of its land unable to be used due to being too mountainous. Imagine half the population of the US living in California.
I’m not exactly sure what your point is. I already pointed out Japan wasn’t likely to have much more sprawl - but other places in Asia like China and India are ripe for it. Already, the planners in Beijing are talking about the future of the city - with “California-style” 1 hour commutes by car (one-way) becoming common. Of course, there is much debate - but it seems inevitable, with a middle class growing that can afford automobiles.
Here in the Twin Cities (Minneapolis/St. Paul) in Minnesota, we are becoming the very picture of urban sprawl. Around the two big central cities are the “inner ring” suburbs such as Robbinsdale and Brooklyn Center. These had their heyday in the 1960s and 1970s, and now are becoming run down, now mainly lower-income apartment units.
Currently the main suburban centers here are strung out along the I-694/494 beltway. (Which was originally built to bypass the Twin Cities!) These include Plymouth and Bloomington, the latter the location of the renowned Mall of America.
But beyond even the beltway is yet more development, such that what were formerly farm towns on the edges of the five-county area are now considered part of the Twin Cities metro area. In fact, some people are seriously suggesting that in 20 years at the current rate, the Metro region will be a megalopolis stretching from St. Cloud in the north to Fairbault in the south- a distance of over 100 miles.
Japan may be small and crowded, but living in the 2nd Major city in Japan (Osaka) I can tell you that Japan certainly has urban sprawl, and it is growing. The train from Tokyo to Osaka rarely passes out of sight of human habitation. Building continues, primarily on reclaimed land. Tokyo bay in particular is smaller than it was 50 years ago. The big impact of this will be felt in the next major quake - liquification, and all that.
Here in Dublin, sprawl is becoming one of the unfortunate side effects of the “Celtic Tiger” economy. New housing developments are springing up everywhere and the traffic even in small towns is becoming unbearable. The builders don’t seem to have discovered that horrible aluminum siding that’s all over American suburbs though, thank God.