On a recent early morning drive in an unfamiliar area near the Hemi train station, I was struck by a rapid change in urban form. Close to Route 16 and central Yokosuka, the 2-lane road was extremely narrow, with practically no building setback, and very little space for pedestrians to access businesses (top photo). Just a few hundred meters up the road, past the train line overpass, the buildings were of the same height and approximate density, yet the building setback increased substantially - creating a very wide area for pedestrians and bicyclists and a few street trees (bottom picture).The infrastructure work was clearly more recent - and the buildings appeared significantly newer than in the narrow section down the road. Thus I believe that as this area was recently rebuilt - new setbacks increased the roadway right of way - but instead of more room for cars (additional travel lanes)- the result is more room for people. What a radical idea!
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