ABSTRACT

This chapter presents an overview of Ensen Kaihatsu and transit-oriented development (TOD). Ensen Kaihatsu has been introduced, mainly in Asia, by Japanese private railway companies. Ensen means “along a railway line”; Kaihatsu means “development” in Japanese. The term encompasses widely various developments to encourage railway businesses, such as department stores in downtown, residential districts in the suburbs and leisure parks in the outer suburbs also. In other words, the daily life of residents in that area is covered by that private railway company. TOD is a kind of joint development among different agents: a public railway corporation and an urban developer. The history and characteristics of these two methods are compared in this chapter. Changing socioeconomic conditions in Asian urban regions require the introduction of these harmonious development methods to realize a more sustainable world.