Human(e) Aspects of Creativity and Innovation in Tokyo

Human(e) Aspects of Tokyo
creative climate, small places of anarchy, stigmergy
notes and a few projects for a guest lecture at Dr. Christian Dimmer's Public/Private Seminar, Waseda University
Nov. 16, 2011
Chris Berthelsen
http://a-small-lab.com
chris@a-small-lab.com
@a_small_lab

People play with
things and find
new uses for them
(Lynch, 1984:157)

Messy and
spontaneous,indiv
idually created,
everyday
expressions of the
creativity of
everyday people
in all of its facets.
A response to the
environment, a
reflection of
society, culture,
and traditions
(Jonas, 2007)

Change
reconciles with the
idea of
Improvement
(Koolhaus, 2002)
and
people feel joy, as
Leaky roof opposed to mere
countermeasures pleasure
(Illich, 1973:17)
(Nakano Station, Tokyo)

I started out looking at Creativty
creativity and innovation... Innovation

Hint: It didn't work for me

At first in organizations... I Creativty
thought it would be a good
money spinner
Innovation

Organizations

Creativty
Innovation

Organizations

Departments

Creativty
Innovation

Organizations

Departments

Teams

I keep looking, down to the Creativty
work environment Innovation

Organizations

Departments

Teams

Work
Envrionment

I keep looking, down to the Creativty
work environment and
finally the individual....
Innovation

Organizations

Departments

Teams

Work
Envrionment
The Individual

Creativty
Innovation

Organizations

Departments

Teams

Work
Envrionment
The Individual
At the same time

Creativty
Innovation

Organizations

Departments

Teams

Work
Envrionment Regions
The Individual
At the same time, people
were being exciting about
innovation and creativity
on regional

Creativty
Innovation

Organizations

Departments

Teams Countries

Work
Envrionment Regions
The Individual
were be exciting about
on regional, country

Creativty
Innovation

Organizations

Departments Cities

Teams Countries

Work
Envrionment Regions
The Individual
on regional, country and
city levels....

Creativty
Innovation

Organizations Neighbourhoods

Departments Cities

Teams Countries

Work
Envrionment Regions
The Individual
city levels....I kept looking,
through to neighbourhoods

Creativty
Innovation

The Individual

Departments Cities

Teams Countries

Work
Envrionment Regions
The Individual
city levels....I kept looking,
through to neighbourhoods
and finally the individual...

Creativty
Innovation

The Individual

Departments Cities

Teams Countries

Work
Envrionment Regions
The Individual

individual

Components of
Creativity &
Creative Climate
environment
Ref: Amabile, Isaksen, Ekvall etc

Here is a little framework for thinking about creativity....
Please keep it in mind while I flip through the examples and projects later....

after Amabile

“A product or response is creative to the extent that those
familiar with the context in which it was created and/or
resides in regard it as being novel and valuable to a
suitable degree.”

creative product

As fine-grained

creative product component of
happiness.

Engram,
Trace

Ref Stigmergy, later

Always some kind of process (sub/conscious, in/direct),
ending with the creative output

Process
As fine-grained

happiness.

Engram,
Trace

The creative product always comes out of the mind of the
individual, (e.g. even if simultaneously arrived at in a group)

Person
Process
As fine-grained

happiness.

Engram,
Trace

The processes and persons reside in some environment
(social, psychological, climate etc etc)

Press (Environment)
Person
Process
As fine-grained

happiness.

Engram,
Trace

Press (Environment)
Person
Process
As fine-grained

happiness.

Engram,
Trace
Components of Creativity

Press (Environment)
Person
Process
As fine-grained

happiness.

Engram,
Trace

Knowledge &
Skills
Domain relevant

Press (Environment)
Person
Process
As fine-grained

happiness.

Engram,
Trace

Creativity Knowledge &
Specific Skills Skills
Tacit, explicit,
personality etc...

Press (Environment)
Person
Process
As fine-grained

happiness.

Engram,
Trace

Intrinsic Creativity Knowledge &
Motivation Specific Skills Skills
'for itself'

Press (Environment)
Person
Process
As fine-grained

happiness.

Engram,
Trace


Press (Environment)
Creative Climate

Person
Process
As fine-grained

happiness.

Engram,
Trace


Creative Climate (see e.g. Ekvall, Amabile, Isaksen)
Text from : http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1467-8691.2010.00558.x/full

Climate: A collective perceptual
Debate
construct reflecting a lower level of
Freedom
abstraction based on observedIdea
Support
patterns of interaction and behaviour
(Schneider, 2000).

Culture, which reflects the deeper and more stable aspects of
values, traditions, rituals and history (Denison, 1996).
Resources
Research on organizational culture has typically focused on
Playfulness
the underlying assumptions and values of the organization
Time
/Humor
that are deeply embedded and can often be subconscious,
hidden and taken for granted (Schein, 2004).


Risk
Debate
Tolerance
Freedom
Idea
Support
Trust/
Openness
Conflict
(Violence?)

Resources
Playfulness
Time
/Humor
Text from : http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1467-8691.2010.00558.x/full and Mathisen
and Einarsen (2004: 126) (see also on Amabile et al., 1996, 1999)


Risk
Debate
Tolerance
Freedom
The way new ideas are
treated. In a high Idea- Idea
Support situation, people Support
receive ideas and
Trust/ suggestions in an attentive
Openness and professional manner.
People listen generously to Conflict
each other.
(Violence?)

Resources
Playfulness
Time
/Humor


Risk
Debate
Tolerance
Freedom
The occurrence and open
disagreement between Idea
viewpoints, ideas, Support
experiences and knowledge.
Trust/ In the Debating situation,
Openness many different voices and
points of view are Conflict
exchanged and encouraged.
(Violence?)

Resources
Playfulness
Time
/Humor


Risk
Debate
Tolerance
Freedom
The tolerance of uncertainty
and ambiguity. In a high Idea
Risk-Taking climate, people Support
can make decisions even
Trust/ when they do not have
Openness certainty and all the
information desired. People Conflict
can and do ‘go out on a
limb’ to put new ideas (Violence?)
forward.
Resources
Playfulness
Time
/Humor


Risk
Debate
Tolerance
Freedom
Idea
High levels of
Freedom imply Support
Trust/ more perceived
autonomy and
Openness ability for individual
discretion. Conflict
(Violence?)

Resources
Playfulness
Time
/Humor


Risk
Debate
Tolerance
Freedom
Idea
The emotional safety in
relationships. In high Support
Trust/ Trust/Openness situations,
people feel more
Openness comfortable sharing ideas
and being frank and honest Conflict
with each other. (Violence?)

Resources
Playfulness
Time
/Humor


Risk
Debate
Tolerance
Freedom
Idea
Access to resources
including funds, facilities, Support
Trust/ materials and information.
Openness
Conflict
(Violence?)

Resources
Playfulness
Time
/Humor


Risk
Debate
Tolerance
Freedom
The amount of time people Idea
can, and do, use for
elaborating new ideas. Support
When Idea-Time is high,
Trust/ people can explore and
Openness develop new ideas that may
not have been included in Conflict
the original task. (Violence?)

Resources
Playfulness
Time
/Humor


Risk
Debate
Tolerance
Freedom
The spontaneity and ease Idea
displayed within the
environment. Good-natured Support
joking and laughter and a
Trust/ relaxed atmosphere (lower
Openness stress) are indicators of
higher levels of Playfulness Conflict
and Humour. (Violence?)

Resources
Playfulness
Time
/Humor


Risk
Debate
Tolerance
Freedom
When Conflict is high,
people engage in Idea
interpersonal warfare, Support
slander and gossip, and
Trust/ even plot against each
Openness other...Crime.... Include also
threats/actual phyiscal Conflict
violence (police, military,
private security) (Violence?)

Resources
Playfulness
Time
/Humor

A quick run through Tokyo
(keeping in mind the creative climate framework)

Discuss: RISK – FREEDOM – TRUST – RESOURCES – TIME – PLAYFULNESS – IDEA SUPPORT – DEBATE - CONFLICT

Public Seating


Safety.


Access.


When access becomes difficult


Fix it.


In a city with scarce space and dirt, make it yourself....


Even on a 10cm wide curb....


Or on the sidewalk.


Or in a highrise.


Or on a precarious brick wall.


Or along the railroad tracks.


Flower lovers share their passion...


Grape-obsessed Shibuya-ites.....


Basil


What appears to be dead space...


Is home to fresh red peppers.


Maintaining a dead spouse's neighbourhood park garden...


What appears to be run-down dead space


Becomes a lush living fence that beautifies the vacant lots


And plays host to lovely flora....


The work of neighbourhood misfits


Is actually a tomato garden.


People who often visit the neighbours


Create their own access-ways.


Placing rubbish bins where they are needed.


Animals KEEP OUT!


With intricate, flexible and affordable construction.


Even pedestrian smokers find a way to keep the street (if not the air) clean.


Dark apartment complexes call for home-made street lights.


And when you're sick of people asking you how to find the station, you stick up
some signs.


Bricks are a key element in bicycle parking.


Foxface decorates an inner city garden


Even when it's out of season (fruit are tied on with plastic ties)


In the suburbs, where Jazz clubs are scarce, you need to make your own..


And golf lovers construct a 'fold away' 9-hole course in the local park.

But,
In a dire view of the city

“Part machine, part sub-
human organism, part
nightmare-huge projection
and embodiment of passion
and insanity.” (Huxley, 1939)

From 'After Many a Summer Dies the Swan' not 'Brave New World'

Photo: Mori Scale Model of Tokyo

Total
absence of
purpose(Lynch, 1984:364).

Community =
the market + isolation;

Freedom = total
surveillance society
(Zerzan, 2006).

"if there has to be
a bloodbath, then
let’s get it over
with" (Ronald Regan quoted in the San Francisco Chronicle in response to protests when the

People’s Park in Berkeley was fenced off by police and the National Guard (in McKay (2011:120)).)

This is California, 1966

Photo: Collection of the Oakland Museum of California

→ The abstract, faceless conquest of Space by Man (capitalized)

→ the limitation of place for men(in small letters) (Ellul, 1964:328).

Our city illness
a basic motive , a common denominator; A single
(Lynch, 1984:364)
has

mechanism by which it most disturbs urbanites.

This is the loss
of control. (Krupat)

The message is
clear: “You cannot
do as you please;
your actions do not
make any
difference."

No walking,
No running, No walking,
No Hold the
No running.
handrail.
throwing
cigarettes.

Stand in
Be an orderly
careful! fashion.
(of your
sandals) No walking,
Hold the
handrail.
No running,
Because it's
dangerous. Subway station (Nagoya)

And of course, don't play on the grass...

Not just 'don't walk' but specifically directed at children....

Apartment block grassed area
in Western Tokyo

The Radical Monopoly of
Space:

Space:
a major tool rules out natural competence, imposing
compulsory consumption and thereby restricting
personal autonomy.

Space:
a major tool rules out natural competence, imposing
compulsory consumption and thereby restricting
personal autonomy. It constitutes a special kind of
social control because it is enforced by means of the
imposed consumption of a
standard product that only
large institutions can
provide (Illich, 1973:35).

people give up their native ability
to do what they can do for
themselves and for each other, in
exchange for something “better” that
can be done for them only by a major
tool(Illich, 1973:36)

Housing in Western Tokyo

But, commoditized city space which is ‘assembled and ordered’ in form,

appearance, and functional prescription need not be entirely fixed or
predetermined by the complex process through which it enters the world.

Reality acquires its identity from what can be done with it
and what is important is the relationship that human
beings have to their everyday environment.

But, commoditized city space which is ‘assembled and ordered’ in form,

appearance, and functional prescription need not be entirely fixed or
predetermined by the complex process through which it enters the world.

Reality acquires its identity from what can be done with it
and what is important is the relationship that human
beings have to their everyday environment.
Technology in this view can generate specific
forms of access to the world for human beings. It
is the use-objects around us that are the nearest
and authentic things, they give us access to being
and thus (help us) shape our world.

The most powerful way of improving our environment then is to put
the control of it into the hands of its immediate users who have the
stake and knowledge to make it function well (Lynch, 1984:165).

The last great force in the city
is the residents themselves (Orum

their creative response to
and Chen:18);

change is their ultimate
guarantee of survival (Lynch, 1984:172).

Taking care of apartment block public space in Edogawa

It is important to understand unintended
user contributions to urban order becaus
e this is a potentially revolutionary aspect
of the city's structure. The general organization of urba
n life must develop more sensitivity to the arbitrariness of human use fo
r the city as an object, or that arbitrariness will coalesce into revolt.

These lifestyles must be given breathing space
(Glean Chase discussing urban cavemanship in Wilsher and Righter, 1975:98-99).

Pick one spot in the city and begin to
think of it as yours. It doesn't matter
where, and it doesn't matter what
(Auster, 2003)

Hollyhock grown by residents of housing opposite train lines in Western Tokyo

“We give back to man the joy of building.”
(Hans Hollein, 1960)

“The reconstruction of life, the
rebuilding of the world: one and the
same desire.” (Vaneigem, 1967:chpt10)

Small
Places of
Anarchy
The actor, not the hero (Bamyeh, 2009:30).
Neither the passive observer of
determined systems nor a determined
manipulator of passive material and
standing reserve, but rather
the cultivator
See also
http://thisbigcity.net/small-places-of-anarchy-in-the-city-three-investigations-in-tokyo/

Tokyo makes it possible for
slim segments of the population
to generate their own environments
in scattered oases of a vast metroscape.
What emerges here is the idea of the city of
unimposed order,
consisting of
communal self-determination on one hand
and individual freedom on the other.

Here authority is practical, rather than
absolute or permanent, and based in
communication, negotiation.

NO
control
state Small places of anarchy are
zones of human-scale action,
attachment and care. They can:

NO
rule
majority
1) Replace state control with
regards to an aspect of city life.

2) Take away that aspect from the

YES
requirement of majority rule.
to 3) Promote unimposed order as
unimposed order as the style working.
work style

They are located within the existing system,

tacitly accepted or actively protected, and may take many forms.
They are not the whole of society but occupy space within the existing order and can be entirely
individual in nature.

They are located within the existing system,

tacitly accepted or actively protected, and may take many forms.
They are not the whole of society but occupy space within the existing order and can be entirely
individual in nature.

They are not consciously based in anarchist ideology because
“anarchy is a normal tendency in voluntary organized
social life, where spontaneous order comes out without
an imposition.”
The virtue of unimposed order thus develops through learning of the practice of rational freedom
– that the complexity of the social world can be an asset rather than a source of perpetual war.

What emerges is not
intensified debate, ‘automatic pilot’
resistance or struggle (Boomkens, 2008:16).

Neither is it the violence of market-based
'competition' or the dull submission of the
hierarchy.
Rather life emerges as a common but negotiated human experiment – a
life
that is engaged and felt rather than delegated
and abstracted (Bamyeh, 2009:12, 24) in places of
intensified cohabitation and conjunction
(Boomkens, 2008:15).

Locations of Small Places of Anarchy (Scattered Uchi)
[Tokyo] City ・都市
Workplace ・職場

Suburb ・町・街

Nearby
Large Park
・もっと大きい公園
Workplace ・職場 Neighbourhood ・近所
Nearby
Larger Roads
・近くの道路
Parking
Space
・駐車所 Close Small
Deceased Parks ・近くの公園
Grandparents'
House & Shop
・亡くなった親戚 Surrounds ・家の近く
の家や店
Uncle's Opposite
House Footpath ・反対歩道 Own Shop
・おじさんの家 & Surrounds

Footpath ・歩道
Frontage ・正面

Home ・自宅
Dwelling ・住まい

Locations of Small Places of Anarchy (Scattered Uchi)
[Tokyo]

Practically, this means that the individual realizes
that the society that he or she lives in is the
landscape – that
this living thing
right now before our eyes is
the landscape. Every resident has a clear
sense of identity and culture , of agency … or
possibly more correctly, the habitat in which agency
operates and which it produces in the course of its
operation (Bauman, 1992, 190-1 see Flusty, 2004).

"I will grow, I will grow when the city grows"
(Huidobro, 1919:115)

Small Places of Anarchy form the City

Gardened walkway (Suginami-ku, Tokyo)

Stigmergy
‘… instead of coordination through
direct communication, each individual
can adjust its building behaviour to fit
with that of its neighbours through
the medium of the
work in progress’. Camazine, et al.(2001, p. 24)

Stigmergy
Form of self-
organization
Complex, seemingly
intelligent, structures
without planning,
control, or even direct
communication
Supports collaboration
between even very simple
agents or actions

Stigmergy Mechanism of indirect
coordination between agents or
actions.
Form of self-
organization The trace
left in the
environment by an action
Complex, seemingly
intelligent, structures stimulates the performance of a next
action by the same or a different agent.
without planning,
control, or even direct Subsequent actions tend to reinforce and
build on each other.
communication
Supports collaboration Leading to the spontaneous
between even very simple emergence of coherent, apparently
agents or actions systematic activity.

Stigmergy Information flow
via the
Actor/Action environment

Imprint of
information via
cues and/or
Coordination/
Actor/Action stimulus Environment Construction
Activities

Actor/Action

http://epress.anu.edu.au/info_systems/mobile_devices/ch09s05.html

Something like
http://thisbigcity.net/the-non-intentional-landscape-of-tokyo/

Non-Intentional
Landscape,

Hand-Made City

Stigmergent City

Elastic city
http://www.thepolisblog.org/2011/11/imagining-elastic-city.html

Walls,
curbs,
balconies and roofs.
Sidewalks,
corners, overhangs,
carparks
and train stations.
The park, inherited property,
reappropriated fishing spots,
public toilets and green sleeping spots.

Here, the city of crumbs is experienced as a city of fine-grained humanity
built in the gaps of the city.
This is a physical manifestation of the fragments of individual human knowledge of the
city;
residences,
parks and free space,
extended family,
and areas connected to their professional,
social
and other roles.

Non-intentional Landscape
(Shibuya)

http://www.flickr.com/photos/a-small-lab/6245919459/sizes/l/in/photostream/

(Akishima-shi)

http://www.flickr.com/photos/a-small-lab/6246441966/sizes/l/in/photostream/

(Hand-Made Tokyo
Collage Workshop)

http://a-small-lab.com/projects/hand-made-tokyo

Some projects examining the human(e), fine-grained aspects of Tokyo

FIXES (a-small-lab.com/fixes/)
Investigating alterations of space/objects at the public/private boundary in
suburban Tokyo, Japan.

TOKYO DIY GARDENING (tokyo-diy-gardening.org)
An open sourcebook and resource for urban gardening on a personal level –
“hands-on gardening for a crowded city”. It includes ‘how-to’
examples/instructions, photo essays, observations, interviews, articles and more
with the aim of knowledge sharing and creation around low-cost, agile gardening
in dense cities (with a focus on Tokyo).

HAND MADE PLAY (a-small-lab.com/hand-made-play)

A collaborative + open research project investigating, enjoying, and learning from the
self-initiated non-commercial play of children

HAND MADE PLAY (a-small-lab.com/hand-made-play)

Child-Scale Cities
(http://a-small-lab.com/hand-made-play/understanding-the-child-scale-in-the-city-excerpt/)

HAND MADE ASPECTS OF MASS MADE HOUSING

what elements of
the human hand
survival sickness.. are found in this
space built on the
logic of economies
scale?

We most emphatically condemn as inhuman the present practice of forbidding any modifications to social housing by their residents.
Tied in to our suggestions for ownership, we uphold the fundamental right for an owner/resident to modify his/her dwelling to any extent without
impinging on the rights of neighbors or the public space.”

HAND MADE ASPECTS OF MASS MADE TOILETS

what elements of
the human hand
are found in this
non-place?

HAND MADE ASPECTS OF PUBLIC TRANSPORT

what elements of
the human hand
are found in this
non-place?

HAND MADE MEMORIAL (Ozaki Yutaka)

hand made memorial in smooth, bald space

temporal aspect, pilgrimage

KOKONOHANASHI (http://a-small-lab.com/projects/kokonohanashi.htm)

“How do people like to discuss their neighbourhood spaces? What would a flexible, open
and affordable system for facilitating this look like? How can we easily find out which
neighbour-hood spaces people care about?”
An iterative investigation.

Keep Your City Delicious (http://www.slideshare.net/asmalllab/keep-your-city-delicious)

Keep Your City Beautiful!

153


Keep Your City Beautiful!

154


Keep Your City Delicious!

155


Title: Aoyama Breakfast
Time: 7:30am~10:00am, Early Spring

156


In a small run-down park not a minute's walk from the
death-trap of Omotesando Hills. A small bearded man
waits.
157


Contrast the leisurely urban interior

158


with the psychological rigor that the commerical crust
demands...........anyway, back to the breakfast.

159


butter, chocolate,
juice, etc

gas burner grated potato
coffee, cups,
stovetop espresso
flour maker

Necessary bits and pieces

160


Season, sauce and eat.

161


A small, balding man enjoys his breakfast.

162


Welcome to the bakery in a home!

163


Welcome to the bakery in a home! Entrance fee 100
yen for 20 pieces, and your money back at the end!

164


Bread, cake, biscuits and more! Take your pick!

165


Go for it!

166

LOOK-A-ROUND (http://a-small-lab.com/projects/look-a-round)

a board game which encourages learning about city accessibility

Creating cities that are accessible to as many people as possible, regardless of physical
capabilities is an important part of cultivating a fully functioning urban environment.

TOKYO-COLOUR-IN (http://a-small-lab.com/projects/tokyo-colour-in)

introduce
little hands
and minds
to the fine-
grained
hand made
aspect of
human(e)
creativity on
the street.

CITY BLOCKS

Children have an inexhaustible ability to use and transform
the debris of society in new and creative ways.

CITY
BLOCKS

FIXES TOOLKIT

a card game about
the hand-made city
of Tokyo.

TOKYO MAPPING WORKSHOP (a-small-lab.com/projects/hand-made-tokyo)

"The experience of these ragpickers suggests a time
other than that of development. And studying these
groups, like digging into the history of ideas, can lift us
from our assumptions, but with no guarantee of what
the result will be"
(Illich, 1989:7 PDF)

“Within the chaos, most people have forgotten who lives where and how;

they have lost affection for their own locality.

Beautiful cityscapes and wonderful living environments must be fostered
slowly and steadily under the gaze of citizens who love and take pride in
their land.”
(Jinnai, 1995:65)

Contact:
Chris Berthelsen (chris@a-small-lab.com)
> twitter.com/a_small_lab
> a-small-lab.com

Human(e) Aspects of Creativity and Innovation in Tokyo

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