tokyo after quake 2

the day of the quake made all the distance commuters difficult to go home, yet it was just a beginning of our trial. what followed was the invasion of markets by outrageous consumers. 

although the damage tokyo received directly was relatively small, indirect impact on tokyo was massive. the most notorious example is of course the breakdown of the nuclear power plant. it has led to the lack of electricity in tokyo region, and that has caused planned blackouts (although it seems its over for now). but thats only one of many aspects. 

soon after the quake, people went nuts and started leading weird consuming patterns. many people lost their coolness and started buying whatever they thought they might need. many shops started making big sales of disaster prevention goods AFTER the main big quakes and people went to buy them, again, AFTER the quakes. 

and the outcome of the madness is...

but the real crazy consuming patterns have been found at markets and convenience stores. as i described above, tokyo region has implemented planned blackouts. many areas has been having blackouts sometimes, which means there is no guarantee that fridges and freezers would function properly 24/7. nevertheless, people went to buy literary anything anyways. im kind of sure that there could have been many food thrown away as a result ironically. 

this rampage is getting rather calm down gradually. yet still this sort of trend is expected to continue inevitably. for instance, it has been extremely difficult to get milk recently. this is not because of the influence of radiation or the breakdown of distribution network. it could be partly because of stupid consumers buying millions of cartons but its not the only reason either. the thing is that the quakes and tsunami have left huge damages on carton factories. this means that there are not enough cartons to fill milk in. this could be applied also on paper as well. many paper manufactures and gigantic paper storage were affected by tsunami and liquefaction. and it seems we have shortages of paper as a result. 

regardless of this reality, i still see it optimistically. this is because i know itll be alright in a while. in fact, now we can find bread and bananas quite easily, all chocolates are back, and sometimes i can even find milk when im lucky. these are good enough to make me believe that tokyo is recovering gradually. and if i can be insanely optimistic, i can say that those selfish consumers buying up my milk and yoghurt are now storing their energy in order to contribute for the recovery of northeast (although i dont really think so). 

tokyo after quake 1

when the earthquake hit japan on the 11th march, i was organizing a seminar in Hamamatsucho, tokyo. the quake was big enough to make all the participants and lecturers panic, and soon after the quake, the seminar was naturally canceled. after about an hour of cancellation, we headed back to our office in Nishi-shinbashi, about 15minutes walking distance from where we had the seminar, while afterquakes kept hitting the country. 

what i saw on the way to the office was tremendous amounts of people evacuating from their work places with helmets on. ive learned that tokyo is the biggest city in the world with regards to population, but ive never seen that many people during the day time on weekdays in the CBD. some were just waiting, and some were already walking back to where they live. 

tokyo's public transportation system is super convenient and therefore it allows millions of people to commute from distance. yet its not necessarily resilient for its location (as a city with many natural disasters). relatively big earthquakes and typhoons can easily paralyze the transport system for hours. this time, it stopped almost a half day or longer. this led to the millions of people had choices, either to walk home, take cab home, or stay at hotels or friends' or offices. i believe they all wanted the choice "to head back home by trains" but it was out of order. i chose neither of them, cycling home as usual. 

on the way home, i saw hundreds of taxis and buses stuck by traffic jam, thousands of people walking with their determination to get home (and some failed), and millions of people waiting for taxis hopelessly. as i cycled, i reconfirmed that my choice to live near to the central was a right decision.

although it was crystal clear that heading to stations would never bear any fruits but still some did anyway seemingly. heres the shinjuku station. many were just waiting helplessly, hopelessly. 

when i passed by the tokyo metropolitan hall, the building was full of lights regardless of its time. apparently most of municipal officers had to stay overnight that day. and many police officers had to maintain peace and order.

of course this was not an ordinary thing but an once-in-lifetime urgent matter in tokyo. yet by seeing this chaos and panic, i came to realize that we are way too dependent on what we take for granted which could be of no use when we really need. many news around the globe regarded japan as the most disaster prepared nation, yet obviously we are way too far from ready yet. 

its not deniable that tokyo needs some time to get recovered (let alone northeast) yet we cannot let the lesson from this brutal disaster a waste. i hope tokyo is wise enough to make the most of this bitter experience to make it more livable. this is a crucial point for tokyo to shift its paradigm to another. as a tokyo-urbanite&planner-wanna-be, i really hope i can contribute to tokyo to be wiser. 

tokyo after quake 0

its been almost 2weeks since the devastating earthquakes and tsunamis hit northeastern part of japan. it was unbelievably shocking when i saw the news broadcasting destructive tsunami wiping cities away. whats worse, the catastrophe was not over then. a few days after the quake, the nuclear power plant in fukushima started having huge troubles that make all the residents in tokyo region worried, and some are already evacuating from the city because of the risk and the reality of the leak of radiation. as nuclear power plant stopped producing electricity, tokyo is facing a serious problem of the lack of electricity, and that has led to implement the system of planned blackouts which is quite inconvenient for the people of modern lifestyle. under these circumstances, its extremely difficult to lead an ordinary lives but fortunately, the life in tokyo at least has been getting rather calm recently. 

as things getting calmer, ive been thinking what i should do in this situation, and somehow came to the conclusion that i should let the world know whats going on in tokyo, not in iwate, miyagi, fukushima that all the media broadcast. ive been watching closely whats happening in my favorite city of tokyo since the quake, as a tokyo urbanite representative, whos studied urbanism. 

its really discouraging to see as if all of tokyo is in mourning, yet we cannot let it be like that any longer. tokyo has to be THE driving force of the recovery of northeast. it might sound inappropriate and quite offensive for those who are affected, but there shouldnt be time for tokyo to weep for the loss. some say that tokyo is also a victim but how can it be, comparing to the brutal situation of northeast. tokyo should be strong, should be wise, should move on. i really appreciate that the global community is super supportive for the northeast, but tokyo should take the lead to support. 

i have next to no influence on the global and even local society yet, but by uploading blogs to the world of www, i hope at least I can get some positive influence on my mind. lets see.

Tokyo Disney Land, a "city" of illusion

in the beginning of the february, i made a visit to Tokyo Disney Land. its been at least 4 years since i went there last time. when my friend from seoul all of a sudden told me she wanted to visit there, first i was not really into it, yet consequently i really enjoyed it lol

what i enjoyed the most was its "beautiful" "urban" scenery. id never paid that sort of attention to the built environment in TDL before yet as i just read a book about urbanism in Tokyo and TDL kind of amusement park, i couldnt help looking around its super artificial city kind of built environment. this book argued that new urban development projects in tokyo started implementing TDL kind of ways of development by hiring famous designers in the field of amusement park development to develop "real" cities. so i was wondering how this "city" of illusion could be in reality, while i was walking there...

cities are artificial products as they are (supposed to be) planed by human beings. yet i believe that those people who are in the artificial spaces and many other factors that are not in the initial plan in the beginning develop cities to become "real" cities. from this perspectives, of course i came to the conclusion that TDL cannot be "real" cities at all, as nothing can make any differences on its space (probably except those famous mouse and ducks and some others). its already totally complete without anybody. from this aspect, i really cant imagine how TDL kind of concept could be brought to reality. i should make a visit to that sort of newly developed areas in order to analyze illusion in reality. 

 

the Brooklyn Bridge

as many tourists in nyc do, i walked to cross the Brooklyn Bridge while i was visiting there. the brooklyn bridge was completed in 1883 after 14years of construction. it was once the longest bridge in the world until 1903. 

what surprised me first was that the pedestrian path was not sidewalk, but provided in between roads, over the roads. surely it was a great idea to provide pedestrians to enjoy the beautiful bridge without worrying about the busy traffic. there were even benches provided so that people can even enjoy staying there as well as walking there.

and what surprised me the most was its popularity. yeah i knew that this bridge was one of the highlights of nyc, yet during the freezing winter day, i didnt expect to see so many tourists walking there. 

currently ive been watching the series of FRIENDS at home and the scenery of Manhattan over the Brooklyn Bridge is continuously used in them. actually one of the reasons i wanted to visit this bridge was because of the series, as a big fan:P i hoped to see it at night as well but the tight schedule didnt allow me to do so.

it gave me a great inspiration what could be done on bridges and gave me a very new perspective on bridges. one interesting finding was that bridges could be ridiculously romantic urban public spaces. its a pity that it is crystal clear that this aspect will not matter to me for a while (as u can see what im doing now on the valentines day lol), yet objectively speaking, i was amazed to see an interesting way of using the bridge. 

NYC, the city of verticality on the horizon, to the horizon

when i first arrived in NYC from JFK, what surprised me the most was its density of skyscrapers and proximity of them to each other. they were just standing like salary-men in tokyo on tubes in the morning as if there were nowhere to spread out (in fact there werent). as a tokyo urbanite, ive seen a lot of skyscrapers and the life surrounded by them is nothing new. but such a density and proximity of skyscrapers was something totally different from what ive known. the city was grabbing the sky. 

although NYC is no doubt a vertical city, it does not mean to make u deny to consider the horizon. when i was on the boat to the super touristy statue of liberty, this vertical city was on the horizon. it was kinda funny.

and when i climbed up to the super touristy empire state building, i found out that this vertical city actually spread to the horizon without much of verticality . this was rather different from what i optimistically imagined. 

technically it has become much easier to pile floors to the sky than ever before (although socially it has become much more difficult to build skyscrapers in modern society). yet the lights on the horizon made me understand that our lives cannot be piled up to the sky like concretes.

the High Line, New York City

2weeks have passed since the second decade of this century opens. Happy New Year!! my new year resolution for 2011 is to see more, feel more and think more. so here comes what i saw, felt and thought on the very first day of 2011.

on the very first moment of this decade (and the end of the last decade), i was in NYC with my family for holidays. this city was insanely gorgeous and full of wonder and surprise! i could only spend 4 days and 4 days were far from enough to get to know the city, but this busy 4 days provided me a great amount of inspiration. and one of the biggest inspiration was, of course, the High Line.

the High Line was originally constructed in the 1930s in order to lift dangerous railroads from the street level. it was used until the 1980s but it became obsolete already in the 1950s and during the 1960s some parts were demolished. some activists lobbied for demolition after the last train ran on the truck. yet some other wanted to preserve it as an urban outdoor public space and they founded "Friends of the High Line" in 1999. in 2002, this idea became NYC's policy. in 2003, the design competition was held and the design was decided. the High Line's construction started in 2006, after the design was published to public at MoMA in 2005. and the section 1 opened to the public in 2009 and the section 2 is estimated to open this year. (http://www.thehighline.org/)  

after i went to see the sight and what i felt about this project was, envy and jealousy. as me being interested in how to utilize unused public spaces, and having started thinking what i can do for them, it totally blew my mind. it already realized what i thought it would be fun to do on that sort of sights. it provided all three types of activities that Jan Gehl introduced (necessary activities, optional activities, and resultant/social activities) as many people felt pleasant to stay there. and indeed i really loved what it offered me.

it made me again understand how important to utilize already existing built environment to upgrade the living condition of one area. according to some articles i read, it seemed this area of Manhattan was not that nice area not so long ago. but when creatives found its built environment attractive for their creative activities, Chelsea became the hub of avant-garde art scene around the world. and now the High Line follows... superb. although i also learned that not many avant-garde can afford to live there any more as the tide of gentrification hit, but still its undeniable that the existing built environment has lead to todays prosperity. 

what i am currently interested in is elevated bridges and old housing complex in the middle of Tokyo. these are everywhere in the city, but both of them are now getting demolished rather than preserved to be utilized. i understand the motivation of demolition, yet somehow id like to challenge the trend by proposing their potentials to public. i strongly believe its quite important for tokyo to maintain its seat in the global context.  

in order to do that, i need to think more...:)