Public Lecture by Prof. Dr. Takehiro Watanabe
Cracks in the Concrete: Community, Cityscapes, and the Politics of Naturing Tokyo’s Waters
Tuesday, February 25, 2025, 12:45-13:45
University of Zurich, Rämistrasse 73, 8006 Zürich
RAK-E-8
Abstract:
Tokyo’s water infrastructure is a feat of engineered resilience, yet beneath its concrete surfaces lie tensions—both physical and political—that shape the city’s hydrosocial future. As the Tokyo Metropolitan Government advances plans for an underground detention pond, debates over governance, environmental justice, and public participation expose fractures in dominant flood management paradigms. At the same time, grassroots efforts, nature-based solutions, and the evolving vision of watershed-wide flood management create openings for a more adaptive and community-driven approach—one that allows water, and people, to find new ways to flow through the city.
This talk explores how cities, watersheds, and rivers are shaped by the interplay between large-scale infrastructure and decentralized interventions. By tracing moments of disruption—both literal and figurative—I consider how these cracks in the system create space for rethinking urban water governance in more inclusive and ecologically attuned ways.
