Dividual Space

 ‘A city’s most prominent public spaces are often emblematic of the city itself and reflect whether its citizens relate well to the city and to each other’ (Cybriwsky, 1999: 224)

In Tokyo, much like other global cities, there is an increasing trend towards the privatised public realm and yet, ‘different societies and different modes of production produce space differently’ (Smith, 1998: 54). Ideas of publicness are constructed at different scales and sites in Tokyo. As such, the house, commercial facilities, the street and the neighbourhood blur established dichotomies of public and private.

In the study of urban geography, there is a heavy focus on rights to the city and the implications of changing dynamics of ownership and power. This trajectory runs alongside a practice of urban design that attempts to regenerate the public realm. With the redesigning of public spaces comes the redesigning of control and ownership. As such, there is increased debate about privatisation, surveillance, security and control over mobility.

One of the biggest transformations from public to private land is the Roppongi Hills development. Constructed by Minoru Mori, the estate developer, the ‘city within a city’ incorporates a 54-story tower, apartments, offices, shops, restaurants, theatres, the Mori Art Museum, a hotel, a TV studio, an outdoor amphitheatre and parks (Elberse, 2011). It is an example of Privately Owned Public Space (POPS) which is private property yet useable by the public (Kayden, 2000). Occupying 29 acres in central Tokyo amongst a backdrop of micro spaces, ‘the development operates on a foreign scale’ (Pearson, 2007: 121). This is evidence of how changing building regulation and reorganising spatial scale is 'an integral part of social strategies and struggles for control and empowerment' (Swyngedouw, 2000: 70).

Tokyo Scanner by Oshii Mamoru / MORI BUILDING COMPANY LTD

The video ‘Tokyo Scanner’ has an aesthetic that incorporates technologies of looking and surveillance, matched by the realities on the ground. The birds eye view of Tokyo privileged by the film, and by the Mori Tower creates a sense of the overseer, showing how power is emboldened by the built environment through ‘creative mobilisation of developmental institutions to enhance land development profits and assets’ (Fujii et al., 2007: 579). In such a way, whilst the public sphere attempts to extend horizontal relations, the private moves vertically, creating an insular and exclusive politics in the sky.

As a gesture, certain freedoms are granted but controlled, such as the prohibiting of vehicles on shopping streets for recreation. On Sundays in smaller districts and in the heart of the city alike, streets are closed so people are able to meander freely. However, these spaces are dominated by restaurants, bars and shops as ‘landscapes of consumption' (Cybriwsky, 1999: 223).

Road Closure, Kagurazaka

Road Closure, Ginza

Because POPS often come with a long list of prohibited behaviours, it is all the more important that ‘citizens are aware of which places belong to the public realm and which claims can legitimately made on these spaces’ (Dimmer, 2012: 84). Whilst the public is increasing in private qualities, there is a movement that redefines the collective sphere through the ‘counterpublic’ (Warner, 2002). Originating in the radicalism and citizen activism of the 1970’s, the 1990’s saw the development of the ‘machizukuri’ movement meaning town making or community development (Hein, 2001). Through this, spaces have been developed around concepts of historical preservation, spatial enhancement, contestation and protection (Watanabe 1999). This opposition against the development of private spheres ‘coincided with the emerging concept of the ‘new public’ in Japan and contributed to increased social capital in local communities’ (Hayashi, 2010). The popularity of the movement reflects a growing sense of crisis at the community level, much like the disintegration of the streetscape and the reality of a declining public sector.

In Yanaka, the ‘Yanaka School’ helped to create community assets by renovating a disused community bathhouse into an art gallery, asserting historical legacy, encouraging preservation and regeneration alike. These notions of reinforced publicness extend beyond the boundaries of the build environment: creating local magazines, cataloguing community resources and making constitutions (Sorensen, 2009).

Source: Sorensen (2009)

There is a particular kind of space unique and abundant in Tokyo: 'dividual space'. Described as divided, shared and participated in, these spaces include the sento (bath), karaoke room, love hotel and manga reading rooms (Caballero and Tsukamoto, 2006). The Tokyo apartment is small and functional, offering a place to sleep and store possessions. Domestic functions extend beyond the home through convenience shops, laundrymats, public baths, coin laundries and the proliferation of fast food restaurants (Hagedener, 2000). These third spaces, in a way become the new private, in the commercial sphere, illustrates the inbetween-ness of spaces and the need to go beyond dichotomies of public-private space. References Castells, M (1997) The Power of Identity. Information Age: Economy, Society and Culture, Oxford: Blackwell. Caballero, J. A. and Y. Tsukamoto (2006) Tokyo Public Space Networks at the Intersection of the Commercial and the Domestic Realms Study on Dividual Space, Journal of Asian Architecture and Building Engineering, 5, 2, 301-308. Cybriwsky, R (1999) Changing Patterns of Urban Public Space: Observations and Assessments from the Tokyo and New York Metropolitan Area, Cities, 16, 4: 223-231. Dimmer, C (2012) Out of Sight, out of Mind? Raising Awareness for Tokyo’s hidden Privately Owned Public Spaces, D Catalogue - Planning & Design, 80-91. Dimmer, C (2013) ‘Privately Owned Public Space: The International Perpsective’ Sustainable Urban Regeneration, Centre for Sustainable Urban Regeneration, The University of Tokyo, Special Issue, 15. Elberse, A., Hagiu, A., and M Egawa (2007) Roppongi Hills: City Within a City, Harvard Business School Case, 707-431. Kayden, J. S (2000) The Municipal Art Society of New York, and The New York City Planning Department of City. Privately Owned Public Space: The New York City Experience. Wiley. Swyngedouw, E (2000) Authoritarian governance, power, and the politics of rescaling, Environment and Planning D, 18: 63–76. Fujii, S., Okata, J., and A. Sorensen (2007) Inner-city Redevelopment in Tokyo: Conflicts over urban place, planning governance and neighborhoods in Living Cities in Japan: Citizens’ movements, community building and local environments, Sorensen, A. and Funck, C (eds) London: Routledge: 247-266. Hayashi (2010) Machizukuri house and the its expanding network: Making a new public realm in private homes. In J. Hou (ed) Insurgent public space: Guerilla urbanism and the remaking of contemporary cities. New York: Routledge.  Sorensen, A (2009) Neighborhood Streets as Meaningful Spaces: Claiming Rights to Shared Spaces in Tokyo, City and Society, 21, 2: 207-229. Warner, M (2002) Publics and Counterpublics. New York: Zone Books.

There is a particular kind of space unique and abundant in Tokyo: 'dividual space'. Described as divided, shared and participated in, these spaces include the sento (bath), karaoke room, love hotel and manga reading rooms (Caballero and Tsukamoto, 2006). The Tokyo apartment is small and functional, offering a place to sleep and store possessions. Domestic functions extend beyond the home through convenience shops, laundrymats, public baths, coin laundries and the proliferation of fast food restaurants (Hagedener, 2000). These third spaces, in a way become the new private, in the commercial sphere, illustrates the inbetween-ness of spaces and the need to go beyond dichotomies of public-private space. References Castells, M (1997) The Power of Identity. Information Age: Economy, Society and Culture, Oxford: Blackwell. Caballero, J. A. and Y. Tsukamoto (2006) Tokyo Public Space Networks at the Intersection of the Commercial and the Domestic Realms Study on Dividual Space, Journal of Asian Architecture and Building Engineering, 5, 2, 301-308. Cybriwsky, R (1999) Changing Patterns of Urban Public Space: Observations and Assessments from the Tokyo and New York Metropolitan Area, Cities, 16, 4: 223-231. Dimmer, C (2012) Out of Sight, out of Mind? Raising Awareness for Tokyo’s hidden Privately Owned Public Spaces, D Catalogue - Planning & Design, 80-91. Dimmer, C (2013) ‘Privately Owned Public Space: The International Perpsective’ Sustainable Urban Regeneration, Centre for Sustainable Urban Regeneration, The University of Tokyo, Special Issue, 15. Elberse, A., Hagiu, A., and M Egawa (2007) Roppongi Hills: City Within a City, Harvard Business School Case, 707-431. Kayden, J. S (2000) The Municipal Art Society of New York, and The New York City Planning Department of City. Privately Owned Public Space: The New York City Experience. Wiley. Swyngedouw, E (2000) Authoritarian governance, power, and the politics of rescaling, Environment and Planning D, 18: 63–76. Fujii, S., Okata, J., and A. Sorensen (2007) Inner-city Redevelopment in Tokyo: Conflicts over urban place, planning governance and neighborhoods in Living Cities in Japan: Citizens’ movements, community building and local environments, Sorensen, A. and Funck, C (eds) London: Routledge: 247-266. Hayashi (2010) Machizukuri house and the its expanding network: Making a new public realm in private homes. In J. Hou (ed) Insurgent public space: Guerilla urbanism and the remaking of contemporary cities. New York: Routledge.  Sorensen, A (2009) Neighborhood Streets as Meaningful Spaces: Claiming Rights to Shared Spaces in Tokyo, City and Society, 21, 2: 207-229. Warner, M (2002) Publics and Counterpublics. New York: Zone Books.

There is a particular kind of space unique and abundant in Tokyo: 'dividual space'. Described as divided, shared and participated in, these spaces include the sento (bath), karaoke room, love hotel and manga reading rooms (Caballero and Tsukamoto, 2006). The Tokyo apartment is small and functional, offering a place to sleep and store possessions. Domestic functions extend beyond the home through convenience shops, laundrymats, public baths, coin laundries and the proliferation of fast food restaurants (Hagedener, 2000). These third spaces, in a way become the new private, in the commercial sphere, illustrates the inbetween-ness of spaces and the need to go beyond dichotomies of public-private space. References Castells, M (1997) The Power of Identity. Information Age: Economy, Society and Culture, Oxford: Blackwell. Caballero, J. A. and Y. Tsukamoto (2006) Tokyo Public Space Networks at the Intersection of the Commercial and the Domestic Realms Study on Dividual Space, Journal of Asian Architecture and Building Engineering, 5, 2, 301-308. Cybriwsky, R (1999) Changing Patterns of Urban Public Space: Observations and Assessments from the Tokyo and New York Metropolitan Area, Cities, 16, 4: 223-231. Dimmer, C (2012) Out of Sight, out of Mind? Raising Awareness for Tokyo’s hidden Privately Owned Public Spaces, D Catalogue - Planning & Design, 80-91. Dimmer, C (2013) ‘Privately Owned Public Space: The International Perpsective’ Sustainable Urban Regeneration, Centre for Sustainable Urban Regeneration, The University of Tokyo, Special Issue, 15. Elberse, A., Hagiu, A., and M Egawa (2007) Roppongi Hills: City Within a City, Harvard Business School Case, 707-431. Kayden, J. S (2000) The Municipal Art Society of New York, and The New York City Planning Department of City. Privately Owned Public Space: The New York City Experience. Wiley. Swyngedouw, E (2000) Authoritarian governance, power, and the politics of rescaling, Environment and Planning D, 18: 63–76. Fujii, S., Okata, J., and A. Sorensen (2007) Inner-city Redevelopment in Tokyo: Conflicts over urban place, planning governance and neighborhoods in Living Cities in Japan: Citizens’ movements, community building and local environments, Sorensen, A. and Funck, C (eds) London: Routledge: 247-266. Hayashi (2010) Machizukuri house and the its expanding network: Making a new public realm in private homes. In J. Hou (ed) Insurgent public space: Guerilla urbanism and the remaking of contemporary cities. New York: Routledge.  Sorensen, A (2009) Neighborhood Streets as Meaningful Spaces: Claiming Rights to Shared Spaces in Tokyo, City and Society, 21, 2: 207-229. Warner, M (2002) Publics and Counterpublics. New York: Zone Books.

There is a particular kind of space unique and abundant in Tokyo: 'dividual space'. Described as divided, shared and participated in, these spaces include the sento (bath), karaoke room, love hotel and manga reading rooms (Caballero and Tsukamoto, 2006). The Tokyo apartment is small and functional, offering a place to sleep and store possessions. Domestic functions extend beyond the home through convenience shops, laundrymats, public baths, coin laundries and the proliferation of fast food restaurants (Hagedener, 2000). These third spaces, in a way become the new private, in the commercial sphere, illustrates the inbetween-ness of spaces and the need to go beyond dichotomies of public-private space.

References

Castells, M (1997) The Power of Identity. Information Age: Economy, Society and Culture, Oxford: Blackwell.

Caballero, J. A. and Y. Tsukamoto (2006) Tokyo Public Space Networks at the Intersection of the Commercial and the Domestic Realms Study on Dividual Space, Journal of Asian Architecture and Building Engineering, 5, 2, 301-308.

Cybriwsky, R (1999) Changing Patterns of Urban Public Space: Observations and Assessments from the Tokyo and New York Metropolitan Area, Cities, 16, 4: 223-231.

Dimmer, C (2012) Out of Sight, out of Mind? Raising Awareness for Tokyo’s hidden Privately Owned Public Spaces, D Catalogue - Planning & Design, 80-91.

Dimmer, C (2013) ‘Privately Owned Public Space: The International Perpsective’ Sustainable Urban Regeneration, Centre for Sustainable Urban Regeneration, The University of Tokyo, Special Issue, 15.

Elberse, A., Hagiu, A., and M Egawa (2007) Roppongi Hills: City Within a City, Harvard Business School Case, 707-431.

Kayden, J. S (2000) The Municipal Art Society of New York, and The New York City Planning Department of City. Privately Owned Public Space: The New York City Experience. Wiley.

Swyngedouw, E (2000) Authoritarian governance, power, and the politics of rescaling, Environment and Planning D, 18: 63–76.

Fujii, S., Okata, J., and A. Sorensen (2007) Inner-city Redevelopment in Tokyo: Conflicts over urban place, planning governance and neighborhoods in Living Cities in Japan: Citizens’ movements, community building and local environments, Sorensen, A. and Funck, C (eds) London: Routledge: 247-266.

Hayashi (2010) Machizukuri house and the its expanding network: Making a new public realm in private homes. In J. Hou (ed) Insurgent public space: Guerilla urbanism and the remaking of contemporary cities. New York: Routledge. 

Sorensen, A (2009) Neighborhood Streets as Meaningful Spaces: Claiming Rights to Shared Spaces in Tokyo, City and Society, 21, 2: 207-229.

Warner, M (2002) Publics and Counterpublics. New York: Zone Books.