31. Emergent Tokyo

Think of Tokyo less as a “chaotic” than as an “emergent” city. This means spontaneous, self-organizing aspects create order from the bottom up. That kind of emergence can be, if not designed, then facilitated. Unfrozen interviews Jorge Almazan, Associate Professor, Department of System Design Engineering, Keio University, and author of “Emergent Tokyo: Designing the Spontaneous City.”

Intro: Woman from Tokyo, by Deep Purple

Discussed:

Yokocho Alleys

Zakkyo Buildings

Ankyo Streets

Complexity Science – Geoffrey West

Luis Bettencourt

Cellular Automata – Stephen Wolfram

The Uses of Disorder – Richard Sennett

Rather than a Unified Theory of Emergence applicable to all cities, there are transferable principles:

• Economies of Agglomeration rather than Economies of Scale.
• Networks versus hierarchies.
• Inclusive boundaries (mix of uses).

Bar recommendations:

- Bar Usagi, Shibuya

- The Greek Bar, Suginami

Made in Tokyo, Atelier Bow Wow

Outro: Godzilla, by Blue Oyster Cult