At first glance, with its population of 13 million people (and counting), Tokyo may seem a veritable concrete jungle, replete with tangles of elevated expressways and engineered mega-channels. But one merely needs to take a detour onto a small residential side street to see that the beauty of small-scale nature in the city is very much present.



Seeking to uncover these nooks of lush greenery is Jared Braiterman PhD, design anthropologist and creator of Tokyo Green Space, a unique blog that for over 3 years has become an exhaustive index of the gardens and the gardeners that dot this dense city. Through a combination of anecdotal and academic musings, TGS also acts as a narrative for the dynamic, and at times renegade, spirit of urban gardening in Tokyo.



We sat down with Jared in one such nook in Shinjuku to talk about some of the pressing urban issues facing the largest city in the world.



Marisa Bernstein: What is design anthropology and how does your blog, Tokyo Green Space, convey a narrative of city dynamics from a design anthropologist’s perspective?



Jared Braiterman: Design anthropology brings human insight into the creation of new spaces and experiences. Tokyo Green Space is a view of small and large projects happening in Tokyo and how nature can be part of city life. I think it relates to design anthropology in terms of being observational and approaching something with fresh eyes and a non-judgmental stance. People’s creativity in re-making spaces is something that’s an interesting design topic for me.



MB: I’m continually amazed by the number and variation of small outdoor spaces in Tokyo that have been intervened on in interesting ways. A 2-foot strip of concrete running alongside a house becomes a dense seasonal container garden; every turn the pedestrian takes yields new discoveries of nature in this city and the line between public space and private space is not often clear. How do you view the public impact of privately developed spaces?



JB: I think the charm of Tokyo is the freedom people have to push beyond their property line and beyond what’s technically allowed. One of my neighbors, a senior citizen told me, “oh yeah, my sidewalk garden is technically illegal, but no one’s talked to me about it. I’m doing it to slow auto traffic, and no one’s told me not to yet.” So, these are people who have, at a very local level, taken action to protect their neighbours. The freedom that they have to transform their environment is surprising. I am inspired to observe that rules exist, and people ignore them. Tokyo residents have a remarkable ability to make where they live better.



I think what makes Tokyo enjoyable and livable is that ordinary citizens are eager to garden and because they don’t have space to garden inside of a private space, they’re often gardening in public. Gardening takes places in a shared space with neighbors and passers-by.



MB: Many cities in North America are experiencing a form of decay, accompanied by an exodus from the downtown core. The vacant spaces of these cities often become opportunities for urban renewal. Tokyo is a very different matter, where the sheer number of vacancies might not be as readily prevalent. How do you reclaim the city in a constantly densifying environment?



JB: With the tight space in Tokyo, the positive thing for gardeners is that it allows them to garden outside and encroach a bit on public space that is usually mismanaged by government authorities. Government officials and city planners do not approach the shortage of space in the same way of maximizing human value. Instead, large amounts of space are devoted to hard surfaces and automobile traffic. Tokyo is not participating as a city in global urban initiatives to make cities healthier by reducing private autos, increasing bicycling, and reclaiming natural assets including its rivers and canals buried beneath freeways. I think from a city planning perspective the governmental organizations are decades behind.



MB: So, what appear to be trends in other cities – such as bike sharing and bike infrastructure – is not really happening here. What are the particular urban trends happening in Tokyo?



JB: Micro-gardening, vertical gardening, and city fruit are all areas where Tokyo excels. A few ward offices (Tokyo has 23 wards) are experimenting with composting and green infrastructure. Suginami Ward has the world’s largest green curtain that is 8 stories high and covers the south façade of their office building. Initiatives like that have inspired ordinary people in Tokyo to do more vertical gardening, by using simple nets on their apartment balconies with climbers like Morning Glory, a flower associated with old Tokyo. These “green curtains” for even the smallest apartment balconies are embraced by Tokyo residents as both energy-saving – it reduces costs of air-conditioning in the summer – and also as a beautification project.



MB: Is there a sense that local governments are spearheading these projects in tandem with input from individuals? Is there a public/private collaboration at a corporate level?



JB: There was a very famous and controversial project where Nike commissioned a very famous Tokyo architect to design a skate park in Shibuya in a public park called Miyashita Park. Handing this semi-abandoned and derelict public park to corporate sponsors created controversy. The space was previously open and free of cost, but now you have to sign up or even pay to use the skate park and the climbing wall. There were a lot of issues that got stirred up by that, but I’m amazed at how few private/public partnerships there are in Tokyo.



In some sectors the private industry actually replaces the government in urban planning. For instance, the Marunouchi business district around Tokyo Station is mostly owned by the huge Mitsubishi Estate company, and they’ve redesigned some of the streets using the most modern design elements. It’s almost like a mini-Copenhagen of cobblestone streets with various traffic calming elements, mature landscaping, and permeable street pavement. This global corporation recognizes the value of improving pedestrian life, and is betting it will lead to increased office rents. So they’re motivated and have the intelligence to use modern planning to redesign the streetscape around them. But I wouldn’t even call that a public/private partnership – that’s in a sense the government giving the company the authority to improve the street. Relative to the city’s own work, I think Mitsubishi has a much more contemporary view of urban design, and the resources to carry it out.



MB: Do you think the tides may be turning in terms of civic engagement – are people starting to feel more empowered?



JB: I think it has to reach such a level of disgust for people to respond. There is a well of popular discontent, and it becomes visible in crises like the on-going anti-nuclear street demonstrations. Tokyo remains a wonderful city, in spite of poor planning and inept government policy. Tokyo street gardens make the city more enjoyable – it has nothing to do with designers, planners or government officials.



MB: What are the lessons to be learned from Tokyo?



JB: What I focus on with Tokyo Green Space is the value of individual gardeners and the role they play in making city life better. For municipal government and organizations, it is a missed opportunity to not recognize and promote these skilled and generous neighborhood gardeners. For a newcomer to any city, but especially Tokyo, urban gardening is a way to connect and to learn about the city from some of its most active and visible participants; I am still learning about the seasons, plants, their names in Japanese, and the role of plants and nature in city life.