The area in front of Shibuya station continues to change due to redevelopment. Add a playfulness to it and create a town where a lot of curiosity and creativity gather —— General Incorporated Association Shibuya Ekimae Area Management, which has such a vision, makes more meaningful use of public space and creates a sustainable and attractive space. We are promoting urban development. Mr. Osada, the secretary general of Future Design Shibuya, interviewed Mr. Inoue, the secretary general of the company.
Return profits generated in public spaces to urban development
Osada you briefly explain the General Incorporated Association Shibuya Ekimae Area Management, for which Mr. Inoue serves as the secretary general?
Inoue: Going back in time, it was around 2000 that the momentum for redevelopment in front of Shibuya Station increased, and there were various problems to be solved from that time. For example, the aging of the building, the problem of flooding during heavy rains, and the lack of space for people to stay in the event of an earthquake. Another thing is barrier-free. The development of the hardware side to solve these problems was planned as a redevelopment of the area around the station, but at the same time, it was necessary to have an organization that considers the software side, that is, how to manage the city sustainably. Negotiations continued.
With such a trend, in 2013, the Shibuya Station Area Management Council, which is the parent body, was launched. Public-private partnerships discussed how to create rules for the city, and in 2015, the general incorporated association Shibuya Ekimae Area Management (hereinafter referred to as Shibuya Elimane) was established as a unit to implement it. Currently, a total of 15 staff members from departments related to Shibuya of Tokyu, Tokyu Land, and UR operate the secretariat.
Osada now on, what kind of image are you aiming for as a Shibuya area manager?
Inoue: A variety of public spaces will continue to be developed in front of Shibuya Station. We believe that it is our role to create an environment where new business development and various challenges can be made by utilizing public spaces through public-private partnerships.
The profits generated there will be returned to the city and further increase the value of the city. I think that the state in which money circulates is what we are aiming for.
When it comes to public spaces handled by Erimane Osada Shibuya, for example, the underground plaza at the east exit of Shibuya Station, which I am talking about now.
InoueYes, this is a new underground plaza that was completed in the fall of 2019, but it is classified as a ward road in Shibuya Ward.
Osada, so this place is treated as a road.
Inoue Yes. Therefore, setting up a cafe on the road is usually quite difficult, but we were able to set it up by receiving a special exception for Shibuya Erimane. Another interesting initiative in this square is the powder room attached to the public toilet.
This is a powder room that anyone, regardless of gender, can use for free.
Advertisements can also be placed on the large wall of the plaza. Recently, there are many advertisements of music groups, and fans stop and take pictures, and it is becoming established as a new photo spot.
This kind of advertising revenue is also a model that returns to cleaning expenses and town development activity expenses.
Osada, after a public space like this is completed, your role is to enhance the appeal of that place in a sustainable way?
InoueThat 's right. Among various laws and systems, one of our tasks is to find ways to utilize public spaces to create liveliness in the city.
Place of activity of Shibuya Elimane that spreads out around the station
Osada of advertising media, what other media are there?
There is also a "charter board" in front of Hachiko Inoue, and a distinctive one is "Shibuya Scramble Square Vision". According to the Tokyo Metropolitan Outdoor Advertisement Ordinance, normally you can only set up a vision up to 100 square meters, but as an exception, we have expanded it to about 800 square meters. The reason why the exception is applied is because it is a model in which part of the advertising revenue of this vision is returned to urban development.
I can always see it perfectly from the Future Design Shibuya (FDS) office in Osada Parco.
InoueThere are a lot of buildings around, but it's in a position where you can see it from various streets.
Since it is our role to disseminate information on the ever-changing city, we are also focusing on dissemination through these media.
Also, the wall that surrounds the area under construction around the station, the so-called temporary fence, is also used as an exceptional advertising medium to give back to the city.
As for the temporary enclosure, how to create a lively atmosphere during construction is also an issue, so we are planning to use it not only for advertising, but also for art development and as a place to disseminate local information.
In addition, the Hachiko Square is also on Michigami Ward, so we have set up a tourist information center there.
In the future, Sakuragaokaguchi will be completed in 2023, and a new plaza will be created. We are considering new initiatives, such as holding events there.
Reliable relationships with local communities. Efforts to solve regional issues
Osada are the most recent challenges for Shibuya Erimane in the past few years with the coronavirus?
InoueOf course, the fact that we haven't been able to hold events since the corona crisis is a big deal.
At the same time, I feel strongly that we should strengthen our activities in areas such as security, crime prevention, and disaster prevention.
Specifically, the first is anti-graffiti measures. One of our goals is to clean up the city with art, so we're trying to make the temporary enclosures I mentioned earlier and the pillars in public spaces free of graffiti.
Also, in combination with Shibuya Ward's "Arrow Project" (* A project that points out the location of temporary evacuation sites in the event of a disaster with artistic "arrow signs" drawn on the walls of the city), art development We are starting to consider how to simultaneously prevent graffiti and graffiti.
In this way, we will further strengthen our network with various projects and organizations in Shibuya, and with the people of the city. I think that is the big issue.
I want to create an attractive “precedent” with Future Design Shibuya
Osada there plans to hold events in public spaces soon?
InoueYes, we would like to continue to expand the provision of venues to people who want to take on various challenges in the city and businesses who want to conduct demonstration experiments.
For example, the other day, the Junior Chamber International Tokyo took the lead in holding an event in the east exit underground plaza to think about the SDGs and environmental issues through play and workshops.
I hope that with the help of FDS, we can further revitalize the matching with people who want to hold such meaningful events.
Osada makes us very happy.
I have high hopes that we will be able to work more together on the so-called potential development projects that Inoue FDS is promoting every day to expand the possibilities of the city.
I hope that Shibuya Elimane will be used more as a place to solve new social issues and as a function to disseminate information to the world. I'd like to see that kind of cooperation even closer in the future.
Osada would be nice if we could do more and more experimental things.
In terms of FDS measures, you were also indebted to us in the past for a project called "WORK PARK PACK", an experiment to utilize the public space "Shibuya River Street" along the Shibuya River. We placed colorful containers in the waterside space along the river from SHIBUYA STREAM, and from there we would transmit events and information.
InoueYes, we were able to get involved and help out with holding an event in a public space with advertising support.
Osada was difficult to clear various regulations.
Inoue: After that demonstration experiment, Shibuya Stream now holds events. It is important to accumulate experimental efforts as results.
Osada hope that through the collaboration between FDS and Erimane Shibuya, we will be able to create unprecedented precedents.
Inoue: You are right. It is difficult for us to find a legal way to organize this unprecedented situation in public space, and it is also a role that we must fulfill. I would like to create many attractive precedents together while repeating demonstration experiments little by little through public-private partnerships.
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