human(e) aspects of tokyo

Human(e) Aspects of Tokyocreative climate, small places of anarchy, stigmergynotes and a few projects for a guest lecture at Dr. Christian Dimmer's Public/Private Seminar, Waseda UniversityNov. 16, 2011Chris Berthelsenhttp://[email protected] @a_small_lab

http://a-small-lab.com/

mailto:[email protected]

http://twitter.com/a_small_lab

People play with things and find new uses for them (Lynch, 1984:157)

Messy and spontaneous,individually created, everyday expressions of the creativity of everyday people in all of its facets. A response to the environment, a reflection of society, culture, and traditions (Jonas, 2007)

Change reconciles with the idea of Improvement (Koolhaus, 2002)andpeople feel joy, as opposed to mere pleasure(Illich, 1973:17)

Leaky roof countermeasures(Nakano Station, Tokyo)

CreativtyInnovation

I started out looking at creativity and innovation...

CreativtyInnovation

Organizations

At first in organizations... I thought it would be a good money spinner

Hint: It didn't work for me

CreativtyInnovation

Organizations

Departments

CreativtyInnovation

Organizations

Departments

Teams

CreativtyInnovation

Organizations

Departments

Teams

WorkEnvrionment

I keep looking, down to the work environment

CreativtyInnovation

Organizations

Departments

Teams

WorkEnvrionment

The Individual

I keep looking, down to the work environment and finally the individual....

CreativtyInnovation

Organizations

Departments

Teams

WorkEnvrionment

The IndividualAt the same time

CreativtyInnovation

Organizations

Departments

Teams

WorkEnvrionment

The IndividualRegions

At the same time, people were being exciting about innovation and creativity on regional

CreativtyInnovation

Organizations

Departments

Teams

WorkEnvrionment


Countries

At the same time, people were be exciting about innovation and creativity on regional, country

CreativtyInnovation

Organizations

Departments

Teams

WorkEnvrionment


Countries

Cities

At the same time, people were be exciting about innovation and creativity on regional, country and city levels....

CreativtyInnovation

Organizations

Departments

Teams

WorkEnvrionment


Countries

Cities

Neighbourhoods

At the same time, people were be exciting about innovation and creativity on regional, country and city levels....I kept looking, through to neighbourhoods

CreativtyInnovation

Organizations

Departments

Teams

WorkEnvrionment

The Individual

The Individual

Regions

Countries

Cities

Neighbourhoods

At the same time, people were be exciting about innovation and creativity on regional, country and city levels....I kept looking, through to neighbourhoods and finally the individual...

CreativtyInnovation

Organizations

Departments

Teams

WorkEnvrionment

The Individual

The Individual

Regions

Countries

Cities

Neighbourhoods

Components of Creativity &Creative Climate

Here is a little framework for thinking about creativity....Please keep it in mind while I flip through the examples and projects later....

individual

environmentRef: Amabile, Isaksen, Ekvall etc

creative product

“A product or response is creative to the extent that those familiar with the context in which it was created and/or resides in regard it as being novel and valuable to a suitable degree.”

after Amabile

creative productAs fine-grained component of happiness.

Engram, Trace

Ref Stigmergy, later

creative productProcess

As fine-grained component of happiness.

Engram, Trace

Always some kind of process (sub/conscious, in/direct), ending with the creative output


Person


Engram, Trace

The creative product always comes out of the mind of the individual, (e.g. even if simultaneously arrived at in a group)


Person

Press (Environment)


Engram, Trace

The processes and persons reside in some environment (social, psychological, climate etc etc)

creative product

Components of Creativity

Process

Person

Press (Environment)


Engram, Trace

creative product


Knowledge & Skills

Process

Person

Press (Environment)


Engram, Trace

Domain relevant

creative product


Knowledge & Skills

Creativity Specific Skills

Process

Person

Press (Environment)


Engram, Trace

Tacit, explicit, personality etc...

creative product


Knowledge & Skills


IntrinsicMotivation

Process

Person

Press (Environment)


Engram, Trace

'for itself'

creative product


Knowledge & Skills


IntrinsicMotivation

Process

Person

Press (Environment)


Engram, Trace

creative product


Knowledge & Skills


IntrinsicMotivation

Process

Person

Press (Environment)


Engram, Trace

Creative C

limate

Creative Climate (see e.g. Ekvall, Amabile, Isaksen)

Freedom

Time Playfulness/Humor

Idea Support

Debate

Resources

Climate: A collective perceptual construct reflecting a lower level of abstraction based on observed patterns of interaction and behaviour (Schneider, 2000).

Culture, which reflects the deeper and more stable aspects of values, traditions, rituals and history (Denison, 1996).Research on organizational culture has typically focused on the underlying assumptions and values of the organization that are deeply embedded and can often be subconscious, hidden and taken for granted (Schein, 2004).

Text from : http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1467-8691.2010.00558.x/full


Freedom

Trust/Openness


Conflict(Violence?)

Idea Support

DebateRisk Tolerance

Resources

Text from : http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1467-8691.2010.00558.x/full and Mathisen and Einarsen (2004: 126) (see also on Amabile et al., 1996, 1999)

http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1467-8691.2010.00558.x/full

The way new ideas are treated. In a high Idea-Support situation, people receive ideas and suggestions in an attentive and professional manner. People listen generously to each other.


Freedom

Trust/Openness


Conflict(Violence?)

Idea Support


Resources



Freedom

Trust/Openness


Conflict(Violence?)

Idea Support


Resources

The occurrence and open disagreement between viewpoints, ideas, experiences and knowledge. In the Debating situation, many different voices and points of view are exchanged and encouraged.


Freedom

Trust/Openness


Conflict(Violence?)

Idea Support


Resources

The tolerance of uncertainty and ambiguity. In a high Risk-Taking climate, people can make decisions even when they do not have certainty and all the information desired. People can and do ‘go out on a limb’ to put new ideas forward.


Freedom

Trust/Openness


Conflict(Violence?)

Idea Support


Resources

High levels of Freedom imply more perceived autonomy and ability for individual discretion.



Freedom

Trust/Openness


Conflict(Violence?)

Idea Support


Resources

The emotional safety in relationships. In high Trust/Openness situations, people feel more comfortable sharing ideas and being frank and honest with each other.


Freedom

Trust/Openness


Conflict(Violence?)

Idea Support


Resources

Access to resources including funds, facilities, materials and information.


Freedom

Trust/Openness


Conflict(Violence?)

Idea Support


Resources

The amount of time people can, and do, use for elaborating new ideas. When Idea-Time is high, people can explore and develop new ideas that may not have been included in the original task.


Freedom

Trust/Openness


Conflict(Violence?)

Idea Support


Resources

The spontaneity and ease displayed within the environment. Good-natured joking and laughter and a relaxed atmosphere (lower stress) are indicators of higher levels of Playfulness and Humour.


Freedom

Trust/Openness


Conflict(Violence?)

Idea Support


Resources

When Conflict is high, people engage in interpersonal warfare, slander and gossip, and even plot against each other...Crime.... Include also threats/actual phyiscal violence (police, military, private security)

A quick run through Tokyo(keeping in mind the creative climate framework)

Public Seating

Discuss: RISK – FREEDOM – TRUST – RESOURCES – TIME – PLAYFULNESS – IDEA SUPPORT – DEBATE - CONFLICT

Safety.


Access.


When access becomes difficult


Fix it.


In a city with scarce space and dirt, make it yourself....


Even on a 10cm wide curb....


Or on the sidewalk.


Or in a highrise.


Or on a precarious brick wall.


Or along the railroad tracks.


Flower lovers share their passion...


Grape-obsessed Shibuya-ites.....


Basil


What appears to be dead space...


Is home to fresh red peppers.


Maintaining a dead spouse's neighbourhood park garden...


What appears to be run-down dead space


Becomes a lush living fence that beautifies the vacant lots


And plays host to lovely flora....


The work of neighbourhood misfits


Is actually a tomato garden.


People who often visit the neighbours


Create their own access-ways.


Placing rubbish bins where they are needed.


Animals KEEP OUT!


With intricate, flexible and affordable construction.


Even pedestrian smokers find a way to keep the street (if not the air) clean.


Dark apartment complexes call for home-made street lights.


And when you're sick of people asking you how to find the station, you stick up some signs.


Bricks are a key element in bicycle parking.


Foxface decorates an inner city garden


Even when it's out of season (fruit are tied on with plastic ties)


In the suburbs, where Jazz clubs are scarce, you need to make your own..


And golf lovers construct a 'fold away' 9-hole course in the local park.


ad infinitum

In a dire view of the city

But,

“Part machine, part sub-human organism, part nightmare-huge projection and embodiment of passion and insanity.” (Huxley, 1939)

From 'After Many a Summer Dies the Swan' not 'Brave New World'

Photo: Mori Scale Model of Tokyo

Total absence of purpose (Lynch, 1984:364).

Community = the market + isolation;

Freedom = total surveillance society (Zerzan, 2006).

"if there has to be a bloodbath, then let’s get it over with" (Ronald Regan quoted in the San Francisco Chronicle in response to protests when the

People’s Park in Berkeley was fenced off by police and the National Guard (in McKay (2011:120)).)

Photo: Collection of the Oakland Museum of California

This is California, 1966

→ The abstract, faceless conquest of Space by Man (capitalized) → the limitation of place for men (in small letters) (Ellul, 1964:328).

Our city illness has a basic motive (Lynch, 1984:364), a common denominator; A single mechanism by which it most disturbs urbanites.

This is the loss of control.(Krupat)

The message is clear: “You cannot do as you please; your actions do not make any difference."

No throwing cigarettes.

Be careful! (of your sandals)

No walking, No running,Hold the handrail.

No walking, No running,Because it's dangerous.

No walking, No running.

Stand in an orderly fashion.

Hold the handrail.

Subway station (Nagoya)

And of course, don't play on the grass...

Apartment block grassed areain Western Tokyo

Not just 'don't walk' but specifically directed at children....

The Radical Monopoly of Space:

The Radical Monopoly of Space:a major tool rules out natural competence, imposing compulsory consumption and thereby restricting personal autonomy.

The Radical Monopoly of Space:a major tool rules out natural competence, imposing compulsory consumption and thereby restricting personal autonomy. It constitutes a special kind of social control because it is enforced by means of the

imposed consumption of a standard product that only large institutions can provide (Illich, 1973:35).

people give up their native ability to do what they can do for themselves and for each other, in exchange for something “better” that can be done for them only by a major tool (Illich, 1973:36)

Housing in Western Tokyo

But, commoditized city space which is ‘assembled and ordered’ in form,

appearance, and functional prescription need not be entirely fixed or predetermined by the complex process through which it enters the world.

Reality acquires its identity from what can be done with it and what is important is the relationship that human beings have to their everyday environment.

But, commoditized city space which is ‘assembled and ordered’ in form,

appearance, and functional prescription need not be entirely fixed or predetermined by the complex process through which it enters the world.

Reality acquires its identity from what can be done with it and what is important is the relationship that human beings have to their everyday environment.

Technology in this view can generate specific forms of access to the world for human beings. It is the use-objects around us that are the nearest and authentic things, they give us access to being and thus (help us) shape our world.

The most powerful way of improving our environment then is to put the control of it into the hands of its immediate users who have the stake and knowledge to make it function well (Lynch, 1984:165).

The last great force in the city is the residents themselves (Orum

and Chen:18); their creative response to change is their ultimate guarantee of survival (Lynch, 1984:172).

Taking care of apartment block public space in Edogawa

It is important to understand unintended user contributions to urban order because this is a potentially revolutionary aspect of the city's structure. The general organization of urban life must develop more sensitivity to the arbitrariness of human use for the city as an object, or that arbitrariness will coalesce into revolt.

These lifestyles must be given breathing space (Glean Chase discussing urban cavemanship in Wilsher and Righter, 1975:98-99).

Pick one spot in the city and begin to think of it as yours. It doesn't matter where, and it doesn't matter what (Auster, 2003)

Hollyhock grown by residents of housing opposite train lines in Western Tokyo

“We give back to man the joy of building.” (Hans Hollein, 1960)

“The reconstruction of life, the rebuilding of the world: one and the same desire.” (Vaneigem, 1967:chpt10)

Small Places of Anarchy

Small Places of AnarchyThe actor, not the hero (Bamyeh, 2009:30). Neither the passive observer of determined systems nor a determined manipulator of passive material and standing reserve, but rather

the cultivatorSee alsohttp://thisbigcity.net/small-places-of-anarchy-in-the-city-three-investigations-in-tokyo/

http://thisbigcity.net/small-places-of-anarchy-in-the-city-three-investigations-in-tokyo/

Tokyo makes it possible for slim segments of the population

to generate their own environments in scattered oases of a vast metroscape.

What emerges here is the idea of the city of unimposed order, consisting of communal self-determination on one hand and individual freedom on the other.

Here authority is practical, rather than

absolute or permanent, and based in communication, negotiation.

Small places of anarchy are zones of human-scale action, attachment and care. They can:

1) Replace state control with regards to an aspect of city life.

2) Take away that aspect from the requirement of majority rule.

3) Promote unimposed order as the style working.

NO state control

NO majority rule

YES to unimposed order as work style

They are located within the existing system,

tacitly accepted or actively protected, and may take many forms.

They are not the whole of society but occupy space within the existing order and can be entirely individual in nature.

They are located within the existing system,

tacitly accepted or actively protected, and may take many forms.

They are not the whole of society but occupy space within the existing order and can be entirely individual in nature.

They are not consciously based in anarchist ideology because “anarchy is a normal tendency in voluntary organized social life, where spontaneous order comes out without an imposition.”

The virtue of unimposed order thus develops through learning of the practice of rational freedom – that the complexity of the social world can be an asset rather than a source of perpetual war.

What emerges is not intensified debate, ‘automatic pilot’ resistance or struggle (Boomkens, 2008:16).

Neither is it the violence of market-based 'competition' or the dull submission of the hierarchy.

Rather life emerges as a common but negotiated human experiment – a life that is engaged and felt rather than delegated and abstracted (Bamyeh, 2009:12, 24) in places of intensified cohabitation and conjunction (Boomkens, 2008:15).

For the case of Tokyo

Own Shop& Surrounds

DeceasedGrandparents'House & Shop・亡くなった親戚の家や店

Workplace ・職場

City ・都市

NearbyLarge Park・もっと大きい公園

Workplace ・職場

Suburb ・町・街

NearbyLarger Roads・近くの道路

Close SmallParks ・近くの公園

Uncle'sHouse・おじさんの家

ParkingSpace・駐車所

Surrounds ・家の近く

Neighbourhood ・近所

Frontage ・正面 Footpath ・歩道

OppositeFootpath ・反対歩道

Home ・自宅Dwelling ・住まい

Locations of Small Places of Anarchy (Scattered Uchi) [Tokyo]

Locations of Small Places of Anarchy (Scattered Uchi) [Tokyo]

Practically, this means that the individual realizes that the society that he or she lives in is the landscape – that this living thing right now before our eyes is the landscape. Every resident has a clear sense of identity and culture , of agency … or possibly more correctly, the habitat in which agency operates and which it produces in the course of its operation (Bauman, 1992, 190-1 see Flusty, 2004).

Small Places of Anarchy form the City

"I will grow, I will grow when the city grows"(Huidobro, 1919:115)

Gardened walkway (Suginami-ku, Tokyo)

Stigmergy

‘… instead of coordination through direct communication, each individual can adjust its building behaviour to fit with that of its neighbours through

the medium of the work in progress’.

Camazine, et al.(2001, p. 24)

StigmergyForm of self-organizationComplex, seemingly intelligent, structures without planning,

control, or even direct communicationSupports collaboration between even very simple agents or actions

Stigmergy Mechanism of indirect coordination between agents or actions.

The trace left in the environment by an action

stimulates the performance of a next action by the same or a different agent.

Subsequent actions tend to reinforce and build on each other.

Leading to the spontaneous emergence of coherent, apparently systematic activity.

Form of self-organizationComplex, seemingly intelligent, structures without planning,

control, or even direct communicationSupports collaboration between even very simple agents or actions

Stigmergy

Actor/Action Environment

Actor/Action

Actor/Action

Coordination/ConstructionActivities

http://epress.anu.edu.au/info_systems/mobile_devices/ch09s05.html

Information flow via the environment

Imprint of information via cues and/or stimulus

Non-Intentional Landscape,

Hand-Made City

Stigmergent City

Elastic city

Something like

http://www.thepolisblog.org/2011/11/imagining-elastic-city.html

http://thisbigcity.net/the-non-intentional-landscape-of-tokyo/

http://www.thepolisblog.org/2011/11/imagining-elastic-city.html

http://thisbigcity.net/the-non-intentional-landscape-of-tokyo/

Walls, curbs, balconies and roofs. Sidewalks, corners, overhangs, carparks and train stations. The park, inherited property, reappropriated fishing spots, public toilets and green sleeping spots.

Here, the city of crumbs is experienced as a city of fine-grained humanity built in the gaps of the city.

This is a physical manifestation of the fragments of individual human knowledge of the city; residences, parks and free space, extended family, and areas connected to their professional, social and other roles.

Non-intentional Landscape(Shibuya)

http://www.flickr.com/photos/a-small-lab/6245919459/sizes/l/in/photostream/



Non-intentional Landscape(Akishima-shi)




Non-intentional Landscape(Hand-Made Tokyo Collage Workshop)

http://a-small-lab.com/projects/hand-made-tokyo



Some projects examining the human(e), fine-grained aspects of Tokyo

FIXES (a-small-lab.com/fixes/)

Investigating alterations of space/objects at the public/private boundary in suburban Tokyo, Japan.

http://a-small-lab.com/fixes/

TOKYO DIY GARDENING (tokyo-diy-gardening.org)

An open sourcebook and resource for urban gardening on a personal level – “hands-on gardening for a crowded city”. It includes ‘how-to’ examples/instructions, photo essays, observations, interviews, articles and more with the aim of knowledge sharing and creation around low-cost, agile gardening in dense cities (with a focus on Tokyo).

http://tokyo-diy-gardening.org/

HAND MADE PLAY (a-small-lab.com/hand-made-play)

A collaborative + open research project investigating, enjoying, and learning from the self-initiated non-commercial play of children

http://a-small-lab.com/hand-made-play

HAND MADE PLAY (a-small-lab.com/hand-made-play)

http://a-small-lab.com/hand-made-play

Child-Scale Cities(http://a-small-lab.com/hand-made-play/understanding-the-child-scale-in-the-city-excerpt/)

http://a-small-lab.com/hand-made-play/understanding-the-child-scale-in-the-city-excerpt/

HAND MADE ASPECTS OF MASS MADE HOUSING

what elements ofthe human hand are found in this space built on thelogic of economiesscale?

survival sickness..

We most emphatically condemn as inhuman the present practice of forbidding any modifications to social housing by their residents. Tied in to our suggestions for ownership, we uphold the fundamental right for an owner/resident to modify his/her dwelling to any extent without

impinging on the rights of neighbors or the public space.”

HAND MADE ASPECTS OF MASS MADE TOILETS

what elements ofthe human hand are found in this non-place?

HAND MADE ASPECTS OF PUBLIC TRANSPORT

what elements ofthe human hand are found in this non-place?

HAND MADE MEMORIAL (Ozaki Yutaka)

hand made memorial in smooth, bald space

temporal aspect, pilgrimage

“How do people like to discuss their neighbourhood spaces? What would a flexible, open and affordable system for facilitating this look like? How can we easily find out which neighbourhood spaces people care about?”An iterative investigation.

KOKONOHANASHI (http://a-small-lab.com/projects/kokonohanashi.htm)

http://a-small-lab.com/projects/kokonohanashi.htm

Keep Your City Beautiful!

153

Keep Your City Delicious (http://www.slideshare.net/asmalllab/keep-your-city-delicious)

Keep Your City Beautiful!

154


http://www.slideshare.net/asmalllab/keep-your-city-delicious

Keep Your City Delicious!

155



Title: Aoyama BreakfastTime: 7:30am~10:00am, Early Spring

156



157

In a small run-down park not a minute's walk from thedeath-trap of Omotesando Hills. A small bearded man waits.



Contrast the leisurely urban interior

158



with the psychological rigor that the commerical crust demands...........anyway, back to the breakfast.

159



Necessary bits and pieces

160

gas burner grated potato

flour

coffee, cups,stovetop espressomaker

butter, chocolate,juice, etc



Season, sauce and eat.

161



A small, balding man enjoys his breakfast.

162



Welcome to the bakery in a home!

163



Welcome to the bakery in a home! Entrance fee 100 yen for 20 pieces, and your money back at the end!

164



Bread, cake, biscuits and more! Take your pick!

165



Go for it!

166



LOOK-A-ROUND (http://a-small-lab.com/projects/look-a-round)

Creating cities that are accessible to as many people as possible, regardless of physical capabilities is an important part of cultivating a fully functioning urban environment.

a board game which encourages learning about city accessibility

http://a-small-lab.com/projects/look-a-round

TOKYO-COLOUR-IN (http://a-small-lab.com/projects/tokyo-colour-in)

introduce little hands and minds to the fine-grained hand made aspect of human(e) creativity on the street.

http://a-small-lab.com/projects/tokyo-colour-in

CITY BLOCKS

CITY BLOCKS

Children have an inexhaustible ability to use and transform the debris of society in new and creative ways.

FIXES TOOLKIT

a card game about the hand-made city of Tokyo.

TOKYO MAPPING WORKSHOP (a-small-lab.com/projects/hand-made-tokyo)


"The experience of these ragpickers suggests a time other than that of development. And studying these groups, like digging into the history of ideas, can lift us from our assumptions, but with no guarantee of what the result will be"(Illich, 1989:7 PDF)

http://www.tino.ca/illich/1989_shadow_future.PDF

Contact:Chris Berthelsen ([email protected])> twitter.com/a_small_lab > a-small-lab.com

“Within the chaos, most people have forgotten who lives where and how;

they have lost affection for their own locality.

Beautiful cityscapes and wonderful living environments must be fostered slowly and steadily under the gaze of citizens who love and take pride in their land.” (Jinnai, 1995:65)

http://twitter.com/a_small_lab

http://a-small-lab.com/

human(e) aspects of tokyo

Design