The architecture of Tokyo has largely been shaped by the city’s history. Twice in recent history has the metropolis been left in ruins: first in the 1923 Great KantÅ earthquake and later after extensive firebombing in World War II. Because of this and other factors, Tokyo’s current urban landscape is mostly modern and contemporary architecture, and older buildings are scarce.
Tokyo once was a city with low buildings and packed with single-family homes, today the city has a larger focus on high-rise residential homes and urbanization. Tokyo’s culture is changing as well as increased risk of natural catastrophes, because of this architecture has had to make dramatic changes since the 1990s. Located off of Tokyo Bay which makes typhoons and rising sea levels a current risk, along with volcanoes and large earthquakes. As a result of this, a new focus has been placed on waterborne risks such as rising sea levels and seismic events.