The Battle for Narita: Eminent Domain, Citizen Resistance, and Contradictions of State-Supported Neoliberal Development in Japan

I'm doing a brief presentation tomorrow on eminent domain / compulsory purchase in Japan and the battle over the construction of Narita International Airport. I'll probably turn this into a longer paper eventually. Interesting how the state/neoliberal development interests of an airport from the 60s literally were put right on top of the land used for older economic forms (agricultural land). The contradiction of 'hands off' globalized economic development needing to use a very 'hands on' tool of the state (eminent domain) to advance itself is also interest.

Here is a documentary about it:

Here are my slides:

Urban Politics: A Bird's Eye View

 Aerial view of Occupy UC Davis - from publiclaboratory.org

Ubiquitous communications and media technology used by private citizens as well as public authorities and the military came to be a defining feature of the Arab Spring protests across the Middle East. The complexity of the technology employed at demonstrations, riots, flash mobs, and other urban spectacles only continues to increase, and accordingly the view of these phenomena that is available to the outside observer is getting more direct, detailed, and rich. One of the latest developments is the use of various technology to capture audio and visuals that aren't confined to the street level or one person's point of view.

In Oakland for example, Public Laboratory experimented with using cameras attached to weather balloons to create this bird's eye view of the crowd at "Occupy Oakland":

Then there is this video of recent riots in Warsaw, taken from a flying Drone:

It will be interesting to see how both private citizens and public authorities develop and make use of these technologies in an urban political environment where the conflict plays out both on the level of the physical geography of the street as well as the semiotic dimension of media and images.

For more information on grassroots mapping, check out http://grassrootsmapping.org/ . For more information on drone technology, check out http://diydrones.com/

Have more imagery or examples of tech that is providing new vantage points for observing and mapping public protest? Post a comment and let me know!

Read more at publiclaboratory.org

Tokyo Urban Activism (update: from public space to brand space)

Update: Here is a video of Nike's vision of the space, a stark difference:

Miyashita Park in Shibuya Ward, Tokyo is the site of a struggle over urban public space. Activists are protesting the Ward's plans to turn the Park into a Nike Sponsored Skateboard Park, criticizing the privatization of a historic site of public assembly & protest, and shelter to many local homeless. One activist banner depicts a Nike swoosh turned into a swiping hand, adding a sinister inflection to the motto "just do it". A more detailed description can be found at West Tokyo Hustle. More at (japanese): airmiyashitapark.info ourplanet-tv

When the ward recently barricaded the park, ostensibly for "cleaning" and preparation for the new construction, activists gathered again to protest. The youtube video of the demonstration provides an interesting peek at Japanese activism (and its seemingly ubiquitous helmets, head and/or armbands). For a great history of public protest in Japan see Wesley Sasaki-Uemura's Organizing The Spontaneous: Citizen Protest in Postwar Japan.





update: @remmid links to a TBS interview with social scientist Miyadai Shin about Miyashita Park and the future of public space: http://podcast.tbsradio.jp/dc/files/miyadai20100917.mp3