Heide Imai

From 2025 into 2026 Looking back at 2025, our work can best be described as careful and sometimes uncertain. Much of what we did emerged from ongoing conversations between research, teaching, and field experience, rat…

News from heideimai.com heideimai.com/from-2025-in...

Oh, this is great news.

Can you read hazard maps? Check out the latest article on our Sustainability Blog "Enhancing Resilience Playfully – Designing the Sawakuru! Game" by Rino Ikedo, Sora Kobayashi & Kotaro Shigeta (Tokyo Metropolitan U) whose game helps to improve disaster preparedness sustainability.hypotheses.org/1679

The article offers a valuable synthesis of everyday urban adaptation practices, but it remains limited by its reliance on existing literature that largely lacks empirical evidence on actual outcomes grounded.https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0959378025001189?via%3Dihub

The socio-spatial roles of public space as an enabler for community resilience - URBAN DESIGN International Public spaces have a significant impact on social interactions and community dynamics, particularly during times of disruption and change. This study investigates the role of public space in fostering...

The article argues that public spaces play essential socio-spatial roles in strengthening community resilience by supporting social networks, providing flexible community infrastructure, and fostering people-place attachment. link.springer.com/article/10.1...

支援呼びかけ：大分・佐賀関の大規模火災被災者を支援する方法 / Help Ōita Saganoseki Fire
2025年11月18日に大分市佐賀関で発生した大規模火災により、170棟以上が延焼し、多くの住民が避難を余儀なくされています。
支援・寄付先例 Donate & Support
日本赤十字社 – 災害救護活動を通じて支援を実施 www.jrc.or.jp/saigai/news/...?
寄付ページ
prtimes.jp/main/html/rd...?
グリーンコープ共同体 – 生活必需品を被災地の避難所に提供
prtimes.jp/main/html/rd...?

Yanaka: Heritage, Nostalgia, and the Uneven Dynamics of Urban Transformation Our seminar conducted a fieldtrip to Yanaka, a district in Tokyo celebrated for its nostalgic charm. We began in Ueno at a local soup kitchen supporting unhoused residents. The scene highlighted th…

Yanaka exposes the tensions between heritage, social capital and gentrification, showing how social, cultural, and economic forces collide to reshape Tokyo’s historic urban fabric. heideimai.com/yanaka-herit...

Indigenous and Local Communities’ initiatives have transformative potential to guide shifts toward sustainability in South America - Communications Earth & Environment Empowering, reconnecting people and nature, and intercultural and ancestral education are Indigenous People and Local Community Initiatives that prioritize local tradition and show sustainable outcome...

While the study is limited to a small regional sample, it powerfully shows how Indigenous-led (retro)innovations and deep value shifts can drive truly transformative sustainability futures. www.nature.com/articles/s43...

BREAKING: THEY’RE CALLING IT!

Seattle has a new progressive mayor, @wilsonforseattle.bsky.social!

Hopefully a turning point in a city that’s long needed one for better, bolder city-making. Congratulations and good luck Mayor-Elect Wilson, & congrats Seattle voters for choosing a new, better path.

【前橋】教科書に載るほどガチの”シャッター街”が「アートの街」へ！ JINSの田中仁CEOが私財投じるなど民間主導で“衰退した地元”を再生中 (2025年11月10日) - エキサイトニュース ■関連記事：【前橋】いま”まちづくりB面”が面白い！スーパー市職員が一人で47店開業支援、シャッター街に若い店主が続々衰退する街で始まった官民連携の起死回生劇前橋市は群馬県の県庁所在地であり、人口約3...

The article frames Maebashi’s “art-driven revitalization” as a success story, but the focus leans heavily toward visitors and creative branding rather than clear evidence of improved daily life for local residents and businesses, making the impact claims premature. www.excite.co.jp/news/article...

Want to fight climate change? Fight ‘climate fatigue’ The public is concerned but disengaged in the lead up to this week’s U.N. climate meeting.

Commentary: With COP30 upon us, surveys show increasing climate disengagement, especially among younger generations in Japan, despite rising awareness and education.

New study reveals that solar panels are preventing premature deaths across the US: 'Their broader societal benefits are underexplored' "These are benefits that extend well beyond electricity prices."

Solar panels prevented about 178 million tons of harmful air pollution from dirty fuels during the examined timeframe, preventing thousands of premature deaths www.yahoo.com/news/article...

Urban Lives in Transition: Field Notes from Seoul’s Living Neighborhoods Day 1: Bukchon – A Neighborhood hypergentrified Bukchon presents itself as the careful preservation of Korean hanok architecture, framed by narrow alleys and tiled roofs stretching between Gyeongbo…

" Walking the steep alleys, Bukchon did not feel lost but rather in negotiation with itself. The question here is not whether the architecture will remain. It is whether a neighborhood like Bukchon can still be called a place of everyday life." heideimai.com/urban-lives-...

More Japanese universities pushing toward teaching in English Many university officials in Japan believe bringing an international environment onto campus is a cheaper, safer way to produce highly skilled graduates.

Japan’s push toward English-medium instruction is fundamentally flawed, as universities cannot assess or ensure adequate English proficiency, leading to superficial internationalization rather than genuine academic improvement. Will this attempt work better? www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/11...

Port Cities Yokohama and Hamburg Walking through Hamburg and recalling Yokohama this late summer, I felt the strange rhythm of two cities shaped by water, trade, and memory. In the HafenCity the sunlight danced on glass towers, to…

Walking through Hamburg and Yokohama reveals how port cities layer shiny redevelopment over persistent everyday life, where creative industries, gentrification, and long-standing communities intersect, shaping both memory and modern identity. heideimai.com/port-cities-...

What does Jimbocho think of its unexpected ‘cool’ status? The book town's residents weigh in on their home topping Time Out magazine's “coolest neighborhoods” list.

Jimbōchō’s new title as “the world’s coolest neighborhood” feels like clickbait - a media invention that romanticizes its bookish charm while ignoring deeper urban issues like gentrification etc. and the fragile balance that actually sustains its local culture. www.japantimes.co.jp/life/2025/10...

Nope.

Klimapolitik: "Die Frage ist, ob es überhaupt Kipppunkte gibt" Der Klimaforscher Mojib Latif wird wütend, wenn er an die vertanen Chancen der Klimapolitik denkt. Hoffnung hat er dennoch, dass sich das Schlimmste noch aufhalten lässt.

Der Klimaforscher Mojib Latif wird wütend, wenn er an die vertanen Chancen der Klimapolitik denkt. Hoffnung hat er dennoch, dass sich das Schlimmste noch aufhalten lässt.

Bunkitsu Tokyo: New, Sprawling Bookstore Cafe Is a Wonderland of Relaxation - Unseen Japan The massive new bookstore, with over 100,000 books, offers three cafes where you can choose to hang out for an hour - or even all day.

Bunkitsu Tokyo takes up the entirety of NeWoman Takanawa's 5th floor. It’s an impressive bookstore, with over 100,000 titles for sale. That makes it Bunkitsu’s largest outlet and its new flagship shop.

buff.ly/NvpKh9N

Book offering life tips from Hokkaido library's bulletin board becomes nationwide hit The library's director said a question box was set up in 2023 to expose teens to diverse ways of thinking 'in today’s social media-centric world.'

“What is life?” “What’s the difference between loving someone and just having a crush on them?” A book compiling questions submitted to a local library in Hokkaido has become a nationwide hit.

A recent report warns that extreme heat is increasingly threatening urban life in Central Asia, urging cities to implement adaptive measures to safeguard public health and economic stability.https://www.euractiv.com/news/heat-threatens-urban-life-cities-must-act-warns-world-bank-report/

Impacts of urban and cropland expansions on natural habitats in Southeast Asia - Nature Communications The paper focuses on the impacts of urban and cropland expansions on natural habitats in Southeast Asia. The impact of cropland expansion on natural habitats was nearly 16 times greater than that of u...

A Nature Communications study finds cropland expansion in Southeast Asia has far greater direct and indirect impacts on natural habitats than urban growth, with projections to 2050 warning of significant habitat loss www.nature.com/articles/s41...

It’s Not Just Tokyo and Kyoto: Tourists Descend on Rural Japan Lured by the cheap yen, a record 37 million visitors came last year—straining the country’s long tradition of hospitality.

Japan's tourism boom attracted a 37 million visitors in 2024, overwhelming cities as Kyoto stretching the nations hospitality resources thin. While rural areas are also experiencing increased tourist influx, concerns are rising about the strain on local communities. www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

Depopulation is reshaping Japan’s countryside and threatening biodiversity Study finds Japan’s abandoned land is harming wildlife instead of helping it

Japan’s rural depopulation is reshaping the countryside in ways that threaten biodiversity: abandoned farmlands often favor invasive species over native wildlife, meaning that reduced presence can actually harm ecosystem, highlighting the need for active management geographical.co.uk/wildlife/dep...

How sleeping in old schools is reviving rural Japan As Japan's dwindling population increasingly migrates to cities, 450 rural schools close each year. Now, some are being transformed into unique inns.

Japan’s “school stays,” where urban students live with rural families, help revive dying villages by boosting local economies and fostering social connections, yet they may not fully address the deeper issues of depopulation and aging populations, www.bbc.com/travel/artic...

Sustainable farming, rural revitalization bind Korea, Japan, China - The Korea Times INCHEON — Korea, Japan and China have agreed to work together to introduce and promote sustainable farming practices and revitalize rural areas fac...

South Korea, Japan, and China have agreed to collaborate on sustainable farming/ rural revitalization, aiming to address shared challenges like aging populations, labor shortages. While the initiative promotes smart farming, it may face obstacles due to tensions www.koreatimes.co.kr/business/202...

Community convenience stores becoming essential in rural Japan amid depopulation - The Mainichi YURIHONJO, Akita -- While Japan's convenience store market may be considered oversaturated in terms of the sheer number of stores, major operator Laws

Rural Japan’s growing reliance on convenience stores offers essential services and social hubs but risks economic instability and over-dependence on limited outlets mainichi.jp/english/arti...

At the risk of being over-simplistic, you’ll know a great city by what you can see while strolling around its centre.

‘I wanted to write more than I wanted to have children’: author Sarah Perry on rejecting motherhood When the novelist was faced with the decision of whether to pursue fertility treatment or focus on her career, her literary ambitions kicked in

‘I wanted to write more than I wanted to have children’: author Sarah Perry on rejecting motherhood

People want to have kids and live downtown. Can they? - Western City Magazine For decades, planners focused on attracting young singles to dense urban cores. That dynamic has shifted, in part because ...

NEW: “Some still insist ‘downtowns will never attract kids and shouldn’t try.’ Then they design downtown to virtually repel kids, and it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. Vancouver proves the opposite can be true...”

I’m quoted in this article by @johnlorinc.bsky.social for @calcities.bsky.social