What are some successful examples of sustainable urban development? (Part 1) Don't be too judgmental, create a margin

YADOKARI Co., Ltd. and Hajimari Co., Ltd. sponsored a relay event “Future City Development Research Institute” to find hints for future living with company representatives and opinion leaders involved in future town development possibilities, area development, and community support. . On November 25, 2022, Vol.7 “Thinking about creating a sustainable liveliness-An example of urban development-type leasing that creates a community-” was held in Nihonbashi, Tokyo. Masakazu Kawai and Hideaki Nishibata from the Leasing Relations Department of NOMURA Co., Ltd. Kogei Co., Ltd., along with Mr. Daisuke Shibata, Co-CEO of Hajimari Shotengai, took the stage and held a discussion. (Click here for the archived video of the event)

*This event has already ended.

On the day of the event, there was a lot of excitement with talks that delved deeply into development and town planning. However, the four of them, who thought they hadn't talked yet, promised to meet again. This time, it is a dialogue that realized such a thought. With the enthusiasm of that day as it is, the discussion will start at "RE/SP2" at NOMURA Co., Ltd. 's Daiba headquarters.

From left: Hideaki Nishibata (NOMURA Co., Ltd.), Yuki Kimura (YADOKARI), Masakazu Kawai (NOMURA Co., Ltd.), Daisuke Shibata (Hajimari Shopping Street)

What are the challenges and success stories of urban development?

west end
“There were things I didn’t talk about in the discussion the other day, so I’m happy to be able to gather again today. May I have it?"
Selection results of open call proposal proposal submitters for ``Consignment of operation of vacant stores under the elevated tracks at the west exit of Ayase Station for the promotion of SDGs in Adachi Ward''｜Adachi Ward (city.adachi.tokyo.jp)

Shibata
"Yes. It was just about a year ago that Adachi Ward decided to change its direction to become an SDGs future city, and a section called the SDGs Future City Promotion Department was established. One of the challenges is to tackle child poverty.In the future, we were also asked to prepare a place and base for children.Under the JR overpass at Ayase Station. is vacant, so I wondered if I could do something there.”

west end
"Why was Ayase in Adachi Ward?"

Shibata
“It has been decided that a large condominium will be built on the north side of the station, and there is data that the population of Adachi Ward will continue to grow in the future. There is a 50-year-old housing complex called Irodori-no-Mori, and our company is involved in the operation of two buildings in it together with a real estate developer.

Kawai
"I see. That success story caught the attention of Adachi Ward."

Shibata
"Thankfully, when we thought about what to create, we and Adachi Ward had the idea of 'making the city fun for the people who live in it', so something like a community cafe would be good. So when I went to see the plot, there were 90 square meters and 50 square meters.Assuming that 90 square meters will be a community cafe, then 50 square meters?As a result of the discussion, we decided to create a space with books. I decided to create a

west end
"A place to create a place with books! That's good."

Shibata
“There used to be a well-loved bookstore in the town of Ayase for many years, but it is gone. I've never worked on a certain space before, but I thought let's try it.The concept of this town development is 'try what you want to try.'It's exactly what he said, and we're going to move forward. ”

Kimura
"The theme is child poverty, but that doesn't mean I want you to open a children's cafeteria. That's what I think."

Shibata
"Yes. Enriching the mental aspects of children is the goal and the challenge."

Kawai
“Is there a theme for the place where the book is located?”

Shibata
"Right now, I'm researching various bookstores. It would be interesting to create a raised floor where children can relax. It would be nice if there was a space where we could see the faces of the people who live there.”

Kawai
“I feel like there are more and more bookstores in such unique towns.

Shibata
“Before we open, we ask the residents, ‘What kind of menu do you want?’ and ‘What kind of direction do you want? However, I would like to incorporate as many software aspects as possible.Also, what is a little interesting is that during the discussion with Mr. Adachi Ward, he said, 'I want to change the space so that it can be updated at any time.'"

west end
"Why?"

Shibata
“Even after opening, there will always be things that you want to change. It seems that they want to save the budget for the future instead of using up the budget at the beginning.”

west end
"That's good. Town planning isn't about 'make something and that's the end of it.'

Shibata
“I felt that the words oozed out the seriousness of Adachi Ward’s urban development.

Kimura
"That's right. The theme of today's dialogue is 'creating a sustainable bustle'. In the case of Ayase as well, the important issue is how to connect it after creating it."

Shibata
“We are also talking about moving away from our company in five years and making it self-propelled. We have already proposed such a self-propelled operation, such as operating inside.”

Recognition of bustle - What is your favorite bustle?
How did that crowd come about?

Kimura
“Also, one of the themes of this discussion was ‘common awareness of bustle.’ I am also very interested in this. There may be people who say that the many shops that are cluttered or noisy are what makes it lively, and there are those who say that a single shop with a warm community is enough to make it feel lively.”

Kawai
“I don’t really like glaring crowds. To put it in words, I like things like ‘hokkori’. I like cities where you can see people's activities, where you can see people's activities.I think it's important that the people involved in urban development don't create too much. By participating in something, they evolve, and when they are accepted, they grow to maturity.I think that such unpredictable changes will eventually become the bustle of the city.”

Kimura
“I understand. White space is an important point for designers. On the other hand, if there are too many blank spaces, it doesn't match the town.

Kawai
“I think it would be interesting to mix things with slightly different colors, instead of just deciding that this town has this tone. For example, I am involved in the development of Tokyo Mizumachi, and in January You opened a facility called <Padel Tokyo Mizumachi> in Mizumachi."
Padel Tokyo Mizumachi | Padel Asia

Shibata
"What is Padel?"

Kawai
"It's a racquet sport that originated in Spain and is like a combination of tennis and squash. It's gaining popularity around the world, and this time we built a special court for it. Many people have participated, and about 1,000 people have visited the store in a few days.From now on, I feel that it is necessary to create various mechanisms other than eating and drinking and selling goods.Even from a micro-public perspective, such Wouldn't it be more interesting if there was a place?"

Shibata
"Everyone can experience it, and everyone feels good. It may be one of the keywords in the future."

Kimura
"Once you've made a firm decision, you have no choice but to do a set activity. That's why it may be pre-established harmony. Including the perspective of utilizing local resources, did the existence of the river play a big part in the development?”

Kawai
"It's big. From the beginning, there was a scene of walking along the river, so the challenge was how to make it walk. In the case of Mizumachi, there is a river, a town, Asakusa, and Skytree. That was the point."

Kimura
“There is certainly a great deal of hustle and bustle caused by people. However, I think that there are many people who gather because of the magnificence of the space and local resources, or the depth of their bosom.”

<Blank space> is one of the challenges of town planning

west end
“As you said, I think that people naturally gather because there is such a thing. , It is also very important not to create too much.In the last interview, I think that Kawai said something like, 'Culture is born from nothing.'"

Kawai
"I said it. It's a little embarrassing to say it again now. I'm sorry. I said something impertinent (laughs)."

west end
"No, no (laughs), I really thought that was the case. I wondered if something like a big bang could happen, where things start to move when you come to nothing. How attractive, I think the idea of designing a place where people want to gather is important in town development.To get a little off topic, I was involved in the management of a share house before I joined Nomura.There are about 640 people. It was a property shared by

Kimura
"It's pretty big."

west end
"Yes. Since there are so many people, it should lead to cross-industrial exchanges - that's what I think from the management side, but I was plagued by the real problem that communication between residents didn't go well. When one positive person pops in, the circle expands at once.We had prepared various hardware for communication, such as an open kitchen, a library, and a theater room, but when one positive person came in, However, the moment the person is gone, the fire suddenly goes out.What is true sustainability and self-propelled driving?What are some successful examples? I guess... I've been thinking about it since then, and until now I haven't come up with a clear answer."

Shibata
"Actually, I was also a share house manager."

west end
"Really!? It's a coincidence."

Shibata
“In my case, it was a so-called community-type share house, a small community with a maximum of 10 people. It's difficult from the 4th building onwards.You see, it's the same as in an elementary school class, and you can barely get along with up to about 40 people. It made me realize that I needed some kind of content.”

Kimura
"Do you have any content that you thought of in Shibata-san's way?"

Shibata
“First of all, content that makes the most of regional characteristics. It's like something stabbing someone."

Kimura
"Indeed. Everyone has at least one work that they like, want to talk about, and want to share their thoughts on."

Shibata
“If you connect through your hobbies, it will be easier to talk. At the site where our company is currently involved, for example, we will create a movie club, assign the position of director to it, and forcibly bring that person to the front. I'm starting to say that.While doing such a design, one of the aims is to connect it to self-running.If suddenly it is decided that 'in this community, you are the PM (project management)', it will be very difficult. It's kind of heavy, isn't it? (laughs)

west end
"It's true (lol) there's a lot of pressure."

Shibata
“In order to prevent this from happening, we will reduce the size of the general manager or committee chair.I think there will be a style that leads to self-propelled from there.”

Kawai
“What Mr. Shibata just talked about is happening in the world of SNS. For example, Gravity is a popular app these days. The number of people is limited to 20, but I think that's the <appropriate number of people> that Mr. Shibata mentioned earlier. It seems that people are gathering and bustling.I guess people have an instinct to say, 'If there is such a place, I want to try it, I want to gather.'"

Kimura
“Hearing the story just now, I remembered what I heard from my wife.Isn’t Gakugei University on the Toyoko Line? It seems that there is

west end
"Is it government-led?"

Kimura
"No, it's not. It seems that it was started voluntarily, but even so, everyone is enthusiastically posting, and the information about the city is constantly being updated. It's not like someone spent money to make it. In spite of this, the residents are turning it voluntarily.I think this is the ideal style in terms of self-propelled.”

west end
“Maybe the casualness of the LINE tool is what makes it so.”

Kimura
"Yes, it may be."

Shibata
“We are a company that values face-to-face communication, but because we value it so much, there are times when we think there are still many issues with SNS-based mechanisms. You can't do that. It's a learning experience."

 

Just like last time, everyone couldn't stop talking when they started talking about the challenges and success stories of urban development. It continues in the latter part.

* We are holding a conversation while keeping a distance, and the mask is removed only when taking pictures.

* What is the Future Town Planning Institute?
A relay event where you can find hints for future lifestyles through discussions inviting company representatives and opinion leaders involved in future community development, area development, and community support, and connections among participants.
Lifestyles have changed dramatically due to the coronavirus, and it is precisely because we cannot see the future that we are going beyond the boundaries of companies and organizations to think about the future of urban development and hold discussions together.