The Datong City Plan (1938): the three week-process of organizing planning ideas and techniques towards the construction of a new urban area under Japanese occupation

The Datong City Plan is well-known in the history of colonial city planning, especially for its early use of the neighbourhood unit theory in a city-wide plan. It has been assessed by researchers internationally as a demonstration of the advanced level of Japanese planning technology in that era. This paper clarifies the planning process during the planners’ stay in Datong in the fall of 1938 through an examination of primary sources, including the team’s preparations prior to their arrival. These primary sources elucidate the process by which the plan was formulated. Its technological advancement was based on two premises: (1) the study of residential area design and (2) the experience of building the capital of Manchukuo. In Datong, the concept of the satellite city was introduced, the city scale was set according to the three different types of density, and the curved road pattern was applied, all significant innovations in city planning. The historical significance of the Datong City Plan lies in the junction of colonial city planning practice and academic exploration of city planning.