F1509 Comparing East and West (Cultures of the World core)

ourse description:
“Urban policy for the reactivation of the city center, comparison of Japan and south Italy”

In this course, we will examine the difference between the urban policies, especially policies pertaining to the reactivation of city centers, of Japan and some European countries, particularly southern Italy.
 Until the 1970s, the city centers in regional cities were bustling areas where commerce and service industries accumulated.  However, after the 1980s, motorization and suburban development promoted urban sprawl, and city centers surrendered the role of ‘commercial areas’ to the suburbs.  Large stores such as hypermarkets and general retail stores were located in one suburb after another, and offered customers one-stop shopping.   
 In response to these developments, the Japanese government implemented the ”Large-scale Retail Stores Law” in 1973, which regulated the locations of large-scale stores. In addition, the government increased subsidies to traditional shopping streets in city centers.  But faced with continued motorization, many traditional shopping streets were unable to compete with large suburban stores and ended up declining.  This became one of the main reasons for decay in regional cities in Japan.
 Similarly, many European cities also have faced both motorization and suburban development. But most of them have a historical center, and these have tried to develop urban tourism via the exploitation of historical architecture and culture. Southern Italy, in particular, has suffered from economic disparity with the north, and the centers of many regional cities were in decline until the 1980s. However, after the success of an urban tourism policy that utilized buildings and heritage locations in historic districts, vacant stores in central city areas were gradually filled up with new stores or restaurants for tourists. The basis of the policies for reactivation of city centers in European countries is ‘gentrification’ making use of the historical architecture; in contrast, the trend  in Japan (also in China and South Korea) has been ‘re-construction’.
 Taking account of such differing approaches, this course first draws a comparison between urban policy in Japan and Some European countries, especially southern Italy. Then, we look at the specific examples of some cities in Japan and some in Europe, such as Paris, Munich, Naples, Palermo, and Catania. Finally, we will discuss cultural differences behind urban policy in Japan and European countries.  

Learning outcomes
Students will be enabled to understand the difference between the urban commercial policies of  Japan and Italy. They can also get to know a wide variety of city centre activation cases in Japan and Italy.