Introduction In Japanese city planning, urban areas are classified into`land-use zones' so that buildings used for very different purposes do not coexist in the same area. At the same time, there are restrictions on the form of buildings so that a balance between development and urban infrastructure is maintained, buildings are appropriately arranged, and buildings and roads receive enough light and ventilation. Because the planning administration lacks an effective procedure for monitoring the change of use of existing buildings, in practice different uses compete for the same land. Therefore, restrictions on the forms of buildings which determine the development capacity of land are emphasized in the current land-use control system (Asami 1994). Under restrictions known as the`zoning floor area ratio', (1) in each land-use zone the maximum floor area ratio of lots must not exceed the floor area ratio (FAR) designated for that land-use zone. In addition, buildings are restricted by a variety of rules which apply to individual lots: these rules are called`shape controls'. Specifically, the maximum FAR of each lot is proportional to the width of the road in front of the lot (hereinafter, thè front road'). The heights and shapes of buildings are also controlled by absolute height limits, shadow restrictions, and slant-plane restrictions. According to the shadow restrictions, the shadow of a building cannot fall outside of its plots for more than a certain period during the winter solstice. Under slant-plane restrictions, the height of buildings is restricted according to the distance from the front-road boundary or

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