YOUR PARK: Transforming Japan’s restrictive public spaces
"YOUR PARK," a new business venture, is set to kick into full gear in Tokyo.

What kinds of issues were priorities for YOUR PARK?
"I wanted to restore the attraction of public spaces," says Mr. Ito, noting the growing number of parks that have lost their appeal due to a plethora of use restrictions, many of which stem from management costs. "If we can create a system for more investment in the management of public spaces, we can enhance the overall attractiveness of the city," he says.

New York City’s Bryant Park is a successful example of this concept. Formerly plagued by a high crime rate, the park’s 1992 renovation under a BID (Business Improvement District) scheme allowed it to become financially self-supporting, drawing revenues from events and tenants. It is now a popular spot that regularly hosts reading sessions and yoga, and welcomes some 12 million visitors a year.

Ito’s plan calling for Nikken Sekkei to take a new approach for improving public spaces in Japan was adopted as a new business at the firm. Pilot studies have been underway since 2018 to move this into full implementation.

Previous pilot studies on public spaces yielded two key insights, according to Mr. Ito. "People want to use public spaces more than we expected," he says. In particular, needs were strong for people to express themselves and to connect with society, such as through live concerts and workshops, he adds.

The second insight was the importance of making available lightweight furniture-fixtures to facilitate participation in workshops and events. It was determined that such a system could suit a variety of purposes compared with more cumbersome large-scale installations. Thus, development of wooden "Tsunagi" units began as an in-house venture. The kits can be configured in many ways, depending on the desired use.

The goal of YOUR PARK is to develop a management system that can be implemented in various kinds of public spaces. Demand is on the rise for open outdoor spaces (vs. enclosed architectural spaces). Through this project, acquired data will be used for the purpose of making chance encounters and excitement – elements of city life that are disappearing -- into viable business opportunities.

The installation of Tsunagi allows for spaces to be used to sell goods, and also as personal workspaces and even equipment upon which children can play. By reconfiguring a minimum amount of the wooden units every day, "we hope to gain insights on how people are drawn to the area and what kind of activities are generated," says Mr. Ueda.

Measuring such activities is up to Mr. Oura, who has prepared special beacons and 3D LiDAR technology for the task. The beacons glean user attributes from smartphone Wi-Fi information, while LiDAR uses 3D point cloud data to gather information on people flow.

"We analyze the association between usage and spatial characteristics, for example, the high usage of play equipment by families during the day, and an increase in visitors in their 20s when events are held," he says. Social media and other means are also used to identify needs related to public space management: how much interest is shown by potential users, and by municipalities that want them to be used.

Despite uncertainty about the future, Mr. Ito is confident about the prospects for business after the YOUR PARK pilot study is done. "Widening usage parameters for formerly highly restrictive public spaces will in fact increase and support the YOUR PARK business," he says.

He also points out that in addition to Japan’s 100,000 parks, there are actually many condominiums and buildings with open spaces that are colloquially referred to as 'public spaces.' "Japan may even see the advent of an era where people take 'center stage' in road spaces," he adds, noting falling car ridership as the nation’s population declines, and a shift by young people away from car use altogether.

Indeed, a plan spearheaded by Japan’s Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism has already been launched to use roads and street parking spaces as outdoor cafes and art spaces. Similar trends are being seen overseas, possibly auguring a global boom. "Parklets," or curbside parking spaces made available for use by residents, are growing in the United States. Meanwhile, Paris has announced a plan to convert the Champs-Élysées into a pedestrian-friendly public place.

In this era where public spaces are proliferating and new ways of utilizing them are being explored, how will cities change, and how will Nikken Sekkei’s role change as a consequence?

Mr. Ito sees populations moving away from concentration in city centers and into more self-sufficient, decentralized suburbs. Working remotely, along with other new lifestyles, will spread, and these communities will each need to utilize and enhance their respective public spaces. "From small spaces we would like to generate a big impact by utilizing the expertise we have gained by collaborating with local governments and major developers over the years," he says.

"We live in an age where repetition of the PDCA (Plan-Do-Check-Act) cycle is expected of building designers," explains Mr. Oura. "In the past, we stopped at the design stage, but now we wish to measure peoples’ behavior and feed it back into the design." This, he adds, will probably mean that more time and effort will be spent on expanding approaches on a shift from inside to outside buildings.

"The next step after 'design' by an architectural group is 'management,'" says Mr. Ueda. "Their grand vision for the future includes the creation of a platform that matches people who want to use public spaces with their owners, as a part of urban designs."