Beyond Jean Gottmann - Where Japan is at and will be heading for?

This article was originally published in the APA International Division's InterPlan.

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Through his writings, Jean Gottmann succeeds in developing a concise framework that explains and conceptualizes overgrown metropolitan areas, defined by the relentless pursuit of wealth due to capitalism and an unprecedented diffusion of human inhabitation accelerated by the advancement of technology like mortalization. Needless to say, this point has been demonstrated throughout history. What is more noteworthy, however, is his idea that the urban is a reflection of humanity. He believed strongly in liberalism on the basis of religious and ethical views.

One interesting feature for the Japanese ethical view is that the Japanese have historically been acquiring the ability to control their own ego. For instance, during the Edo period, Samurai had to release their land by the order of the Tokugawa government, which required the separation of management from ownership, and thus, had to shift from pursuing capital accumulation to virtue accumulation. These moral and ethical views are unique compared to dry-field and pastoral civilizations in which the core ideology puts the finest focus on pursuing expansion and growth, while overlooking the importance of finite natural resources. Japan, perhaps, can be a moral hinge between various civilizations in terms of the coexistence of civilization and nature.

However, Japan also has a serious issue to wrestle with. It is undeniable that Japan has been struggling with the notion and implementation of diversity and inclusion of immigrants, given it’s relatively homogeneous nature of the society. In addition, Japan has been making a positive move towards addressing the yawning gender gap, but the generation gap still exists.

With an aging population and a low birth rate, Japan’s population has shrunk, resulting in a strong need for obtaining a workforce from outside the country, mainly for economic development. Though Gottmann says that migrants come into megalopolitan areas from the surrounding regions, it is never easy for Japan as the hurdle to accept immigrants has been high due to a variety of factors such as policy, cultural differences, and so forth. Tokyo once had a framework, which had been hugely influenced by the idea of Megalopolis, but was limited to a special area and did not carefully ponder the necessity of discussion around diversity and inclusion of people. Again, the discourse and its implementation around diversity and inclusion have been lagged behind when compared to other global peers. Japan perhaps misused Jean Gottmann’s idea of Megalopolis just to survive the depopulating society, which was not ethical ironically.

Public participation and involvement of people in the process of urban planning and policy making are a basic principle of democracy. Given that public participation plays an important role in fermenting and consolidating the concrete vision towards the future of Japan, planners, with the public officials and community leaders, should focus on building a sustainable and inclusive participatory ecosystem, in which public value can be enhanced by public participation and vice versa.

Beyond Jean Gottmann - Japan can and needs to do better.

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Photo: Lessons from the Streets of Tokyo by Andrew Price. StrongTowns.org