The Narrow Streets Behind the Doors of Perception: Unscrambling Everyday Urban Space Through Senses and Discourses

Description

The lingering scent of food served in small restaurants, the clattering sounds of commuter trains running along the tracks accompanied by a slight shaking of the uneven road—these and many more sensations are transmitted via the medium called street. The undetermined shared spaces enable movement in all directions and serve as canvas on which the everyday urban life is painted. Even though this might sound idyllic, the local public sphere created by streets is not limited to harmony and sympathy but is also open to conflict, disturbance and unintended contact.
This paper aims at shedding light on the perception and construction of urban spaces and on how this process is enacted in Japan. The following questions stand at the center: How does public space as medium frame perception and communication? And how do perception and communication construct public space in return?
These questions are answered by applying a mixed method set employing participant observation, interviews, sense walks and discourse analysis elements to two urban Tokyo neighborhoods (Kitazawa and Matsubara). In both areas, city planning projects as well as the modification of private railway tracks triggered discussions about how existing and new public spaces should be used, and who is entitled to advocate for them. Inhabitants, shopkeepers, activists and consumers share the streets, but perceive the space from different angles and participate in divergent but overlapping discourses. Findings reveal diverse cycles of production of spaces creating a fragmented discursive landscape.

Period	27 Feb 2020
Event title	Cultures of Sense in Japan
Event type	Seminar/Workshop
Location	Melbourne, Australia, VictoriaShow on map
Degree of Recognition	International