"Simultaneously published in the USA and Canada."

Carola Hein is Associate Professor in the Growth and Structure of Cities Program at Bryn Mawr College, USA.

Philippe Pelletier is Professor of Geography at Lumiere-Lyon 2 University, France.

List of Illustrations Table of Figures Preface and Acknowledgements Notes on the Contributors 1. Introduction: Decentralization and the Tension Between Global and Local Urban Japan Carola Hein and Philippe Pelletier 2. Local Initiatives and the Decentralization of Planning Power in Japan Ishida Yorifusa 3. Concentration and Deconcentration: In the Context of the Tokyo Capital Region Plan and Recent Cross-Border Networking Concepts Nakabayashi Itsuki 4. Financial Problems in the Japanese Local Public Sector in the 1990's: Situation, Structural Reasons, Solutions Alain Schebath 5. Centralization, Urban Planning, Governance, and Citizen Participation in Japan Andrè Sorensen 6. Machizukuri in Japan: A Historical Perspective on Participatory Community-Building Initiatives Watanabe Shun'ichi J 7. Whose Kyoto? Competing Models of Local Autonomy and Townscape in the Old Imperial Capital Christoph Brumann 8. Conclusion: Decentralization Policies: Questionning the Japanese Model Carola Hein and Philippe Pelletier Index