Section = 005_10

LOCATION
Walls, curbs, balconies and roofs. Sidewalks, corners, overhangs, carparks and train stations. The park, inherited property, reappropriated fishing spots, public toilets and green sleeping spots. More Here, the city of crumbs (Lefebvre, quoted in Kitayama, 2010b:19) is experienced as a city of fine-grained humanity built in the gaps of the city (e.g. Kitayama, 2010b:23). This is a physical manifestation of the fragments of individual human knowledge of the city. They know their own residential neighbourhood, the commercial and symbolic centers of their metropolitan areas, and some particular areas connected to their professional and other roles (Rofe, 1995:119, see also Milgram’s psychological maps of the city).

For example, Figure 1: Schematic of scattered land ownership over time in a typical Japanese village illustrates the gradual scattering (over years, generations) of a plot of land by way of marriage, debt repayment, inheritance, taxes, nationalization. Over time the land owned by a single family in a village disintegrates to a scattering of plots over the village, creating pockets of attachment, responsibility and familiarity over the terrain. (see Shelton 1999, Ashihara (1989: 62) and others)

(Source: Constructed for this study based on literature cited above)

Example: The scattering of large residences after the Meiji Restoration illustrates the flexibility of spatial re-imagination that Tokyo is founded on. Figure 2: Changes in daimyo residences after Meiji depicts the scattering of space/building function that has occurred in Tokyo since the Meiji era. Palatial warrior residences become cultural institutions, houses for regular citizens, foreign embassies, private facilities, government agencies, military establishments and residences for aristocrats.

(Source: Jinnai, 1995:34, Figure 8 )

Concentrically depicted, Figure 3: Conceptual distribution of uchi over urban scales
Scattered Oases of Uchi (Radial)
(Source: Constructed for this study. Form inspired by Budiarto, 2007:4(Figure 2))

In an expanding patchwork Figure 4: Uchi at three levels of urban scale

(Source: Constructed for this study)