Urban Reconstruction and Population Redistribution: Evidence from Tokyo after the Great Kanto Earthquake
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摘要
This study analyzes how the 1923 Great Kanto Earthquake reshaped Tokyo's population distribution, using ward- and block-level census data and a monocentric framework to distinguish price-driven land-market adjustments from zoning policies. The reconstruction's land readjustment reduced residential land within burned areas, pushing up rents and delaying full population recovery; multi-story housing later offset some of the land-reduction effects, but population in burned wards remained below pre-quake levels through the mid-1930s. The pre-earthquake zoning system had little impact on post-disaster population shifts, indicating market-based price adjustments dominated. The analysis also shows rents rising with knock-on effects: kinship households declined while lodger housing rose as workers sought cheaper accommodations, implying housing sharing as an effective coping mechanism. Overall, the post-disaster population decline reflects the net of rent-driven losses and housing-sharing gains. [page::1]
