INSIGHTS

2019.08.09

R&D DISCUSSION Vol. 13

Designing "social fluctuations"
Research on Plaza Spaces Vol.1 [Part 2]

Shoji Okabe
Evangelist at Snow Peak Business Solutions Co., Ltd., and co-representative of the nonprofit organization "Hama no Toudai"

R&D DISCUSSION TOP

Top image: Park Caravan in Takashima Waterfront Park

Q: What specific activities does Hama no Toudai carry out?

A: We operate under the philosophy of creating people who "make the city their own,"with the guideline of adding a curveball to the everyday "play," "learn," and"work," and with the motto of "if you have an idea, act on it immediately (or at least try it)."Local and social issues are never something that can be solved by the government alone, and they are not so simple that they can be solved by volunteers alone. Using the box called NPO Hama no Toudai, we work with various stakeholders to propose new ways of using public spaces, and we believe that our mission is to create people who can make the city their own and enjoy it.

Currently, we have four main activities. The first is the "After-school Kids School Project." We operate after-school care at four elementary schools, and this project is subsidized by the City of Yokohama. The second is "Educational activities at universities." We conduct PBL (Problem Based Learning)-type classes at the Faculty of Human Sciences at Kanagawa University and other institutions to provide career education for local youth and to create connections with small and medium-sized enterprises. Recently, we have been working with students on the baseball park concept project that the Yokohama BayStars are currently promoting. The third is "Revitalizing local shopping districts." A representative event is the Slipper Table Tennis Championship [Photo 1]. It originally started in 2015 in the Wadamachi shopping district in Hodogaya Ward, where a business owner worried about the streets becoming deserted wanted to liven up the shopping district with table tennis, where slippers are used instead of rackets. It quickly grew as it can be enjoyed by people of all ages and genders and also promotes health, and in 2016 it spread to the entire Hodogaya Ward, and in 2018 to the entire Yokohama City. Preliminaries are held in all 18 sections, and the final showdown takes place in Wadamachi Shopping Arcade. At first, participants were free to bring their own slippers, but by the second time, some strong competitors had customized their slippers by sticking rubber on the soles, so now the organizers provide the slippers themselves, and the rules are being gradually revised with each event. This event does not receive subsidies from Yokohama City, but is sponsored by them, with several hundred small sponsorship contributions from small businesses. Receiving subsidies can mean various restrictions, so the key to success is thinking about what kind of framework will work.

[Photo 1] Slipper Table Tennis Championships

Q: What kind of project is "PARK CARAVAN," which won the Good Design Award and attracted attention?

A: My main project is the fourth one, "Making effective use of block parks to create a place where people and businesses can connect." This started when I had children and started going to parks, but nowadays parks are full of things that are forbidden. I've seen signs saying things like "No ball games," "No eating and drinking," and even "No exercise." Individuals can't use them freely. On the other hand, in the summer they hold big events like Bon Odori. I wondered what the difference was, and when I looked into it, I found out that organizations like neighborhood associations and park protection associations are free and easy to use. I looked up what a park protection association is, and found out that it is a volunteer organization made up of local residents who clean block parks, and was established in Yokohama City in 1961. They receive a subsidy of 50,000 to 60,000 yen per year for daily management costs. Block parks are parks in urban areas, etc., with a standard area of 0.2 ha that are used by people living in a block with a radius of about 250 m. Of the approximately 2,600 parks in Yokohama, about 2,400 are block parks. I found that 10% of them do not have park protection associations. The conservation association is struggling with aging members, a lack of successors, and low awareness, while Yokohama City is also struggling with the neglect of block parks without caretakers. And there are people like myself and businesses who want to use them freely. Thinking that this was an opportunity, we launched "PARK CARAVAN" [Photo 2], which won the Good Design Award in 2016.

We found a park in front of Hodogaya Station where there was no existing park protection association, and started cleaning activities on our own. Gradually, we built a relationship of trust with the local people and established a new park protection association. It is difficult for the government to give permission when individuals, companies, or civic groups want to rent a park to hold an event, but if the park protection association is the organizer (the applicant for permission to use the park), it is easier to gain understanding from the local community and the government. Companies and civic groups will co-host or cooperate. Furthermore, if it is positioned as a "disaster prevention" related event that also helps to build a community, it will be easier to gain understanding from the local community and the government. It is difficult to gain understanding by simply saying "I want to camp in the park," but a disaster prevention camp where you "pitch a tent in the park as a disaster prevention training, cook a meal, and sleep there" is easy to sympathize with. By cooking meals in the park at night, holding seminars and movie screenings, and using the park continuously, we can create a safe and secure park landscape. In other words, "translation" is important. Now, the project covers not only parks, but also all kinds of unused space, such as building rooftops, elementary schools, and roads. Working with local businesses and redevelopment councils, and with the understanding of the local community, the project is turning these spaces into spaces that can be used freely and under the community's own responsibility [Photo 3].

[Photo 2] PARK CARAVAN
[Photo 3] Social demonstration experiment at the Yokohama City Urban Development Bureau: "Outdoors on the rooftop of City Hall"
[Photos 1-3: Provided by Hama no Toudai]

Q: How do you launch and carry out a project?

A: I do a lot of different things, so I'm often asked, "What do you do?" However, in these days when social values are diversifying and the boundaries between various things are becoming blurred, I think we are in an era where people are asked, not "what are you doing," but "why are you doing it?" People and companies who can express that properly can gain sympathy. Even if you seem to have no connection at first glance, if you listen to various things, you will find that the other person has a problem and you can find a common ground. Think from the other person's perspective and look for points where you can empathize with each other. When a beautiful collaboration is established, there are many things that can be done. All the projects I am involved in started from such conversations. And first of all, I think about what I can do myself. I don't think from the beginning about gathering a lot of people or a budget. I start from things like, "I think I can do something interesting if I connect this person with that person," or "I think I can raise this much money."

Now, the boundaries between public and private, individuals and organizations, and many other things are changing, and we are being asked whether we can design them. I call this designing "social fluctuations," and I think there are four key points to this, which also applies to today's theme of how to use public spaces like squares. The first is "repeated small trial and error." How do you create a system where you make a hypothesis and try it out for now? In the IT industry, this is called agile development, and whether you can do this is a strength for an organization. The second is "trying to tackle it as a complex business." It means proceeding with the management of the place from a complex perspective, without being bound by the idea of managing the square. I think this is what is most needed in area management now. The third is "leaving room for interpretation." We are in an age where users use the square in ways that the planners did not expect, depending on their own thoughts. Squares that are created without deciding what kind of place it is, and that focus on operational support, will be used. I think that if emphasis is placed on the operational stage and operational support, the way in which squares are used will change. Finally, there is the theory that "the tag team of a playboy and a man who does the laying the groundwork is the strongest." This is my own version of what Professor Akira Iriyama of the Waseda University Graduate School of Business and Commerce, whom I met on a project, said: "Corporate innovation occurs when two people who are good at exploring and deepening knowledge team up." (laughs) Indeed, when a playboy (me) teams up with someone who can properly run an organization, we often achieve success. People are motivated by "who says it," not "what is said." When moving forward with a project, I'm always thinking about who should say what. I think that this new use of the plaza-like space is not something that can only be done in Yokohama, but can be done anywhere, including government, companies, and individuals, as long as people are gathered.

Back to Part 1

PROFILE

Snow Peak Business Solutions Evangelist

Shoji Okabe

Shoji Okabe

Born in Kobe in 1974, he joined Takenaka Corporation in 1997 after graduating from university. He then based his activities in Yokohama, and in 2011 founded the web system production company Up Terrace. He currently serves as its representative director, while also working as an evangelist at Snow Peak Business Solutions, a consulting company for revitalizing organizations and communities. In 2004, he joined the Yokohama Junior Chamber of Commerce to deepen his involvement in the community, and served as its chairman in 2012. Having strengthened his ties with NPOs, the government, and local companies, he founded the NPO "Hama no Toudai" in 2014. His activities, such as the outdoor office and park caravan, were recognized and the company received the Good Design Award in 2016.

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R&D TOP

Update : 2018.09.21

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