Cities like Tokyo have undergone a rapid urbanization in the 20th century and face recently new, complex urban challenges (e.g. incipient gentrification/ sustainable urban growth). Furthermore, Tokyo’s positioning as a global city has caused many discussions but seldom is it directly focused on how processes of recent urban restructuring affect the life at the grass-root level and inside the small scale urban alleys, called roji. Accordingly, focusing on the contemporary role of marginalized street space, the presentation will take the case of two inner-city neighbourhoods in Tokyo to draw on the perspective of the Low-rise community, asking to which degree daily life and access to traditional urban alleyways is marginalized by the effects of new High-rise developments. In Summary, the presentation introduces 1) the changing socio- spatial manifestation of those communities and 2) how these changes are reflected in the daily interaction and diverse conceptions of ‘native’, ‘newcomers’ and ‘outsiders’.

Ms. Heide Jager is a Ph.D Candidate of Manchester Institute for Research and Innovation in Art and Design, Manchester Metropolitan University, U.K.  Her academic interests are Architecture and Anthropology.  Ms. Jager is writing her doctorate thesis on “Resonances of the roji: walking urban backstreets as everyday practice, a study of street space in Japan”.  She has been in Japan since May as a Japan Foundation Japanese Studies Fellow, and is involved in field work in the Yanaka/Nezu and Kagurazaka areas under the supervision of Prof. Hidenobu Jinnai, Hosei University. 

Friday, November30, 2007

15:30-17:30

English (no interpretation)

If you would like to attend the seminar, please notify Japanese Studies and Intellectual Exchange Dept. by Thursday November 29, 2007 with your name, affiliation, and contact information (tel., fax or e-mail). If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us.
Tel: 03-5369-6069, Fax: 03-5369-6041