Wooden sidewalk draws attention as means to cool down Tokyo

Tuesday 31st March, 05:15 AM JST

TOKYO —

A wooden sidewalk is drawing the attention of pedestrians and residents in Tokyo’s Nihombashi district as an invention that could help curb high temperatures and humidity in summertime as a result of the ‘‘heat island effect.’’ A group mainly consisting of officials of Tokyo’s Chuo Ward and local businesspeople paved a 24-meter-long, 2-meter-wide space with three kinds of materials made using thinned wood in February near Higashi-Nihombashi Station of the Tokyo metropolitan subway.

The wooden pavement is made of three parts—chipped thinned cedar, a mixture of woodchips and cement, and blocks made from thinned wood. Members of the group, called the Nihombashi Miyuki Street road experiment association, said they hope the wooden sidewalk will release heat in the summer faster than the asphalt commonly used to make pavement. The group also said the wooden pavement helps make the district dotted with buildings look more comfortable and the scent of cedar gives pedestrians a sense of comfort.

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9 Comments

Disillusioned at 07:29 AM JST - 31st March

Is just me or is there an ethical issue here? They are cutting wood to make the city cooler, but part of the reason the city is so hot is because of the amount of trees that have been cut. Oxymoron!
knowitall at 08:41 AM JST - 31st March

Is just me or is there an ethical issue here?

Its just you (hey, you asked!). The reason: They are using wood from thinned commercial forests. Some trees are cut to allow others to grow larger. The trees that are cut when they are not large enough to be made into lumber have little economic value. Often, they are just left to rot where they are felled. Here in Nagano, were we have commercial forestry, what to do with the wood from thinned forests is a major issue and is often in the news (cedar does not make good firewood). So, they are not cutting trees for the purpose of making pavement. They are putting to use trees that would be cut anyways.
ultradodgy at 10:25 AM JST - 31st March

Exactly. Doubt they are cutting trees down in Yoyogi for this project.

Anyway, bring back the canals and really cool this place down!!
kanadamanada at 10:29 AM JST - 31st March

This sounds good in principle. But wouldn't rooftop gardens do so much more good in Tokyo? The govt ought to offer small tax breaks on rooftop gardens and for develpers who build new structures with "green rooftops".
telecasterplayer at 12:03 PM JST - 31st March

Disillusioned is correct, there "is" an ethical issue. Further deforestation to solve a problem caused by deforestation, no matter the geography, is bass-ackwards. Why not use renewable Bamboo? The timber varieties of Bamboo require only 5 years to replenish.

So, they are not cutting trees for the purpose of making pavement. They are putting to use trees that would be cut anyways.

Eh, that's the sort of logic 'they' use to rationalize bad ideas. Better yet, take a tip from Chicago and put a planter with a tree wherever it can be squeezed in. The solution is more trees, not more uses for fewer trees.
knowitall at 01:05 PM JST - 31st March

Further deforestation to solve a problem caused by deforestation, no matter the geography, is bass-ackwards.

Yes. But that in this case you are comparing apples and oranges. Forest thinning and tree spacing are NOT deforestation. They are standard forestry techniques used to accelerate tree growth, ensure long term forest health, and promote strong, well-structured trees. Some trees need to be cut in a densely forested area to allow others to grow well. In this case, we are talking about putting to viable use smaller trees that must be cut to allow for a healthy forest. Do some research on the subject and you will find it is not irrational.
Nessie at 02:35 PM JST - 31st March

They are standard forestry techniques used to accelerate tree growth, ensure long term forest health, and promote strong, well-structured trees.

Yes on the first part. Maybe on the second part. A nutural forest grows slower, but I don't know if you could call it less health than a thinned forest. But, yes, unlike most posters, you and I agree that thinning is hardly Telecaster's "deforestation."

A more trenchant point: It won't have much effect unless they pave the streets with wood, too. And the safety and maintenance issues seem daunting.
taj at 06:17 PM JST - 31st March

Adding to the "it's not deforestation" side, I'm always told that the current levels of cedar trees is unnatural, due to excessive planting in the early post war period. This species in particular, needs to be thinned back, and replaced by less sneezy, pollen-y, trees. And the sooner the better!
Ranger_Miffy at 09:50 PM JST - 31st March

24-meters down. Godzillion to go.