The New Normal interview series: Rethinking the future of Tokyo

‘The coronavirus pandemic is an unprecedented crisis that has greatly changed our lives. Gathering and doing things together now carries the risk of spreading the virus, so restrictions have had to be placed on our movement and actions, and most of us have been living mainly at home for the past few months.

‘That has been the case for me too, and I don’t think I’ve ever spent this much time at home before. I moved from Tokyo to Hayama (in Kanagawa prefecture) a few years ago, and have now been staying there the entire time.

‘The new situation has led to a few discoveries for me. For example, it’s changed the way I spend my time. Since most meetings I attend are now conducted online, I no longer have to commute to Tokyo and back, which usually takes two hours out of every day. Not having to commute has opened up a lot of time on my schedule, which I’ve tried to fill in an efficient manner, as if I was playing Tetris. Paradoxically, having my movement and actions restricted has made my use of time more efficient. I think this is something a lot of people have noticed over the past few months.

‘My views on and the way I look at things have also changed a lot. Maybe when you spend a lot of time in the same place, your brain unconsciously starts to pick up changes in that familiar scenery? I’ve started paying attention to things I never even noticed before; the small flowers growing in a corner of our yard, and the smell of the sea carried by the wind. I feel like I’ve become more sensitive to the things I look at, and can now pick up small details in the space I live in.’

‘I feel like the kind of “micro” perspective I just described could be important for urban development from here on. That’s because the spaces we consider comfortable are, in the end, “human-sized” – tied to our physical senses, which can only pick up that much information at any single time.

‘Modern-day urban development in Tokyo has disregarded the micro perspective. Too much emphasis has been placed on the macro side of things, meaning the wholesale pursuit of economic, spatial and temporal efficiency in the urban space. That kind of mega-development, which ignores the culture and lifestyles of the place it takes as its object, is still going on here. The result is an anonymous city, with the same tall buildings no matter where you go – an overly busy, homogenous urban landscape.

‘A city that values efficiency more than anything else demands a restless lifestyle from its inhabitants. When people are just trying to keep up with the demands of everyday life, they have no time to stop and look around, not to mention think about what they hold dear. Is that really what we want Tokyo to be like? Is that our understanding of the ideal city?

‘The coronavirus crisis has exposed the risks and problems inherent in a city where people, goods and capital are in close and constant interaction, and where this interaction drives only further effectivisation and expansion. That’s not to say that anyone has the right answers right now, since this situation truly is unprecedented for us. But I do think this crisis will drive us to rethink the relationship between the city and its inhabitants.

‘Every resident has different hopes for their city. Some people want to live next to the office, others want to live on the outskirts and only work in the centre. Some want entertainment, others may even want to live self-sufficiently in terms of energy and food. Being responsive to everyone’s needs and ideals, debating them together, and coming up with new ways of thinking should help update the way urban development is conducted.’

‘It’s of course impossible to start building a new Tokyo from scratch. Instead, I think both the public and private sectors should really start thinking about how to make better use of the structures we already have.

‘Doing urban development work means dealing with an endless array of macro-level restrictions, from earthquake resistance standards to basic legal frameworks, which vary ever so slightly by municipality. For example, even if someone wanted to grow vegetables in water tanks in the shadow of Marunouchi’s skyscrapers, they probably couldn’t get past the land use restrictions. These districting rules, which differ by area, determine the kinds of buildings you can build and other rules related to the use of land. The rules are administered by the local municipality and are hard to change. Creating new urban space while making use of the existing cityscape would require more flexibility in the way laws and regulations are interpreted, so the public sector should take the initiative when it comes to framework-building.

‘If it doesn’t, the uniqueness and history of Tokyo will eventually disappear. Old neighbourhoods are being razed throughout the city in the name of “redevelopment”. That’s mainly because old buildings don’t meet the current standards for earthquake resistance, and it’s much more profitable to tear them down and build new ones instead of reinforcing the old buildings and preserving them. The result is an endless supply of skyscrapers that make full use of the available floor-area ratio, and therefore a city that looks like a birthday cake with too many candles on it.

‘But things can be different. Look at New York, where a legal framework called the Landmarks Law protects historic landmarks and neighbourhoods. Behind that law is the understanding that history is what makes a place valuable. The true value of a place is not only in its function, but also in its cultural context – in the memories and traditions associated with it. Preserving buildings and neighbourhoods that are symbolic of a place’s history and collective memory, and that relay that culture to future generations, helps preserve the city’s personality. And that, in turn, fosters attachment to and pride in the city among its residents.

‘After all, a city where value is measured only in terms of convenience in the present, devoid of connections with the past, is bound to be extremely boring. The coronavirus crisis has poured a bucket of cold water on the pre-Olympics redevelopment craze, producing a lull that could be our last chance to rethink the urban future of Tokyo.’

‘New views on the ideal city are emerging around the world. The concept of “bubbles” is one big trend: the idea is you build community- or area-sized “safe zones” or bubbles, which can be sealed off from the rest of the world when a virus or other threat is seen to be closing in. These bubbles are independent social ecosystems that can function on their own.

‘In the tourism sector, countries such as Australia and New Zealand and the Baltic states have already started considering “travel bubbles”, which would allow for travel restrictions to be lifted within regions where the risk of spreading the coronavirus is considered low.

‘If these initiatives prove successful and more bubbles are formed, Tokyo may eventually need to prove that it is a “secure city” where tourists can feel safe. For that to happen, the spread of the coronavirus in Japan will obviously need to be stopped, and the requirements for entering the country from abroad need to be clearly stated. These requirements could include mandatory PCR testing, a quarantine period, contact-tracing apps, and transportation and accommodation solutions designed to avoid the three Cs (closed spaces with poor ventilation, crowded and close-contact settings).

‘Having a quarantine requirement would mean turning the quarantine period into a part of the experience of travel, perhaps by coming up with entertainment that could be enjoyed safely within the quarantine facility. I’d like to see a wide variety of new ideas that could enhance the post-Covid travel experience – especially ones that combine cutting-edge technology with Japanese hospitality.

‘The government has been pushing the concept of a “smart city” by promoting digital technologies that would optimise and effectivise the city, but the current crisis has revealed how little progress has actually been made in this area. I mean, most people in Japan hadn’t even experienced online meetings and remote working before this year.

‘Rather than debating pie-in-the-sky ideas, it’s far more important to think about how to use existing technology in the most effective manner possible. I think making better use of what we already have is the shortcut to turning Tokyo into a smart, secure and attractive city with unique flavour.’