With apologies for cross posting,
CFP: Japanese Cities in Global Networks
2012 Annual Meeting of the Association of American Geographers
(AAG) NY, Feb 24-28
Abstracts due: September 28, 2011
Organizers: Carola Hein (Bryn Mawr College), Paul Waley (University of
Leeds) and Cary Karacas (City University New York)
In recent years there has been a revival of interest in and work on
comparative urbanism alongside new understandings of the importance of
mobility in ideas, policies and practices as they impact on urban
environments. Geographers, historians, sociologists and urban studies
specialists are increasingly interested in understanding cities and
urban life in terms of flows and networks of ideas, technologies and
policies. Ironically, however, despite the attempts to move away from
an approach centred on the positions of Western social theory, little
of this research has of yet focused on East Asia, and while there has
been a clear historical focus to the new comparative urbanism
literature, recent work on policy mobilities has tended to focus on
contemporary conditions.
We invite papers on themes that present Japanese cities in a
comparative framework and/or that forefront Japan in discussions of
the transfer of urban policies, techniques, forms, and lifestyles
between Japan and other parts of East Asia and elsewhere in the world.
Papers covering any period from the mid-19th century onwards
(including the contemporary period) might:
* Reflect on scalar interactions and urban engagements with global
capital and their expression in the built environment.
* Assess the relationship between local actors, histories,
technologies, practices and global actors and impacts -- planning
theories, practices, financial changes, technological innovations,
etc.
* Consider the role of Japanese policies, practices, techniques in
reinforcing an identifiable sense of East Asian urbanism.
We welcome papers that use a focus on Japanese cities and Japanese
urbanism more broadly to speak to the following range of overlapping
themes:
1) Comparative studies of urban policy, practice, and form
-- Urban governance: for example, issues of centralization and decentralization
-- Urban planning: land readjustment, master planning.
-- Waterfront design/ riverfront regeneration
-- Transport, infrastructure
-- Land reclamation and new town development
-- Disaster planning and post-disaster reconstruction
2) Work on networks, mobilities and exchange of techniques
-- Exchange of policy ideas and practice through on-site visits,
policy tourism, etc.
-- Neighbourhood associations and community organization
-- Transfers of knowledge, skills, professional techniques
-- Foreign aid and investment as tools for the diffusion of ‘urban
techniques and skills’
-- Ideas and practices in ecological urbanism
- Japanese construction companies and their global activities
3) Research into the transmission of urban forms, cultures and lifestyles
-- Consumption practices and retail spaces in Japanese cities and
their regional and global influence
- Urban structures and forms as well as infrastructural design
-- Diffusion of urban lifestyle practices through magazines, visual
media, tourism
-- Transmission of urban imaginaries in manga, film, fiction, etc.
-- War and its memorialisation in physical monuments and urban ‘intangibles’
The above list is intended to be indicative, and papers on related
themes are also welcome.
The session will help establish new approaches to comparative studies
of Japanese cities in regional and global contexts integrating
Japanese urban development into the international context. Beyond
that, it will work toward placing Tokyo and other Japanese cities in
the context of ongoing discussions on global cities and globalization,
contributing thereby to wider debates about comparative urbanism and
policy mobilities.
Inquiries can be directed to Carola Hein ([log in to unmask]), Paul
Waley ([log in to unmask]) and Cary Karacas
([log in to unmask]). We welcome abstracts of up to 250 words
by September 14, 2011.
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