Urban Redevelopment and the Aesthetics of Care
“Nested Care” as a Framework for Urban Transformation
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.7146/nja.v34i69.160661Keywords:
Urban Aesthetics, Aesthetics of Care, Urban Redevelopment, Philosophy of CitiesAbstract
This study aims to explore the concept of urban redevelopment through the lens of the aesthetics of care, emphasizing the dynamic, interconnected nature of cities and the role of residents in their transformation. It found that urban redevelopment should prioritize “nested care,” where various agents, including residents, developers, and local governments, collaborate to care for the city in a way that sustains both the urban environment and its inhabitants. I believe that my study makes a significant contribution to the literature by offering a new conceptual framework that combines aesthetics, care ethics, and urban redevelopment, providing a more holistic approach to city planning. The study suggests that urban redevelopment policies should prioritize the inclusion of residents in the decision-making process and consider the long-term, collaborative care required to sustain vibrant, livable cities.
References
1 Sanna Lehtinen, “Editorial Introduction to the Special Volume on Urban Aesthetics,” Contemporary Aesthetics, Special Vol. 8 (2020): Article 1.
2 Yuriko Saito, Aesthetics of Care: Practice in Everyday Life (Bloomsbury, 2022).
3 Saito, Aesthetics of Care, 46.
4 Aldo Rossi, L’architettura della Città (Marsilio, 1970).
5 Jun Tanaka, Toshi-no-shigaku: Basho-no-kioku-tochoukou (The Poetics of Cities: The Memory and Symptom of Place) (The University of Tokyo Press, 2007), 82-83.
6 Christian Norberg-Schulz, Genius Loci: Toward a Phenomenology of Architecture (Rizzoli, 1980), 21-22.
7 Saito, Aesthetics of Care, 29.
8 Saito, Aesthetics of Care, 142-143.
9 Moreover, Saito points out that not only old things but also things having a relatively short history deserve our respect. She says: “Although it may be more natural for us to treat old objects with care and respect, I believe that it is particularly important today to include the object’s narrative to include its future, as we are responsible for creating the right kind of narrative for the material world because of the future generation.” See Saito, Aesthetics of Care, 143.
10 Saito, Aesthetics of Care, 45.
11 Saito mentions John Dewey regarding the time of aesthetic experience. Dewey argues that aesthetic experience unfolds sequentially over time, progressing through a beginning, middle, and end with a pervasive quality (See John Dewey, Art as Experience (Southern Illinois University Press, 1934/1987).
12 Saito, Aesthetics of Care, 151.
13 Saito, Aesthetics of Care, 151.
14 Saito, Aesthetics of Care, 151.
15 Saito, Aesthetics of Care, 151.
16 Saito, Aesthetics of Care, 152.
17 Saito, Aesthetics of Care, 152.
18 Saito, Aesthetics of Care, 155.
19 Saito, Aesthetics of Care, 158.
20 Saito, Aesthetics of Care, 158.
21 Emily Brady, Aesthetics of the Natural Environment (The University of Alabama Press, 2003), 243–244.
22 Naoto Nakazima et al., Toshi-Keikakugaku: Henka-ni- Taio-suru-Planning (City Planning: Planning Dealing with the Changes) (Gakugei Publishing, 2018), 98.
23 Juhani Palasmaa, The Eyes of Skin: Architecture and the Senses (John Wiley & Sons. Ltd, 2005), 31-32.
24 Tony Fry refers to “metabolism,” the urban planning concept introduced in mid-20th-century Japan. This approach was based on the premise that the form of a city is constantly changing, and it sought to build units that could be expanded or modified. How we engage with the changes in cities shapes the development of different urban planning ideologies.
25 Tony Fry, “Urban Time and the City as Event,” in Philosophy and the City: Interdisciplinary and Transcultural Perspectives, ed. Keith Jacobs and Jeff Malpas (Rowman & Littlefield, 2019), 61.
26 Arata Isozaki, Kigo-no-Umi-ni-Ukabu-{Shima}: Mienai-Toshi (The Island Floating in the Sea of Symbols: Invisible City) (Iwanami Shoten, 2013), 167-187.
27 Kevin Lynch, What Time Is This Place? (The MIT Press Cambridge, 1972), 3.
28 Saito also references the concept of self-care. However, her discussion does not directly overlap with mine here. She argues that the caregiver must first care for themselves as a prerequisite for finding joy in caring for others (Saito, Aesthetics of Care, 69–75).
29 This paper does not discuss cities that are truly built from scratch, such as the prototypical example of “new towns.” New towns are suburban residential developments constructed to address urban overcrowding; they feature not only housing but also essential infrastructure like schools and commercial facilities. New towns are cities created abruptly at a specific point in history. In this sense, while they certainly exist as physical spaces, they lack the temporality that emerges from the accumulation of lived histories.
30 Lisa Giombini, “Care in Conservation Ethics,” in Applying Aesthetics to Everyday Life: Methodologies, History and New Directions, ed. Lisa Giombini and Adrián Kvokačka (Bloomsbury, 2023), 186.
31 In this sense, care can be an act that preserves the survival conditions not only for those of us living in the present but also for future generations. However, I will not delve further into this topic here. For more details, see Sanna Lehtinen, “Buildings as Objects of Care in the Urban Environment,” in Aesthetics in Dialogue: Applying Philosophy of Art in a Global World, ed. Zoltán Somhegyi and Max Ryynänen (Peter Lang, 2020), 223–236.
32 Pallasmaa, The Eyes of Skin, 40.
33 Saito, Aesthetics of Care, 147.
34 Aya Hagishita, “Chiiki-ni-nesashita Saikaihatu-togakuseisankagata- no-area-management-katsudo: Kanda-awazi-cho-wo-jirei-ni” (The Redevelopment Rooted in a Local Community and the Area Management with Students Participation : A Case Study of Kanda- Awajicho, Tokyo), Ochanomizu-Chiri 60 (2021): 31–40.
35 Mateusz Salwa, “Aesthetics and Urban Studies,” in Aesthetic Theory across the Disciplines, ed. Max Ryynänen and Zoltán Somhegyi (Rowman and Littlefield, 2023), 57.
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