a) Research objectives and background

i) Our cities should be Earth-friendly!

Since its beginning two million years ago, humankindhas been depending upon the Earth’s ecosystem for a long time as it moved fromnomadic life to a settled lifestyle. Cities were born when people becamealienated from direct engagement with this ecosystem due to various causes,such as natural disasters and surplus agricultural production.

 

As cities grew during the past six thousand years orso, this accumulated wisdom of two million years that enabled humankind tocoexist with the ecosystem (i.e. “eco-knowledge”) got buried at the bottom ofthe collective human memory. Instead, we saw the growth of “urban knowledge”that allowed people to survive the concentration of population. With the “discovery”of fossil fuel and the “invention” of the steam engine, as well as the increaseof scientific knowledge about the Earth since the 19th century, our sense ofawe toward the ecosystem was rapidly diminished.

 

Cities provide us relatively rich life-sustainingresources, benefits of concentration, and public infrastructures. However, theysimultaneously impose tremendous burdens on the entire Earth environment asthey consume various resources in explosive and concentrated manners in orderto feed their increasing and concentrating population, which means adegradation and loss of nature and ecosystems as life-sustaining apparatuses.There is also a degradation of regenerative environmental resources andecosystem services in the realms of water, air, and soil. And, now we are atthe point where we cannot ignore its revengeful consequences. Are the citiesenemies of the Earth’s environment or the fundamental cause of human misery?

 

In 2008, the number of people living in cities finallyamounted to half of the entire human population of the world. We can no longerexist without cities. The purpose of this megacity project is to approach thegreat questions of how to make cities Earth-friendly instead of its enemy andhow to increase human welfare and future possibilities through cities.

 

ii) Megacities and “new eco-urbanity”

Especially in developing countries, manymegacities—cities with a population of more than ten million—have beenappearing on Earth, with the number expected to reach 27 by 2020. (fig.1) Such megacities can beclassified into the following three types: Type A megacities (such as Tokyo,New York, and Los Angeles) in developed nations, which consume a great amountof resources; Type B (Shanghai, Guangdong, Mexico City, San Paulo, Jakarta, etc.)in developing countries, which follow the consumption pattern of Type A; andType C (Dacca, Lagos, etc.) in less developed countries, in which poverty alsocoexists.

 

This project focuses on Jakarta, one of the megacitiesmoving toward a society of mass consumption and mass dumping. We aim to studythe developmental factors and implementation of methods for political choicesthat should orient a city toward 1) development of methods to comprehend theurban ecosystem and the human-made system in a unified manner; 2) discovery anddevelopment of methods for benefiting from being a “latecomer” megacity; 3)critical succession of “eco-knowledge” nurtured by ecology as well as customs,culture, and history plus a  search for“urban knowledge” that integrates social, human, and natural science knowledge;and 4) realization of varied urban policies (a new “urban knowledge”). FromJakarta, we will propose a new definition of “new eco-urbanity” and apply itsmeasures to Type B megacities. We will also study the impact of such “neweco-urbanity” policies upon Type A and Type C megacities through comparativeobservation of various cities, with which we hope to help solve environmentalproblems on a global scale.

 

b) Research methods and organization

i) Project Methods 1: Varied and Unifying Look atCities

Cities do not consist of only human-made elements. Butthis does not mean that primeval nature remains there in situ. Cities have beenconstructed by human settlement and manipulation and they are still beingconstructed today. We will use the phrase “urban sphere” to describe theentirety of human-made elements, people who act among them, and the naturalenvironment (underground, above ground, and sky) that support them.

 

Historically, people came to gather around the sourceof life, which is water (lakes and rivers). There, they fished and hunted aswell as cultivated land, which led them to nurture political power by excessproducts and build defense apparatuses. They also conducted trade, createdindustries, constructed roads and buildings, and organized society. People,things, information, and capital started to flow in and flow out.(fig.2) Thus, in order to study citiesof such complex aspects and their impact upon Earth’s environment, we need tocomprehend in an integrated manner the following four elements (called 3E-ICH):namely Environment and ecology; social Equity; Economy; and Institution,Culture and History. Based on this, we need to design urban futurepossibilities.

 

ii) Project Methods 2: Eco-knowledge and Integrationof (social, human, and natural) scientific knowledge

In order to deal with the defects of megacities, weneed to not only adopt scientific and technological solutions but also shedlight on local knowledge (eco-knowledge), with which humankind has adapteditself to the ecosystem—and also critically apply them. This project unifiesmultidimensional solutions (direct, indirect, and fundamental) that have beennurtured in various academic fields, especially social science, naturalscience, and engineering. Simultaneously, we also appreciate ecologicalsolutions such as sprinkling water on the ground, taking a nap, and housingstyles that are to be found in human customs, cultures and histories, all ofwhich characterize our project. Furthermore, there are other pieces ofknowledge to be found in the humanities, (i.e., culture, philosophy, religions,literature, and aesthetics), which can improve cities. Through the presence andsignificance of the humanities, one can understand immediately by observingKyoto where RIHN is located. Part of the great significance of pursuing thisproject in Kyoto and sending it to the world as a powerful message from Japanresides in the fact that here we are able to fully benefit both from the latestscience and technology and from the humanities knowledge nurtured by thiscity’s history and culture for the past 1,200 years.

 

iii) Organization

We will keep the research organization from last year,which consists of the coordination team, the city and earth environmentalmechanism investigation team, the whole earth urban historical research team,and the management-scenario team. (fig.3)Each of these four teams further pursues its research goal as the projectproceeds. We have also signed a MOU with the University of Indonesia in Jakartaand Bogor Agricultural University, with which we will conduct surveys together.

 

c) evidence of the feasibility of Full Research

I moved from Tokyo to Kyoto to work at RIHN in April,2009. What I have done since is described in “Achievements in the Pre-ResearchPeriod” section below. I’m excited about being a part of this researchinstitute because 1) I can talk to professionals active in different fieldsdealing with global environmental issues and learn about the latest research;2) its flat and open organization allows me to participate in discussions ofvarious issues; and 3) Kyoto made me realize even more deeply how history andculture is an indispensable part of a city.

 

Also since April 2009, I have participated in manyseminars both inside and outside RIHN, met many specialists, and read a largeamount of the related literature as well. After having spent thirty yearsstudying architectural and urban history, this has turned out to be a veryexciting year for me, and I was fortunate to be given opportunities to thinkabout what had been missing in my past work and how to compensate for such gaps(i.e., interests in urban constituents other than human-made elements,knowledge concerning environmental policies, etc.). Such a realization has ledto the results described in a and b above.

 

To speak honestly, I cannotsay 100% sure whether our five-year project can achieve research results andmake social contributions that would impress the whole world. However, I wouldlike to emphasize that the direction of our research has been set and that weare ready to make a strong first step in that direction, which is an evidenceof the feasibility of full research that I can present at this stage.

As we are still at the PR stage thisyear, we have prepared ourselves for the project that will continue through thenext five years by focusing on the following three points, based on suggestionsfrom the project evaluation committee.

a. Enriching our eye for analyzingcities in an integrated manner

As the field of urban study has beenfinely divided into various subfields, we need to widen our eyes in order toanalyze various urban issues and solve them in an integrated manner byparticipating in seminars inside and outside RIHN and interviewing variousspecialists.

b. Preliminary research for the Jakartafieldwork

We will continue our preliminaryfieldwork in Jakarta, which started in the FS stage, and also prepare afoundation for the main FR fieldwork stage.

c. Cooperation with domestic and foreignresearchers studying Jakarta

In order to carry out our project in asmooth and comprehensive manner, we will cooperate with researchers studyingJakarta both inside and outside Japan.

 

a. Enriching our eye for analyzingcities in an integrated manner

(1)          Collectinginformation for the integrated urban information database by themanagement-scenario team: We have collected information in order to build theintegrated urban information database that integrates various urban aspectsusing GIS and allows many people to access such information easily.

(2)          Wideningour view field in order to comprehend cities in an integrated manner by thecoordination team: We have gained new points of view to understand cities moredeeply by participating in various seminars both inside and outside RIHN. Forexample, a RIHN international symposium “Dilemma of Boundaries” allowed us tounderstand the significance of underground water and urban coastal zones.

(3)          Hostingthe Urban Future Design seminar by the city and earth environmental mechanisminvestigation team: We have hosted seminars to consider the future of cities indeveloped nations including Japan. (It will be held twice after January 2010,with Profs. Yoshinori Hiroi and Kenya Hara as our guests.

(4)          Hostingthe Whole Earth Urban Historical Seminar (5 meetings) by the whole earth urbanhistorical research team: We will put current megacity issues in a global andhistorical context dating from the beginning of cities. These meetings willdiscuss 1) Copenhagen; 2) Pyongyang and Seoul; 3) Cities and their networkobserved vis-à-vis the ecosystem—About Oceanic World (November 28); 4)Teheran—A city and water (to be held in January); 5) Istanbul—Food and the city(to be held in February).

 

b. Preliminary research for the Jakartafieldwork

(1) Collecting basic data regardingJakarta by the management-scenario team: We have established the foundation forthe Jakarta fieldwork by collecting population data of Jakarta as well aschronological data concerning the development of the city.

(2) Identifying megacity problems ofJakarta and investigation of their causes by the city and earth environmentalmechanism investigation team: We have conducted research concerning thethermo-environment of Jakata (August, 2009), food consumption (September andNovember, 2009), and identification of problems accompanying development(September, 2009).

(3) Interviewing domestic specialists ofJakarta by the city and earth environmental mechanism investigation team: Weare talking to about ten domestic specialists of various fields who are deeplyinvolved with Jakarta (from December 2009 to March 2010); this will allow us toidentify urban problems of Jakarta and serve as a basis for an awareness surveyto be conducted in Jakarta during the next academic year.

 

c. Cooperation with domestic and foreignresearchers studying Jakarta

(1) Holding a seminar in Jakartaattended by the representative of each team: A seminar will be co-hosted by theUniversity of Indonesia and Bogor Agricultural University in December. Here,six members will participate from our project, which will strengthen our futurecooperation.

(2) Signing a MOU with the University ofIndonesia and Bogor Agricultural University by the coordination team. This willbe signed by the end of the current academic year.

(3) Cooperation with the Jakartaresearcher in Japan (holding Jakarta city seminars) by the coordination team.We are holding five Jakarta city seminars together with Southeast Asia Institueof Kyoto University. The first guest speaker was Prof. Tsuyoshi Kato(“Deciphering Capital Cities of Southeast Asia (The Birth of Jakarta)”). Thesecond was Prof. Benedict Anderson (“Post-revolutionary Jakarta: an AccessibleCity), and the third was Prof. Daigaku Yamanaka (“The Climate/weather andPeople Traffic of the Indonesian Oceanic Continent,” December 7). The fourthand fifth seminars will be announced later.

(4) Cooperation with the IndonesianInstitute of Science (LIPI) by the coordination team: We have asked Prof. AmiMizuno, an LIPI researcher, to participate in our project.

(5) Prof. Hans Anderson visited Tokyoand exchanged opinion with us during a short research stay from May 18 to June7, 2009; his visit was arranged by JSPS and hosted by Muramatsu Lab atInstitute of Industrial Science, the University of Tokyo.

 

d. Project Public Relations

(1) “Megacity Project Annual Report2009”

(2) Constructing the project web site:

http://www.weuhrp.iis.u-tokyo.ac.jp/chikyuken/index.html

Duringthe PR stage last year, we established a research organization, broadened ourviews, and created a network with researchers in Jakarta. We will finally enterFR1 stage this year, starting full-scale studies. The following is our researchplan for the next year and years (FP1, 2) before the interim evaluation.

1)We will increase our knowledge regarding various megacities on the Earth, andcreate a large-scale sketch illustrating what these cities are.

2)We will establish a city evaluation index (3E+ICH) .

3)We will rapidly collect and organize macro-information on Jakarta.

4)We will set up hypotheses and verify them regarding the three aspects ofcities’ relationship with the Earth’s environment (exhaustion of resources,deterioration of natural environment, and degradation of amenities).

5)We will establish a framework for the final research outcome.

6)We will create an international network to deal with megacity issues, and holdinternational symposia.