Is #Tokyo such a #liveable, #walkable #city because of a lack of urban planning? bbc.com/future/article… via BBC Future cc urbz Christian Dimmer

"Let's create a place where we (mothers) can challenge ourselves; meet outside our busy lives as homemakers." Nice example of community entrepreneurship: Supported by local gov't, 13 mothers in Zusshi City, Kanagawa Pref. start mobile food service. tokyo-np.co.jp/article/294264

Students and teachers of my alma-mater, the Urban Design Lab at Tokyo University have worked tirelessly for many years as advocates of the community in order to protect this absolutely unique townscape. If you have a chance, please go and experience the historic atmosphere of Tomonoura.

After some delay, my article (written in 2021) about public space, parks and Tokyo 2020 has been published in the Review of Japanese Culture and Society. Many thanks to Jules Boykoff and Christian Dimmer, whose work involved much of the framework. muse.jhu.edu/pub/5/article/…

Over 50% of car drivers in Japan do not stop for pedestrians at crosswalks, according to a survey by the Japan Automobile Federation (JAF). Why do you think that is? - Japan Today japantoday.com/category/have-…

Japan’s public baths, #Sento, have been important hubs for community life, wellbeing, and integrating different socio-economic classes and people of all walks of life. Today they’re threatened by a privatisation of life but they’re also an antidote to it. www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/sh…

Another story on my local public bath house on #NHK. 2 families trying hard to keep this living local history alive and preserve it for future generations. Community hubs like #sento are crucial to reproduce #socialcapital & build #community #resilience. nhk.or.jp/shutoken/hirum…

Idea competition: The #Schlossaneignung initiative has been founded in #Berlin and is calling to break up the glorification of Prussia caused by the reconstruction of the Berlin Palace façades. #decolonialisation #collectivememory schlossaneignung.de/call-for-ideas/

In our recent text Mark Kammerbauer & I look at alternative, historic ideas of planning that saw the world in perpetual emergence; comprising of #wickedproblems. We then offer propositions for a different planning in an age of accelerating socio-ecological change & uncertainty.

Tokyo is mercilessly metabolising and modernising and older structures vanish at breakneck speed. However, it is also granular enough to have beautiful things survive in quiet back alleys. All we need to do is to keep our eyes open.

For those reading German, recently I shared my thoughts about #Tokyo as model for future urbanisation issues: "Stadtentwicklung in Japan – Tokio verliert seine Bäume" While the city does well in many respects, it keeps losing more green than is created. dlvr.it/TFPHrt

#Grünflächen gehen in #Tokio verloren – auch, weil #Bäume nicht zum japanischen Sauberkeits­anspruch passen. tagesanzeiger.ch/tokio-japans-h…

Remove the last 10 seconds with the narration and this is a new urbanist ad. ~20 years ago GM tried to sell Saturn Ions and Vues and accidentally showed us how much better urban life would be without cars. --> youtube.com/watch?v=e_oWmY…

If you want a fuller *picture* of #Tokyo& #Japan #urbanism, pls have a look at my instagram. Tokyo is a great city overall (adaptable, walkable, dense, mixed-use to name a few properties) but it also has its problems. Much can be learned: instagram.com/chr.dimmer/

I met recently with the gentlemen of Me, Myself & Disaster who are travelling the world in order to document and share cutting edge disaster response solutions for an age of accelerating change. Here’s me, briefly talking about an evacuation park in #Tokyo. youtu.be/THGcGKKmvXg?fe…

It’s time to make the journey. I loved our urbanism community here & over the years I met many of you in person or virtually. Twitter was a good public square. However, with an enemy of democracy at the helm I am pulling out. Would be nice to see some of you on the other side!

Its time to make the journey. I loved our urbanism community here. Over the years I met many of you in person/virtually. Twitter was a good public square. However, with an opponent of democracy at the helm I put Twitter @ rest for now. Would be nice to see you on the other side!