What is
"Volunteer for Reforming Urban Life" ?

The purpose of the page is that proposing the way of making your and my cities kind to the environment and every urban habitant. Hereinafter, I will describe basic posture as outline.

Common in the variety -- Multiplex cultural Space

Today, above all, we should pursue in the city, especially great city,in Japan is, to be the "citizen" as the subject of the city truly, and also to have the independent feeling as such. Then, it is necessary to say that we should realize to be in various and that admitting the difference each other, we should be common. Moreover, we must find aggressive meaning in it.

"Stadtluft macht frei"

The saying "Stadtluft macht frei" is originally said  about the city in Medieval Age Europe. If slavery farmer, though under the control of feudal load, came to the city and satisfied the standard,he/she got the right as a citizen, liberated from feudal relations. It is possible to say that raison d'être of the city is that not only there is more freedom relatively, various people are in common space and, above all, they are "citizen" as not under oppression but the subject of the city. That is, it is possible to say that the "citizen" is the concept containing variety and independence more than we think usually.

Various cities have appeared in eastern and western since the civilization emerges to the human history and also some of them have disappeared. In it, history of the "citizen"- main is never long and never exist so widely. However, it is possible to say that there are enough material in history of, except ancient, the comparatively new periods which we grasp the lesson for us to become a "citizen" as the subject.

 "Machi-shu",  "Akindo" and "Edokko"

It was not the Imperial Court or the Shogunate but the persons called "machi-shu" -- rich merchant in medieval Kyo -- that reconstructed the capital city Kyo which resulted in burnt because of Ohnin-no-ran (1467-77AD) that is maximum soldier peril on the Japanese medieval period. It is "machi-shu" themselves that made the city with the wealth accumulated and the initiative they got, instead of the ruler who swindled their own authority and power in the war. Moreover, it is they "machi-shu" that made Gion festival -- essential event to Summer Kyo  -- multi-cultural and grandly as today. It is possible to say that "machi-shu" is the example which was grown like to the "citizen" under the collapse of the established authority. We should remember the Sakai merchant who realized city self-government based on the wealth which themselves built in the period, besides  "Machi-shu", .

In the Edo period (1603-1867) when a system was again strengthened, too, the example of the growth of the "citizen" can be seen. While the "akindo" (the merchant) in Kamigata (Osaka & Kyo) was independent relatively from the intention of the ruler on the basis of their own economical wealth, independently, they formed their own city. The merchant culture extensively, too, is the offspring.

In addition to being in the frame of "cho-nin" (the merchant) as the social class and the hierarchy, there is example which, organized from above, people cultivated the independence. It is in the area which is called "Shita-machi" -- downtown -- today that it was made newly on the east side of Sumida river in Shimousa province after the conflagration of Meireki period. But it says that the regulation was loose about this place more relatively than around Edo castle under strong control as political coloured city from the first. When the 48 groups of the fire extinguish named with the order of Japanese characters organized around Edo castle area, in "Shita-machi" organized differently named with number. The character and personality as "Edokko" (true born Tokyoite) have re-formed the organization organized by the authority to be for their own and have cultivated for many years to form a traditional culture in today. It is not the one which it should tell only in the things such as never having money for tomorrow life, the dislike to unfairness and bath a too hot water.

"Logic of the city"  isn't yet completed.

Growth as citizen in pre modern Japan in such haven't continued since the modern period. It should be said that it was almost unable to continue such a civic growth, because modernization in Japan was not on the basis of civic growth and maturity, but by organizing unity from above like a family whose summit the Emperor reigned on with enforced removal to another possibility. Needless to say, The cities themselves are born and grown, but dweller in these cities is far from the subject, failure examples of the function of the city were also raised.

Originally it is new town that that distributes a city feature in the suburbs from the measure to great city one  pole centred. Even if it was, to some degree, successful result in some of European cities such as Paris, but it failed in the import into Japan. Towns have been built newly where nobody had lived and people live in there. But city features, especially as a basis of daily life like jobs, are not distributed enough. So by commuting to centre of the built cities, they maintain their life, each member of family scarcely share daily life space and has a chance of build regional community, if built jet should be strange. Such a failure built new town is the "bed town" (bedroom suburb) which is peculiar to Japan. It is difficult to expect this place to realize and to grow as the citizen as the main constituent while living. It is said to that air is cleaner about the bedroom suburb in Japan than about the downtown if being superfluousness but adding, but in the aspect of the land form and the climate, it is rather severe on the habitant and it is often inferior to the habitability.

As above mentioned, it isn't possible to miss that the variety which was originally brought by the city with the lack of the opportunity of city function distribution's insufficiency, growth having to do with a citizen being able to be given but the problem of the bedroom suburb increasing to it, too, is lost, too. It is in the corporation burg that it is more serious at this point. To change into the tool of the corporation of the corporation as it dominates finance actually and moreover even the chief lets out from the corporation person concerned, and so on, too, isn't uncommon. Moreover, the interest of the corporation and the relation of the logic, the power and the hierarchy in the corporation were extended just as it is by the family and the area and the situation to be doing covering was made. Because most of such ones are it of the large sized heavy industry, in to make Japanese economy a cavity, in today, destruction is seen but continues to create a still distorted situation.

In European cities, there is one which was developed mainly in the university, except the one which was developed as the important point of the politics and the economics. Bonn, the capital of (West) Germany, is originally so and it is Heidelberg that will be the most famous. Once, historian HANI Goro wrote the masterpiece which is called "the logic of the city", which have explained the way of the city and the citizen based on the experience by Heidelberg of the author, and today it still has a value to read. However, even if it makes a town with Japan mainly in the university and the art and science research facilities, it doesn't become such a city. For example, it will be appropriate to say that Tsukuba becomehuge "mura" (village) more than the city. In lost of such independence and a variety, as for no kind of art or science contributes for the habitant to live and for the environment to improve.

It has enough of the example that shows the lack of the opportunity of the awaking having to do with a citizen and the growth in the newly formed modern Japanese city. We should remember that the city gets to lose a variety and also that the habitant gets not to look for it. It is necessary for us to build new "the logic of the city" -- the main constituent of which was a we citizen.

Make the city truly citizen centred -- anyone live with ease

When we think of the way of the city and the citizen, it is necessary to catch in the relation with the system and authority, too.

Suppression of "Paris commune" and the epigone

As for the relation between the system and the citizen, in the point in addition to the phenomenon surface, the influence over the generation after that, it will give most negative example beforehand. To be the one, as well known, a town ward in the present Paris where the wide straight road runs was made for behind "Paris commune". This was a counter measure to resisting citizen blockading a roadblock utilizing the narrow and complicated street in case of "Paris commune", but also was the eternal prevention suppression action for ever.

The oppressors' thought, regardless of east and west, becomes the one as akin, there is other example like this. Seoul, Korea, is so. The prototype of the present town ward -- straight and wide streets running in parallel and cross right angle in the central part -- is the result made by the Japanese imperialism Korean government general that struggled with the successive intense resistance movement. This was the one which was accomplished as the means of the military colonial rule, never imitating New York.

In addition to under such a reaction and pressure system, in today Japan not a few urban re-development are planned and projected with an intention to destroy the habitation place and the town landscape formed from the old day where regional community is grown and matured. It is possible to say that the one which was accomplished in, Among the projects accomplished on the pretext such as "the activation", "the re-development", "the road construction" and "the protection against disasters", such an intention having to do with an oppressor in these are contained. The constant guard mind to such one should be indispensable when thinking of the way of the town of the citizen main constituent.

Tokyo; desert of self-government

It was an important problem for Meiji modern government to maintain social order of Tokyo, changed from Edo, as the foot of the system more than the Shogunate times. It became important geographical space in case of access to this, too. Therefore, a order maintenance mechanism was serviced in most the early days in the Japanese city the opportunity and the means of the self-government of the city habitant were often held.

The suppression to the social movement in Meiji period such as the freedman right movement was intended to reduce the influence from the metropolitan central part. For example, farm village Santama- area (west side of and next to Tokyo Metropolis) where the freedman right movement was extensive -- people's realization was exceeded -- was transfer from Kanagawa Prefecture to Tokyo Metropolitan Government (Tokyo-fu), because it is also intended to be under the control of Metropolitan Police (Keishi-cho) which order maintenance mechanism was developed as a police of the capital and established Special High-grade Police for maintaining order (Tokko) earlier than any other area in Japan.

The area in the present Tokyo 23 cities will be known to have been a Tokyo City formerly. However, it divided that the central part 15 ward was originally Tokyo City, and to have been admitted to it later with the expansion of the city and that it became 35 wards. This Tokyo city was abolished in the Asia Pacific war, became the special ward which belongs to Tokyo Metropolitan Government (Tokyo To) directly, for the habitant, the threshold of the access to the self-governing became higher and the system became more central collected. Though there was a difference that 35 wards were reorganized by 23 wards, such a system was inherited after the war, too, and that the chief still was appointed not erected. Moreover, about 30 years the systems were inherited after the war and the non right situation that is exceptional in the whole country such as the metropolitan habitant can not choose the most near chief in his/her own, have continued. In this way, if saying Tokyo from the viewpoint of the habitant self-governing, it is possible to be made barren like the desert.

Make the city citizen centred

Because we have created the way of the Japanese cities, in addition to Europe, from the pre modern times, as a subject, course and it is possible for us to become a hero in the city from now on. However, don't forget that there was scarce opportunity for the growth of the citizen as the main constituent of the urban life in modern Japan since then, and we should make the thing of a lesson from the history.

The citizen as the main constituent of the urbanism today and then in future should not merely individual but be "individual in the human being" who finds the existence of the self and an identity in the various existence and establishes them and is common with. It is a matter of course for such a subjective individual to want to reform their own life circumstances in every places, and, through the process, it is necessary to give a consideration for the weaker standing by them. Then, to grope about the way which becomes better including them, should be looked for in case of policy proposal and practice.

It accompanies the inside of the variety, contradicting and being opposed, too. To aufhebung them, reform of the both side will be demanded in these sometimes. To reform a situation, the growth of the main constituent, too, is necessitously accompanying one even if it meets and it is not. It is the dynamism of the reform with the true in unification of the reform which becomes inner reform outside. If demanding only a one-sided change when hanging, we must not forget that it will become the logic of the survival of the fittest and the violent which is far from being common with only to demand assimilation and extinct.

So the citizen themselves who are grown and matured with realizing subjective sense as "individual in the human being" should be the subject to decide the way of the city.

To be kind both to the person and the environment

It is made clear but the turn is hesitated about that it is impossible to pursue the way of life which depends upon a great deal of resource consumption in the passing such as the environment destruction with the global warming and the change of the weather. Someone still misunderstands abandonment of civilized useful tool in short-cut. As far as caught in the relation of the opposition and being against, the means will be never found out. We should examine what reform is necessary from the viewpoint which aims to be common with. We shall practices ,at least and first, one or two which seems to be possible to practice, and repeat certificate and practice.

The effective promotion of the bicycle use

There are saying that the bicycle is the best invention of the human race. And the reason is said one can go far with only his/her power more than by others. It should be important to make the viewpoint to evaluate the possibility and the ability of human being to the most important. Because it consumes only the energy of 1/5 of the walking, 1/10 in the case by the car when the person moves by it, in addition to the philosophical standpoint and the literary proverb, the bicycle is regarded evaluative as the movement and transport means today.

As for the kind of energy in addition to the quantity of consumption , of course, because it is better for the environment. Moreover, there are many other merits of bicycle because it is available for many various people regardless of age and sex from the infant to the aged people, and needs small area on the road. However, in spite of the increase of the cost performance that the price of the bicycle declines, in Japanese cities today hatred policy to bicycle, which obstructs the promotion of the bicycle use, is enforced and the negative situation which exceeds positive one is produced. It is the urgent and important problem for the city habitant today to re-form such one to the radical. We must not forget that this is the thing not merely for bicycle rider him/herself, and for all city habitants, especially for the weak and the environment.

Against exploitation from people under the name of environment policy !

The national and local government which are worried with the revenue decrease in the long-range depression contemplate to make exploitation from people reinforced in the various names. It let's be possible to say that they enforce sacrifice to the weak under the name of "the beneficiary's duty" and getting not to hesitate in these 20 years. It has been pointed out clearly that national health insurance which has been bankrupted, care insurance which has, in addition to be pointed out its contradiction since then, threatened the life base of the welfare labour and made "welfare as a profession" dangerous situation, and so on, have become not public welfare service but the means of exploitation.

It is necessary to guard against which tries to be accomplished about the name of the environment policy. At Suginami City, Tokyo Japan, taxation to so-called register bag is contemplated. We must not overlook that such a fixed amount taxation itself becomes most the weak bully, regressive tax, each sum being small, become a big amount of money daily in the long run.

A local tax act is revised 2000, the original taxation of the local government becomes admitted and various taxation are tried to accomplish. Most of them are by the offspring of the scheming not to care about in the becoming shaking of the corporation which aims at the tax revenue increase and the buncombe of the chief. Moreover, also, when related to the national tax, to be accomplished under the contradicting policy pursuing that the local government differs in administrative divisions of Japan level and city towns and village level, too, is seen. As well as taxation to the amount of bank, taxation to diesel car ,which were planned by Ishihara Shintaro, governor of Tokyo Metropolitan government, for the sake of courting popularity, are accompany with the changed national taxation to the car and keep integration as environmental policy to some degree. But as for "bicycle taxation" which Arakawa city in Tokyo tried, it has serious problem that is not only contradict to such a environmental policy and deny its effect, but also is essentially the way of the exploitation from people abusing the weak. As for the putting of taxation's manoeuvring and the policy contradiction, it goes to the we citizen.

Already, at Tokyo, local governments charge recovering fault big garbage material from the home in addition to the business system garbage. Also, home electronics manufacturers, coming into force so-called home electronics recycling act, in addition to forcing a consumer to pay for the taking back of the home electronics product which is disposed of one-sidedly, They link a cartel and are rigging the sum.

In this way, we have to keep severe eyes for monopoly capital's exploitation in addition to such the government's and the administration's, too. Above all, it is necessary for us to fight against, with severe attitude, any exploitation from people that we choose and practice kind way both to the environment and the human being and to.

(Feb.14.2001)