In this reflection, you’ll hear from a delegate on lessons learned from the Tokyo Study Trip.
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By Shuning Zhao
“Not housing just for living but a new lifestyle.” I wrote this down in my notebook on one of the first days of the trip, and some variation of this maxim was repeated throughout the week as a guiding principle in Japan’s approach to housing and redevelopment.
Postwar Japan was driven by the need to build sufficient housing to address the severe supply shortage. As these units and their residents have aged, the need to upgrade to the latest seismic standards has brought about redevelopment that has shifted to focus on improving the quality of units and quality of life of their inhabitants. A comprehensive approach to housing is not unique but I was struck by the human-ness of the ambition to design for lifestyle and subsequently by how it manifested in thoughtful, well-landscaped and programmed public spaces in the housing projects we visited.
When we arrived at Nouvelle Akabanedai, the redevelopment of one of Japan’s earliest public housing complexes, the expanse and order of the campus immediately stood out to me. The landscaped open spaces support a mix of uses, including housing, childcare, a university, and even a museum (the UR Museum of Urban and Lifestyle Design). Our guides from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport, and Tourism (MLIT) and the Urban Renaissance Agency (UR) highlighted the various gathering spaces for community events and regional festivals that also serve as disaster resilience architecture. In the event of an earthquake or other disaster, community members know to gather in these spaces.
“Hintmation,” a combination of the words “hint” and “information,” is a pilot initiative launched on the campus in 2024 that promotes resident-led community building by providing a space that allows for event promotion, support for event planning, event sharing, as well as a coffee stand.
At Yokodai Danchi, a redeveloped housing complex in a residential district south of Tokyo, community-based programming and social sustainability are integral parts of the revitalization project. The complex, originally built in the 1970s, is being revitalized in an effort directed by architect Kengo Kuma and designer Kashiwa Sato. Several physical interventions promote public activity: stairs were transformed into an amphitheater-style plaza with an added green lawn for communal sports and gatherings (and disaster response). Social spaces promote community-led activities: a community challenge lab (previously vacant storefront used for community-led activities), library, and commercial kitchen were grassroots additions to the complex – all busy with resident activity on the day of our visit.
These two public housing complexes demonstrate how design can address loneliness in an aging population, support families, and adapt to and prepare for disaster while embracing natural elements. The trip reinforced for me the need for a people-centered approach to designing not just units of housing but beautiful spaces to gather, innovate, and grow.