Living Cities in Japan: Citizens' Movements, Machizukuri and Local Environments

摘要

Machizukuriis central to discussion of planning in contemporary Japan: but what does it really mean? Does it represent something different from conventional urban planning and, if so, what? The two words that make up the term machizukuri literally mean town (machi) making (zukuri), but the closest English equivalent is probably 'community planning' or perhaps 'community building'. The editors of this book, however, prefer-in recognition of the contested nature of the term-to leave it untranslated. We understand from this volume that machizukuri is, first, concerned with small, local places close to home (p. 271). Secondly, it exists in a difficult relationship with another, older layer of civil society, that of the neighbourhood associations.