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Papers by Heide Imai
Electronics Letters, 1988
![Research paper thumbnail of [Research Note] Between Urban Poetics, Politics and Creativity : Urban Commons and Ordinary Places](https://attachments.academia-assets.com/104270075/thumbnails/1.jpg)
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Asian Alleyways, 2020
In times of globalization, ordinary places are increasingly contested and fragmented urban experi... more In times of globalization, ordinary places are increasingly contested and fragmented urban experiences, resulting in these places being left behind yet rediscovered, excluded yet revived, forgotten yet remembered. This chapter explores alleyway networks in contemporary Tokyo and Seoul, focusing on the roji (路地) and the golmok (골목) and the experiences of the people who make use of these places, to offer an in-depth, sociological portrait of these two contested cities. Providing multiple narratives of urban change and renewal, the chapter questions the future of the alleyways, its new actors, and its new possibilities, arguing that extraordinary cities should reconsider ordinary places to develop sustainable and inclusive urban areas.
This book focuses on overlooked contextual factors that constitute the urban creative climate or ... more This book focuses on overlooked contextual factors that constitute the urban creative climate or innovative urban milieu in contemporary cities. Filled with reflections based on interviews with a diverse range of creative actors in various local neighborhoods in Tokyo, it offers a rare glimpse into the complex set of elements that provide long-term, physical, and sociocultural support to urban creativity. Ursic and Imai highlight the interplay between physical and soft (social) factors in the process of place-making and explore how a city’s creativity is influenced by financial support and accessible infrastructure, as well as the sets of informal networks, services, and tacit, locally embedded knowledge that provide the basic layers of stimuli needed for creativity to fully develop. The authors show how the future development of creativity and the overall development of a city depend not only on the (top-down) planning strategies of formal authorities, but also on the appropriate (bottom-up) inclusion of heterogeneous elements that are provided and embedded within the small, hidden context of city spaces.
Asian Studies, 2022
Different disasters throughout history have prompted Japan to develop diverse approaches to recov... more Different disasters throughout history have prompted Japan to develop diverse approaches to recovery, revitalization, and local resilience. The current global COVID-19 pandemic is no exception. In this paper, we argue the need to study the impacts of COVID-19 on outside major cities such as Tokyo as such areas were already experiencing socioeconomic decline. Ishinomaki in Miyagi Prefecture is a city that has also been undergoing extensive post-disaster reconstruction after the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake (GEJE), notably through various bottom-up approaches, often initiated by volunteers and migrants bringing new, creative ideas to community revitalization. These efforts continue to shape the social life of its residents during COVID-19, making Ishinomaki an important case study in both disaster reconstruction and rural revitalization. This paper examines examples in which creativity played a key role in revitalization, recovery, and community resilience in Ishinomaki over the l...
Asian Alleyways, 2020
Taking the case of different urban settings in Asia, the book has explored the transformation of ... more Taking the case of different urban settings in Asia, the book has explored the transformation of vernacular urban alleyways, and argued for approaching changing urban forms through the spatial, social and cultural dimension, and through the nuances and sequences that unfold between marginalisation, re-appropriation and re-invention processes. The book has also attempted to show the relevance of understanding place as a social construct shaped by everyday practices and by 'inside' and 'outside' (global) forces, pointing out how the lack of a thorough articulation of this notion and of its theoretical and methodological implications, impoverishes the field of urban theory and social studies. The key objectives of the study were: 1. To perform ethnographic case studies of different urban alleyway in Asian cities, drawing attention to the mutuality of space, sociality and imagination. 2. To develop theoretical understandings of the impact of uneven processes of global development on marginalised alleyways in applying the concept of marginality and reintegration. 3. To combine ethnographic data with theoretical findings to reconceptualise marginalised alleyways and their potential to ameliorate adverse effects of such processes. A central concern of the book was how to define the role and function of the alleyway and thus reflect on its future in the contemporary city, whether as a 'catalyst', a 'threshold' or a 'social space' of our personal or collective memory. The alleywaycould be described as a liminal space which is in itself ambiguous, hybrid and thus easily re-appropriated and moulded to fit different changing modes of urban lifestyles and design concepts. Being in the physical sense further marginalised, but in its societal and imaginative-intellectual meaning actively and multi-layered present in the urban mind, it is concluded that the urban alleyway could offer new possibilities to explore and transgress binaries, to not simply switch between the terms of public and private space when approaching marginalised urban forms. The different case studies and chapters reveal that the traditional spatial alleyway networks are fading, further eroding and vanishing from the contemporary urban landscape of cities in Asia, marginalised by the emergence of new forms of housing and public spaces, re-appropriated by different fields including new art, design and architectural concepts, and re-invented by the contemporary urban design discourse. The social meaning attached to the alleyway is being re-interpreted to fit hybrid and multiple concepts of personal lifestyles; its historical and nostalgic image is being re-appropriated by individuals, different stakeholders, new social movements, subcultures and
Handbook of Megacities and Megacity-Regions, 2020
Geographically, Edo Tokyo was divided into the hilly area of the high city (yamanote), which surr... more Geographically, Edo Tokyo was divided into the hilly area of the high city (yamanote), which surrounded the Edo castle to the north, south and west consisting of mainly large wooden houses for feudal lords (daimyō) and the warrior class (samurai). Other low city areas in the northeast and east along the bay of Edo, formed the ‘island'-like living quarters of the commoners or ‘town folk’ (chōnin), as moat and canals structured the area. The ‘low city’ (shitamachi) area was famous for its vibrant urban culture, which developed mainly around the Buddhist temple Sensō-ji in Asakusa. Terms yamanote and shitamachi belong together, as they form the historical, cultural and economical division of Edo-Tokyo. Shitamachi can be translated as ‘low town or city’, back then the area of the commoners of the shogun, located northeast of the Edo Castle and west of the Sumida River (Jinnai, 1995, 108). Yamanote means literally ‘hand of the mountains’, being located on the hills of the Musashino P...
Asian Studies, 2021
This paper is based on research that centres on the city of Tokyo, a mature city that is experien... more This paper is based on research that centres on the city of Tokyo, a mature city that is experiencing various transformations, in order to show how social capital and innovation can help build up resilient communities It presents two major topics: 1) the potential of localities and their social capital and social innovation to actively react to change, and 2) the role of localities for inclusive urban governance By focusing on five small neighbourhoods in the south of Taito-ward in central-east Tokyo, the paper addresses the following questions: a) what kinds of social networks and interaction exist at the local level, b) how are residents contributing to neighbourhood revitalization and community identity, and c) what are specific examples of social innovative practices, emerging in periods of crisis, in the case-study area as a direct response to the COVID-19 pandemic? By adopting a mixed methods approach drawing especially on in-depth interviews conducted with a range of independ...
This chapter evaluates the role of small actors in Tokyo’s creative ecosystem. It starts by descr... more This chapter evaluates the role of small actors in Tokyo’s creative ecosystem. It starts by describing the challenges they face in Tokyo’s economic environment. Then, it continues with a critical reflection on creative precarity, the characteristics of the creative ecosystem, and specific aspects of behavioral economics in the form of cost-benefit analysis. Theory is linked to practice, laying the ground for the analysis and interpretation of the on-terrain data on the contextual conditions that are part of the everyday routine for small creative actors in Tokyo.
Journal of Urban History, 2020
International Sociology, 2016
Julia M Bernard, PhD, is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Social Sciences at McNeese S... more Julia M Bernard, PhD, is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Social Sciences at McNeese State University. She teaches sociology and family and child studies courses. She is a marriage and family therapist, a certified family life educator, and a family researcher. She has traveled and presented abroad, including a graduate study experience in India. Address: Department of Social Sciences, McNeese State University, 4205 Ryan Street, Lake Charles, LA 70609, USA. Email: jbernard@mcneese.edu
Asian Studies, 2021
Alleyways in Asian metropoles can be spaces of refuge, vibrant communities, collective memory, mo... more Alleyways in Asian metropoles can be spaces of refuge, vibrant communities, collective memory, mosaic-like identity formation, through traffic and shortcuts, and dense, conflict-laden interactions between the established residents and newcomers. They can be spaces of transit, territories of daily life, or both. They can be commodities for gentrification, with fading traditions and architectures, or pathways for reconciling development with community support. They can be marginal places with marginalized people or famous parts of a city, attracting tourists and the affluent. They can be traditional neighbourhoods in decline or sites of constant transformation and top-down or bottom-up reinvention. The only characteristics that seem to unite them-and hence all the case studies in this edited volumeare their narrowness and unclear positions, as many of these often less-known areas have unclear ownership and do not even appear on official maps. The volume edited by Marie Gibert-Flutre and Heide Imai approaches the ever-changing, multi-faceted Asian alleyways as spaces of everyday practice through dense descriptions of the quotidian and interviews with urban planners, businesspeople, and the residents of these "liminal places" (Jones 2007), thus bringing to light these often neglected-in real life as well as in academia-in-between spaces.
Electronics Letters, 1988
Asian Alleyways, 2020
In times of globalization, ordinary places are increasingly contested and fragmented urban experi... more In times of globalization, ordinary places are increasingly contested and fragmented urban experiences, resulting in these places being left behind yet rediscovered, excluded yet revived, forgotten yet remembered. This chapter explores alleyway networks in contemporary Tokyo and Seoul, focusing on the roji (路地) and the golmok (골목) and the experiences of the people who make use of these places, to offer an in-depth, sociological portrait of these two contested cities. Providing multiple narratives of urban change and renewal, the chapter questions the future of the alleyways, its new actors, and its new possibilities, arguing that extraordinary cities should reconsider ordinary places to develop sustainable and inclusive urban areas.
This book focuses on overlooked contextual factors that constitute the urban creative climate or ... more This book focuses on overlooked contextual factors that constitute the urban creative climate or innovative urban milieu in contemporary cities. Filled with reflections based on interviews with a diverse range of creative actors in various local neighborhoods in Tokyo, it offers a rare glimpse into the complex set of elements that provide long-term, physical, and sociocultural support to urban creativity. Ursic and Imai highlight the interplay between physical and soft (social) factors in the process of place-making and explore how a city’s creativity is influenced by financial support and accessible infrastructure, as well as the sets of informal networks, services, and tacit, locally embedded knowledge that provide the basic layers of stimuli needed for creativity to fully develop. The authors show how the future development of creativity and the overall development of a city depend not only on the (top-down) planning strategies of formal authorities, but also on the appropriate (bottom-up) inclusion of heterogeneous elements that are provided and embedded within the small, hidden context of city spaces.
Asian Studies, 2022
Different disasters throughout history have prompted Japan to develop diverse approaches to recov... more Different disasters throughout history have prompted Japan to develop diverse approaches to recovery, revitalization, and local resilience. The current global COVID-19 pandemic is no exception. In this paper, we argue the need to study the impacts of COVID-19 on outside major cities such as Tokyo as such areas were already experiencing socioeconomic decline. Ishinomaki in Miyagi Prefecture is a city that has also been undergoing extensive post-disaster reconstruction after the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake (GEJE), notably through various bottom-up approaches, often initiated by volunteers and migrants bringing new, creative ideas to community revitalization. These efforts continue to shape the social life of its residents during COVID-19, making Ishinomaki an important case study in both disaster reconstruction and rural revitalization. This paper examines examples in which creativity played a key role in revitalization, recovery, and community resilience in Ishinomaki over the l...
Asian Alleyways, 2020
Taking the case of different urban settings in Asia, the book has explored the transformation of ... more Taking the case of different urban settings in Asia, the book has explored the transformation of vernacular urban alleyways, and argued for approaching changing urban forms through the spatial, social and cultural dimension, and through the nuances and sequences that unfold between marginalisation, re-appropriation and re-invention processes. The book has also attempted to show the relevance of understanding place as a social construct shaped by everyday practices and by 'inside' and 'outside' (global) forces, pointing out how the lack of a thorough articulation of this notion and of its theoretical and methodological implications, impoverishes the field of urban theory and social studies. The key objectives of the study were: 1. To perform ethnographic case studies of different urban alleyway in Asian cities, drawing attention to the mutuality of space, sociality and imagination. 2. To develop theoretical understandings of the impact of uneven processes of global development on marginalised alleyways in applying the concept of marginality and reintegration. 3. To combine ethnographic data with theoretical findings to reconceptualise marginalised alleyways and their potential to ameliorate adverse effects of such processes. A central concern of the book was how to define the role and function of the alleyway and thus reflect on its future in the contemporary city, whether as a 'catalyst', a 'threshold' or a 'social space' of our personal or collective memory. The alleywaycould be described as a liminal space which is in itself ambiguous, hybrid and thus easily re-appropriated and moulded to fit different changing modes of urban lifestyles and design concepts. Being in the physical sense further marginalised, but in its societal and imaginative-intellectual meaning actively and multi-layered present in the urban mind, it is concluded that the urban alleyway could offer new possibilities to explore and transgress binaries, to not simply switch between the terms of public and private space when approaching marginalised urban forms. The different case studies and chapters reveal that the traditional spatial alleyway networks are fading, further eroding and vanishing from the contemporary urban landscape of cities in Asia, marginalised by the emergence of new forms of housing and public spaces, re-appropriated by different fields including new art, design and architectural concepts, and re-invented by the contemporary urban design discourse. The social meaning attached to the alleyway is being re-interpreted to fit hybrid and multiple concepts of personal lifestyles; its historical and nostalgic image is being re-appropriated by individuals, different stakeholders, new social movements, subcultures and
Handbook of Megacities and Megacity-Regions, 2020
Geographically, Edo Tokyo was divided into the hilly area of the high city (yamanote), which surr... more Geographically, Edo Tokyo was divided into the hilly area of the high city (yamanote), which surrounded the Edo castle to the north, south and west consisting of mainly large wooden houses for feudal lords (daimyō) and the warrior class (samurai). Other low city areas in the northeast and east along the bay of Edo, formed the ‘island'-like living quarters of the commoners or ‘town folk’ (chōnin), as moat and canals structured the area. The ‘low city’ (shitamachi) area was famous for its vibrant urban culture, which developed mainly around the Buddhist temple Sensō-ji in Asakusa. Terms yamanote and shitamachi belong together, as they form the historical, cultural and economical division of Edo-Tokyo. Shitamachi can be translated as ‘low town or city’, back then the area of the commoners of the shogun, located northeast of the Edo Castle and west of the Sumida River (Jinnai, 1995, 108). Yamanote means literally ‘hand of the mountains’, being located on the hills of the Musashino P...
Asian Studies, 2021
This paper is based on research that centres on the city of Tokyo, a mature city that is experien... more This paper is based on research that centres on the city of Tokyo, a mature city that is experiencing various transformations, in order to show how social capital and innovation can help build up resilient communities It presents two major topics: 1) the potential of localities and their social capital and social innovation to actively react to change, and 2) the role of localities for inclusive urban governance By focusing on five small neighbourhoods in the south of Taito-ward in central-east Tokyo, the paper addresses the following questions: a) what kinds of social networks and interaction exist at the local level, b) how are residents contributing to neighbourhood revitalization and community identity, and c) what are specific examples of social innovative practices, emerging in periods of crisis, in the case-study area as a direct response to the COVID-19 pandemic? By adopting a mixed methods approach drawing especially on in-depth interviews conducted with a range of independ...
This chapter evaluates the role of small actors in Tokyo’s creative ecosystem. It starts by descr... more This chapter evaluates the role of small actors in Tokyo’s creative ecosystem. It starts by describing the challenges they face in Tokyo’s economic environment. Then, it continues with a critical reflection on creative precarity, the characteristics of the creative ecosystem, and specific aspects of behavioral economics in the form of cost-benefit analysis. Theory is linked to practice, laying the ground for the analysis and interpretation of the on-terrain data on the contextual conditions that are part of the everyday routine for small creative actors in Tokyo.
Journal of Urban History, 2020
International Sociology, 2016
Julia M Bernard, PhD, is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Social Sciences at McNeese S... more Julia M Bernard, PhD, is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Social Sciences at McNeese State University. She teaches sociology and family and child studies courses. She is a marriage and family therapist, a certified family life educator, and a family researcher. She has traveled and presented abroad, including a graduate study experience in India. Address: Department of Social Sciences, McNeese State University, 4205 Ryan Street, Lake Charles, LA 70609, USA. Email: jbernard@mcneese.edu
Asian Studies, 2021
Alleyways in Asian metropoles can be spaces of refuge, vibrant communities, collective memory, mo... more Alleyways in Asian metropoles can be spaces of refuge, vibrant communities, collective memory, mosaic-like identity formation, through traffic and shortcuts, and dense, conflict-laden interactions between the established residents and newcomers. They can be spaces of transit, territories of daily life, or both. They can be commodities for gentrification, with fading traditions and architectures, or pathways for reconciling development with community support. They can be marginal places with marginalized people or famous parts of a city, attracting tourists and the affluent. They can be traditional neighbourhoods in decline or sites of constant transformation and top-down or bottom-up reinvention. The only characteristics that seem to unite them-and hence all the case studies in this edited volumeare their narrowness and unclear positions, as many of these often less-known areas have unclear ownership and do not even appear on official maps. The volume edited by Marie Gibert-Flutre and Heide Imai approaches the ever-changing, multi-faceted Asian alleyways as spaces of everyday practice through dense descriptions of the quotidian and interviews with urban planners, businesspeople, and the residents of these "liminal places" (Jones 2007), thus bringing to light these often neglected-in real life as well as in academia-in-between spaces.
by Marie Gibert-Flutre, Darko Radovic, Yang Yang, David Sadoway, Sri Eddyono, Thanh Tung Son, AbdouMaliq Simone, Pijika Pumketkao-Lecourt, Heide Imai, Salmina W Ginting, Berthold Sonja, and Mareike Pampus
The purpose of this conference is to focus attention on the concept and social meanings of one of... more The purpose of this conference is to focus attention on the concept and social meanings of one of the smallest social spheres of the city, the neighbourhood. The immediacy of this topic can be found in recent urban research positing that the neighbourhood is at substantial risk of fading into history as global mega-projects with vast footprints, master plans, and large-scale privatization of urban space are " kill[ing] much of the urban tissue " of smaller urban spaces. These are the place-based geographies of the city that have long provided for cosmopolitan diversity and in which marginalized populations are able to assert their agency in city-making (Sassen, 2016:1). Pursuing the " art of being global " (Roy and Ong, 2011), cities in Asia fall more and more within what can be called an " urbanism of projects " (Goldblum, 2015: 374), leading to a rupture with their historic organic urban growth. In that context, urban figures are given priority over urban texture: " While the pieces of cities are occasionally spectacular, the parts do not add up to anything larger nor do they contribute to the extended setting " (Chow, 2015: 4). The urbanism of projects also acknowledges the primacy of a " super urban network " over local urban territories, opening the way for a " splintering urbanism " (Graham and Marvin, 2001). Once low rise and organic, cities in Asia have engaged into a verticalization process in a functionalist perspective, especially in new urbanized areas flourishing at its edge. These steady transformations affect social cohesion and lead to re-compositions of the historical and structuring forms of lanes and neighbourhoods.
The richness of the highly polysemous notion of " neighbourhood " is linked with its reference both to built and social environments. It corresponds to the smallest social unit for urban place-making, a dimension that John Friedmann synthesizes as " a small urban space that is cherished by the people who inhabit it (2009: 5). This universal definition focuses on three main criteria: its small scale, its inhabited dimension and its local attachment and appropriations by local communities. It can be seen both as an intimate place of social encounters and a field of expression of social forces, which is practiced – and thus performed – on a daily basis (Lefebvre, 1991). As such, appropriated lanes and neighbourhoods generate local centralities in the city they belong to.
The conference seeks to reflect on the specificity of the socio-spatial production – and its current evolutions – of neighbourhoods in the Asian context. Theoretically, the objective is to question the everyday nature of the urbanisation process, from the specific perspective of cities in Asia, historically characterized by the " smallness " of their plots division and the richness of lanes' appropriations, both of them leading to a specific sense of local territoriality. Beyond this theoretical frame, the conference seeks to broaden the debate from a civil society perspective and to engage the discussion with locally rooted activism experiences, working on " reclaiming [the] cities neighbourhood by neighbourhoods " (Friedmann, 2009). In doing so, we are eager to revalue the productions of everyday urbanism and to decipher the richness of local urban and social fabrics from historical as well as contemporary perspectives.
Asian Alleyways - An Urban Vernacular in Times of Globalization, 2020
Taking the case of different urban settings in Asia, the book has explored the transformation of ... more Taking the case of different urban settings in Asia, the book has explored the transformation of vernacular urban alleyways, and argued for approaching changing urban forms through the spatial, social and cultural dimension, and through the nuances and sequences that unfold between marginalisation, re-appropriation and re-invention processes. The book has also attempted to show the relevance of understanding place as a social construct shaped by everyday practices and by 'inside' and 'outside' (global) forces, pointing out how the lack of a thorough articulation of this notion and of its theoretical and methodological implications, impoverishes the field of urban theory and social studies. The key objectives of the study were: 1. To perform ethnographic case studies of different urban alleyway in Asian cities, drawing attention to the mutuality of space, sociality and imagination. 2. To develop theoretical understandings of the impact of uneven processes of global development on marginalised alleyways in applying the concept of marginality and reintegration. 3. To combine ethnographic data with theoretical findings to reconceptualise marginalised alleyways and their potential to ameliorate adverse effects of such processes. A central concern of the book was how to define the role and function of the alleyway and thus reflect on its future in the contemporary city, whether as a 'catalyst', a 'threshold' or a 'social space' of our personal or collective memory. The alleywaycould be described as a liminal space which is in itself ambiguous, hybrid and thus easily re-appropriated and moulded to fit different changing modes of urban lifestyles and design concepts. Being in the physical sense further marginalised, but in its societal and imaginative-intellectual meaning actively and multi-layered present in the urban mind, it is concluded that the urban alleyway could offer new possibilities to explore and transgress binaries, to not simply switch between the terms of public and private space when approaching marginalised urban forms. The different case studies and chapters reveal that the traditional spatial alleyway networks are fading, further eroding and vanishing from the contemporary urban landscape of cities in Asia, marginalised by the emergence of new forms of housing and public spaces, re-appropriated by different fields including new art, design and architectural concepts, and re-invented by the contemporary urban design discourse. The social meaning attached to the alleyway is being re-interpreted to fit hybrid and multiple concepts of personal lifestyles; its historical and nostalgic image is being re-appropriated by individuals, different stakeholders, new social movements, subcultures and
The eye of the beholder may describe the state of things from a particular position that has a sp... more The eye of the beholder may describe the state of things from a particular position that has a specific cognitive and theoretical origin. Therefore, it is important for us to be aware of the "contextual distance" (Bargh, 1994; Demetriadis, Papadopoulos, & Tsoukalas, 2005; Öztürk & Aamodt, 1998), which refers to the potential differences in the interpretation of the same situation. We have both been researching the subject of urban creativity in Tokyo for years, collaborating with local scholars, but neither of us originates from Tokyo or Japan. Consequently, we might speak from a position that can, from some perspectives, be seen as westernized, privileged, or hegemonic. Nevertheless, while reflecting critically upon our potentially ideologically contaminated viewpoints, we argue that our research, analysis, and subsequent argumentation are based on empirical work and data collected in the field, following specific methodological and conceptual standards. Furthermore, in interpreting the collected data, we consider a variety of social, cultural, and historical factors to heighten our sensitivity and awareness of our particular position. We therefore attempt to present multiple perspectives that shift or decentralize the customary views on urban creativity in Tokyo. While our gaijin (stranger, outsider) status in Japan might blur our perspective, it also arguably offers us an unconventional, front-seat position, enabling us to identify and evaluate contradictory information, break the ordinary paradigms, and provide different views on the subject. 1
Palgrave Macmillan
This book focuses on overlooked contextual factors that constitute the urban creative climate or ... more This book focuses on overlooked contextual factors that constitute the urban creative climate or innovative urban milieu in contemporary cities. Filled with reflections based on interviews with a diverse range of creative actors in various local neighborhoods in Tokyo, it offers a rare glimpse into the complex set of elements that provide long-term, physical, and sociocultural support to urban creativity. Ursic and Imai highlight the interplay between physical and soft (social) factors in the process of place-making and explore how a city’s creativity is influenced by financial support and accessible infrastructure, as well as the sets of informal networks, services, and tacit, locally embedded knowledge that provide the basic layers of stimuli needed for creativity to fully develop. The authors show how the future development of creativity and the overall development of a city depend not only on the (top-down) planning strategies of formal authorities, but also on the appropriate (bottom-up) inclusion of heterogeneous elements that are provided and embedded within the small, hidden context of city spaces.
The Japanese urban alleyway, which was once part of peoples personal spatial sphere and everyday... more The Japanese urban alleyway, which was once part of peoples personal spatial sphere and everyday life, has been transformed by diverse and competing interests. Marginalised through the emergence of new forms of housing and public spaces, re-appropriated by different fields and re-invented by the contemporary urban design discourse, the social meaning attached to the roji is being re-interpreted by individuals, subcultures and new social movements. The book will introduce and discuss examples of urban practices that take place within the dynamic urban landscape of contemporary Tokyo to portray the life cycle of an urban form being re-discovered, commodified and lost as physical space
The paper Tokyo Roji-Alleyways between Conflict, Change and Cultural Innovation, explores three a... more The paper Tokyo Roji-Alleyways between Conflict, Change and Cultural Innovation, explores three alleyway networks spread across contemporary Tokyo through the experiences of the people who make use of these vernacular places to offer an in-depth, sociological portrait of the contested city. The roji was once part of people's personal spatial sphere and everyday life, but has increasingly been transformed by diverse and competing interests. Marginalized through the emergence of new forms of housing and public spaces and re-appropriated by different fields, the social meaning attached to the roji is being re-interpreted by individuals, subcultures and new social movements to fit hybrid and multiple concepts of living. This paper investigates the kind of functions the roji fulfilled in the past, and the qualities of urban life that have been lost or changed as the alleyway has ceased to be an everyday part of contemporary Tokyo, being pushed to the edge of the built and social environment. Moreover, the roji functions as a lens to inquire what the human perception of vernacular urban textures is and how it has changed over time. Providing multiple narratives of change, the paper's main purpose is to critically reflect on the diversity and versatility of the Japanese urban alleyway, arguing that the interstitial place of the roji is a valuable space as it is desired to express local voices, thoughts and personal opinions and needed to reclaim the city and make neighbourhoods more resilient to large scale urban change.
Memory is a universal human act in which information and experiences are keyed, stored and recove... more Memory is a universal human act in which information and experiences are keyed, stored and recovered. While each person has different ways to recover memories, it is important to consider that public and collective memories are a powerful tool to reclaim events, places and their symbolic value. In The Social Life of Memory, a diverse group of writers, researchers and scholars of sociology, anthropology, geography, history, literature, and cultural studies deals with the challenge to understand different modes of narrating and embodying history. A diversity of multidisciplinary approaches provides a rich and deep understanding of memory and the process of revitalizing memories as means of political activism, social interaction and cultural reoccupation of history. The eight essays within this edited volume cover different practices of memory and place making, experienced during the Arab Spring in Lebanon and Morocco, tracking personal and public accounts of violence, trauma and testimony reflecting memories found in oral statements, different form media including cinema, newspapers, prison narratives and as an experience and act of remembering, protesting and reoccupying public spaces, especially focussing on the practices of the youth, families, activists and other engaged citizens. As it proceeds, the book is always trying to not lose site of the way memory is portrayed, reworked and moderated as personal and public act of remembering, thus becoming for example an embodied experience or materialized artefact, to just to name some. The introduction focuses mainly on the academic field of memory studies and different theoretical approaches, discussing the meaning of memory in terms of everyday life, struggles and interaction. The focus on the event, time and realm of the Arab Spring allows the authors to draw the reader directly into the context of recent historical events, presenting actors, conflicts and sites of history, remembrance and remediation. The editors present the topic in juxtaposing chapters of official and public narratives with personal testimonies of violence, trauma and protest, offering fine-grained sets of data allowing us to understand the complexity, versatility and diversity of memories, violent clashes and traumatic confusion. As such, the book takes conventional memory studies one step further by examining how public remembrance, social exchange and cultural reproduction of memory is reflecting violence, trauma and testimony. This shows that memory is not only a personal act of encoding the past, much more it is socially constructed and performative. This insightful collection explores the socio-cultural dimensions of memory across a wide variety of settings, discussing theoretical and practical aspects of violence, trauma, activism, roles of victims and therapeutic acts of remembrance, reflected in personal identities, insights and narratives. The editors, Norman Saadi Nikro and Sonja Hegasy are scholars in art, literature and Arabic/ Islamic Studies respectively and have focussed in recent their work on trauma, diaspora and the cultural production by migrants, often integrating comparative studies and interdisciplinary approaches to challenge traditional disciplines like philosophy, critical theory and religious studies. In this context, some chapters are presented in a conventional way making use of traditional social science methods as content analysis, case studies or archival research. Yet, biographical impulses combined with personal and to some extent even poetic storytelling allows the reader to engage deeper with the topic. Especially the chapter Ressouvenirs in Dialogue appeals to the reader as it starting off with the question: "What is the meaning of war? Is it only physical (…) Should we remember or forget?" (170). Adopting a revisionist approach, the author invites the reader to encounter different actors in the field which are affected by war, violence and traumas in different ways. Without revealing too much of the personal trajectories and testimonies presented in this chapter, the authors closes with the argument that especially the youth deserves specific attention as "…they inherit the experience of physical and psychological
