IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/sae/envirb/v50y2023i2p487-499.html

Comparison of precise and approximated building height: Estimation from number of building storeys and spatial variations in the Tokyo metropolitan region

Author

Listed:
  • Hiroyuki Usui

Abstract

Precise building height is indispensable for evaluating variability in building heights. However, relevant data are not always available. Conventionally, building height is approximated as the product of the number of building storeys and floor height, called approximated building height . However, there is no consensus on how floor height, a key determinant of approximated building height, should be set. In Japan, increasingly precise building height data are becoming available as an open 3D urban model. This provides the motivation for answering the following research questions, in the context of the Tokyo metropolitan region: (1) What is the difference between approximated and precise building height? (2) How should we set floor height to minimise the difference between approximated and precise building height? The results show that (1) the average difference is −3.46 m if floor height, c , is 5 m, −0.87 m if c is 4 m and 1.71 m if c is 3 m; (2) c = 4 can effectively estimate building height from the number of storeys; and (3) the greatest difference between approximated and precise building height is spatially clustered where commercial zones and industrial zones are allocated, with their degree being dependent on how floor height is set. Furthermore, it is found that (1) in commercial zones and industrial districts, the optimal floor height, defined as the optimal solution which minimises the sum of squared differences between approximated and precise building height, is greater than 4 m; (2) in mid/high rise residential districts, the optimal floor height ranges from 3 to 3.4 m; and (3) in low-rise residential districts, the optimal floor height ranges from 3.5 to 3.9 m. The findings of this paper can help urban planners find the optimal floor height in each district and understand spatial variations in building and floor heights.

Suggested Citation

  • Hiroyuki Usui, 2023. "Comparison of precise and approximated building height: Estimation from number of building storeys and spatial variations in the Tokyo metropolitan region," Environment and Planning B, , vol. 50(2), pages 487-499, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:envirb:v:50:y:2023:i:2:p:487-499
    DOI: 10.1177/23998083221116117
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/23998083221116117
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1177/23998083221116117?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Bertaud, Alain & Brueckner, Jan K., 2005. "Analyzing building-height restrictions: predicted impacts and welfare costs," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 35(2), pages 109-125, March.
    2. Hiroyuki Usui, 2021. "Building height distribution under zoning regulations: Theoretical derivation based on allometric scaling analysis and application to harmonise building heights," Environment and Planning B, , vol. 48(9), pages 2520-2535, November.
    3. M. Batty & R. Carvalho & A. Hudson-Smith & R. Milton & D. Smith & P. Steadman, 2008. "Scaling and allometry in the building geometries of Greater London," The European Physical Journal B: Condensed Matter and Complex Systems, Springer;EDP Sciences, vol. 63(3), pages 303-314, June.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Hiroyuki Usui, 2023. "How to harmonise variations in streetscape skeletons under zoning regulations: Considering their external diseconomies," Environment and Planning B, , vol. 50(2), pages 434-452, February.
    2. Hiroyuki Usui, 2021. "Building height distribution under zoning regulations: Theoretical derivation based on allometric scaling analysis and application to harmonise building heights," Environment and Planning B, , vol. 48(9), pages 2520-2535, November.
    3. Hiroyuki Usui, 2024. "Relative spatial variability in building heights and its spatial association: Application for the spatial clustering of harmonious and inharmonious building heights in Tokyo," Environment and Planning B, , vol. 51(4), pages 987-1002, May.
    4. Chen, Yanguang, 2014. "An allometric scaling relation based on logistic growth of cities," Chaos, Solitons & Fractals, Elsevier, vol. 65(C), pages 65-77.
    5. Li, Jiewei & Lu, Ming & Lu, Tianyi, 2022. "Constructing compact cities: How urban regeneration can enhance growth and relieve congestion," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 113(C).
    6. Thill, Jean-Claude & Dao, Thi Hong Diep & Zhou, Yuhong, 2011. "Traveling in the three-dimensional city: applications in route planning, accessibility assessment, location analysis and beyond," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 19(3), pages 405-421.
    7. Jason Barr, 2013. "Skyscrapers And Skylines: New York And Chicago, 1885–2007," Journal of Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 53(3), pages 369-391, August.
    8. Christian A. L. Hilber, 2017. "The Economic Implications of House Price Capitalization: A Synthesis," Real Estate Economics, American Real Estate and Urban Economics Association, vol. 45(2), pages 301-339, April.
    9. Lehe, Lewis, 2014. "Inclusionary Zoning in a Monocentric City," Institute of Transportation Studies, Research Reports, Working Papers, Proceedings qt6qp1j5bj, Institute of Transportation Studies, UC Berkeley.
    10. Marz, Waldemar & Şen, Suphi, 2022. "Does telecommuting reduce commuting emissions?," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 116(C).
    11. Nicholas Chiumenti & Amrita Kulka & Aradhya Sood, 2022. "How to Increase Housing Affordability: Understanding Local Deterrents to Building Multifamily Housing," Working Papers 22-10, Federal Reserve Bank of Boston.
    12. Tikoudis, Ioannis, 2023. "Revisiting the Pigouvian tax in urban roads: Housing supply restrictions, leaking profits and spatial inequality," Economics of Transportation, Elsevier, vol. 35(C).
    13. Denant-Boemont, Laurent & Gaigné, Carl & Gaté, Romain, 2018. "Urban spatial structure, transport-related emissions and welfare," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 89(C), pages 29-45.
    14. Joshi, Kirti Kusum & Kono, Tatsuhito, 2009. "Optimization of floor area ratio regulation in a growing city," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 39(4), pages 502-511, July.
    15. Rana Hasan & Yi Jiang & Radine Michelle Rafols, 2017. "Urban Agglomeration Effects in India: Evidence from Town-Level Data," Asian Development Review, MIT Press, vol. 34(2), pages 201-228, September.
    16. Brueckner, Jan K. & Lall, Somik V., 2015. "Cities in Developing Countries," Handbook of Regional and Urban Economics, in: Gilles Duranton & J. V. Henderson & William C. Strange (ed.), Handbook of Regional and Urban Economics, edition 1, volume 5, chapter 0, pages 1399-1455, Elsevier.
    17. Lozano, Francisco Javier, 2025. "Elasticidad de los precios de viviendas frente a regulaciones urbanas: Evidencia por el lado de la oferta en Santiago, Chile [How sensitive are housing prices to urban regulations? Supply-side evidence from Santiago, Chile]," MPRA Paper 127133, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    18. Qing Lu & Jing Ning & Hong You & Liyan Xu, 2023. "Urban Intensity in Theory and Practice: Empirical Determining Mechanism of Floor Area Ratio and Its Deviation from the Classic Location Theories in Beijing," Land, MDPI, vol. 12(2), pages 1-16, February.
    19. Larson, William & Yezer, Anthony & Zhao, Weihua, 2022. "Urban planning policies and the cost of living in large cities," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 96(C).
    20. Shanggang Yin & Caiquan Bai & Weiwei Xiao, 2024. "Spatial–temporal evolution of the allometric growth between economic scale and carbon emissions in China’s cities and its driving mechanism," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 26(1), pages 269-302, January.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:sae:envirb:v:50:y:2023:i:2:p:487-499. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: SAGE Publications (email available below). General contact details of provider: .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.