Japan has led the world in urban innovation, design and planning, with cities that successfully combine high population with functionality, cleanliness and low levels of crime. The Japanese Urban Environment sets out to explain the reasons for this success, showing how both natural and human-made factors influence urban life. Interdisciplinary, comprehensive and up-to-date, this major new book shows how the physical cityscape of climate, buildings and infrastructure interacts with social and cultural factors to produce a unique environment. With contributions by a wide range of Japanese specialists, this work addresses the full complexity of the urban environment. The authors show how a dynamic synthesis of traditional Eastern socio-cultural influences with Western building and engineering techniques led to the modern Japanese city.