Urban Planning (ISSN: 2183–7635)

2023, Volume 8, Issue 1, Pages X–X

https://doi.org/10.17645/up.v8i1.6016

Article
The Role of the Public‐Private Interface and Persistence of Historic
Character in Nezu, Tokyo
Milica Muminović

Faculty of Arts and Design, University of Canberra, Australia; milica.muminovic@canberra.edu.au

Submitted: 29 July 2022 | Accepted: 6 December 2022 | Published: in press

Abstract
The Great Kanto Earthquake and Second World War Fire Bombings have left contemporary Tokyo with almost no monu‐
ments from the past. One of the areas that has been spared in both destructions is Yanesen, part of the three neighbour‐
hoods Yanaka, Nezu, and Sendagi located in northeast central Tokyo. Nezu has a peculiar urban character that persists
despite the lack of conservation and constant change in its built environment. Its unique character is defined by a sense of
local, domestic, and neighbourhood closeness and is linked to the traditional identity of Shitamachi. This article hypothe‐
sizes that the main element that preserves the character of Shitamachi in Nezu is based on the relationships rather than
on objects that need to be preserved. The analysis focuses on the relationships between public and private spaces and
captures changes in the built environment in Nezu over six years. The comparative analysis applied mapping and a photo‐
graphic survey of the public‐private interface. The results showed how the persistence of the urban character is supported
by a dynamic change in the built environment which functions as a complex system. The relationships between elements
of the built environment are demonstrating non‐linear causality at the public‐private interface and contribute to Nezu’s
enduring character.

Keywords
assemblage; change; interface; persistence; public‐private; relationships; Tokyo; urban character

Issue
This article is part of the issue “Urban Heritage and Patterns of Change: Spatial Practices of Physical and Non‐Physical
Transformation” edited by Frank Eckardt (Bauhaus‐University Weimar) and Aliaa AlSadaty (Cairo University).

© 2023 by the author(s); licensee Cogitatio (Lisbon, Portugal). This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribu‐
tion 4.0 International License (CC BY).

1. Introduction mentioned research found that an important aspect insti‐

gating this character was the sense of enclosure arising
The built environment in Nezu, Tokyo has undergone from the presence of the ephemeral elements on the
constant change, while its urban character has endured. street and how the public‐private interface between the
Although there is no formal preservation of the build‐ house and the street was assembled. The size of the
ings, the area has maintained its sense of being a tradi‐ streets and the public‐private interface with ephemeral
tional town (Shitamachi). Previous studies about tangible elements have shown not only that residential streets
aspects of urban character in Nezu demonstrated that contribute to the sense of domesticity, but also that nar‐
the sustaining character was due to the complex relation‐ row mixed‐use streets have the same effect.
ships between the elements of the built environment, Since Nezu’s character is a combination of the unique
rather than due to the elements themselves (Muminovic, and the universal and is not related to a particular mon‐
2014; Muminovic et al., 2013, 2014). Because the perma‐ ument or individual buildings, this article assumes that
nent urban qualities in Nezu are a domestic atmosphere the buildings could be replaced if there is a continua‐
and a sense of closeness (Muminovic, 2014), the focus tion of relationships in the built environment that sup‐
of the analysis was the interface of the public and pri‐ port this character. Thus, this article aims to investigate
vate spaces that contribute to this domesticity. The afore‐ the short‐term level and type of change in Nezu’s two

Urban Planning, 2023, Volume 1, Issue 8, Pages X–X 1

main aspects of the built environment, which support and ephemeral elements are explained; and finally, the
its character: the public‐private interface and ephemeral results are presented in the form of comparative map‐
elements on the streets. This is not to oversimplify and ping and visual analysis of the streets.
assert that the character of Nezu is only based on the
type of interface between the public and the private, yet 2. Dynamic Preservation and Assemblage Theory
this aspect seems to be a leading contributing factor to
the sense of domesticity and its persistence contributes The typical mapping of the preserved elements cannot
to the endurance of Nezu’s character. Therefore, the ana‐ reveal an understanding of the correlation between the
lysis explores the change in the public‐private interface urban character and the built environment in Nezu. Thus,
patterns and ephemeral elements between 2013–2019. this research applies the assemblage theory framework
In general, it could be argued that six years is not a long to obtain an insight into the dynamics of the place and
enough period to demonstrate a significant change in the the concept of preservation without the conservation of
built environment, however, the speed and degree of buildings. Massumi (1987) suggested and Dovey (2010)
change in Tokyo are considerably higher compared with demonstrated that this theory can be used as a kind
other cities. The average lifespan of a house in Tokyo is of “conceptual toolkit” for analysis of the place. Even
only 26 years (Kitayama et al., 2010), thus a six‐year time though this theory has been criticised for its use of jargon
span is long enough to demonstrate change. In addition, and lack of clarity (Dovey et al., 2018), it becomes concre‐
the change of interface does not necessarily imply demol‐ tised once applied to a particular case (DeLanda, 2016).
ishing the building. To understand the change and persistence of urban
In the broadest terms, this research aims to con‐ character, first, the concept of place needs to be out‐
tribute to the understanding of a dynamic place’s charac‐ lined briefly. The concept of place was largely devel‐
ter and to provide an alternative to the traditional ana‐ oped from phenomenology. Most notably, the work
lysis of the place that focuses on the preservation of of Norberg‐Schulz (1980) in architecture and Tuan
the built environment. Previous studies on the persis‐ (1977) in geography, largely inspired by the concept
tence of a place’s character have focused on the con‐ of dwelling introduced by Heidegger (1972), defines
servation of elements of the built environment (e.g., the place as a phenomenon that emerges from the
Cannigia & Maffei, 2001; Sepe, 2013). Limited studies interaction between the built environment and peo‐
are focusing on the morphology that positions change ple. The persistence of urban character assumes that
as part of the process of preserving urban character. there is an essence—a particular building or a build‐
At the theoretical level, this research contributes to ing type or atmosphere—that needs to be conserved
the developing discourse around assemblage theory in (Norberg‐Schulz, 1980, p. 18). In a more contemporary
urban studies. While Dovey (2010) introduced assem‐ understanding of dwelling, Massey (1991, p. 26) dis‐
blage theory in urban design and aimed to understand cusses a need “progressive sense of place” and urges the
the city through flux and relationships, the aspects of reader to develop a more dynamic understanding that is
character and its persistence were not explored. This not locally bound and nostalgic.
particular area in Tokyo is the exemplar of preservation Dovey (2010) instigates a non‐essentialist approach
that reaches beyond simple conservation and represents to place with the introduction of the concept of assem‐
a potential to broaden the discussions and expand the blage in the place theory. The place is defined as the
application of the assemblage theory, where place char‐ assemblage based on the relationships of interiority and
acter is defined over time by incorporating dynamic pro‐ exteriority. Assemblages are “wholes whose properties
cesses. The article recognises that the place as an assem‐ emerge from the interaction between parts” (DeLanda,
blage has multiple dimensions and that this research 2006, p. 5). The essence is replaced with multiple equi‐
reports on the findings which are limited to its materialist librium states that provide more flexibility and change
perspective. Furthermore, we acknowledge the impor‐ (DeLanda, 2002, p. 10). Assemblage emerges from the
tance of the sociocultural aspects of the assemblage, yet interaction between its parts; however, it cannot be
in this exploration, we are narrowing to its materialistic reduced to them. Assemblages are made out of ele‐
elements as an expression of the socio‐cultural manifes‐ ments that are “self‐subsistent” and can be detached
tations to explore and understand the fourth dimension and replaced with other elements (DeLanda, 2006, p. 18).
of the assemblage, time. Thus if some of the relationships change, but the over‐
The article is divided into four segments. Firstly, the all quantity is compensated, it could be argued that the
theoretical framework for the preservation of the urban character of the assemblage is preserved.
character is set within the assemblage theory, explor‐ Assemblage theory shifts the analysis from the phe‐
ing how the change in the built environment can con‐ nomenological approach to a materialist understanding
tribute to the preservation of urban character; secondly, of the place. This is something that Deleuze refers to
a survey of Nezu’s character is conducted in the tourist as “noumenon” (Deleuze, 1994, p. 222), which does
guide publications to determine changes over the period not negate the existence of the phenomenon but adds
of inquiry; thirdly, the methods used to capture the pat‐ the importance of the materialist perspective. In the
terns of relationships within the public‐private interface application of urban theories, this shift could be framed

Urban Planning, 2023, Volume 1, Issue 8, Pages X–X 2

as morphology and patterns in the built environment and the built environment; thus, there must be some‐
(Dovey et al., 2018), which is not to ignore the impor‐ thing that evokes this experience.
tance of experience, perception and subjectivity in the
place, but to complement one’s understanding with the 3. Persistent Urban Character of Nezu
aspects of the built environment.
In assemblage theory, the identity of any entity is In Nezu there are no specific monuments that support
defined through morphogenetic processes guided by the persistence of character (Shiihara, 2009; Shiihara
intensity (DeLanda, 2005, p. 82). The properties of et al., 2000); thus, we argue that, based on the assem‐
all entities, and thus place as well, can be divided blage theory, heterogenisation is producing the pro‐
into two groups, intensive and extensive (DeLanda, cess where the expressive aspects of the elements of
2002, p. 26). Extensive qualities are those that char‐ the built environment are evoking the persisting charac‐
acterise the material aspects of the components of ter, preserving the Shitamachi of the Edo period. This
the assemblage, while intensive properties characterise area is presented differently, in the academic litera‐
their qualitative aspects. Identity can be understood ture and popular media, compared to other neighbour‐
at the level of extensive characteristics; however, its hoods in Tokyo (Waley, 1991, p. 191, 2012). Elaborated
description demands exploration over time and intensity in Sand’s (2013, p. 55) analysis of how Yanesen Magazine
(Muminovic, 2015). has contributed to the creation of “Yanesen” as a
All elements of the assemblage are divided into two place, this supports the notion that the identity of this
groups based on the role that they have in the assem‐ place is of a particular kind, built on expressive qual‐
blage. One role is defined as a material, where the focus ities of the assemblage. Extensive discourse analysis
is on how those elements occupy the space and concern was performed on the popular publications about the
only their physical characteristics (DeLanda, 2006, p. 12). Yanesen area spanning from 2010–2019. Part of this
The second role is the expressive aspect of the element, analysis from 2010–2014 has already been published
where the focus is on qualitative characteristics and their (Muminovic, 2014) and this article extends that explo‐
function as agents in the assemblage. For the example ration to 2019. The resources included printed and dig‐
with the place, it might be argued that the material role ital media. Printed data consisted of material distributed
is assigned to the built environment of the place (such in Yanesen (such as maps and brochures, advertising
as size or materials) while the expressive role is assigned pamphlets for the shops, galleries, or cultural activities),
to the interaction between people and the built envi‐ tourist guides about Tokyo, and data from a Yanesen
ronment (Muminovic, 2015). The important difference in magazine. Digital data were gathered from online offi‐
the assemblage theory is that all elements of the assem‐ cial tourist guides, blogs, and other non‐organisational
blage are changing their roles over time, thus there is no websites. To understand the fluid character of Yanesen,
one ideal state for the elements of the assemblage, no a qualitative summative content analysis was performed
essence to be preserved. (Hsieh & Shannon, 2005). This analysis generated mani‐
The second dimension of the identity in assem‐ fest and latent content, where manifest content is a visi‐
blage theory describes how those agents are involved ble and obvious component of the text and latent allows
in the assemblage: stabilised or homogenised— interpretation of the meaning of the text (Graneheim &
territorialisation and destabilised or heterogenised— Lundman, 2004). The discourse analysis produced four
deterritorialization (DeLanda, 2006, p. 12). Throughout main themes around the Yanesen area (listed alphabet‐
its history, a place can have various levels of the ically): a sense of closeness and domesticity, history,
material‐expressive dimension or the territorialised‐ smallness, and uniqueness, with 38 different keywords
deterritorialised dimension. For example, if a place has or codes (Muminovic, 2014, p. 383). These results con‐
built its identity around the monuments in the built firmed what Sand (2013, p. 67) suggested, that “neigh‐
environment its role will be material, and expressive borliness” is correlated with traditional alley spaces not
aspects will be minimised. The identity of that place wider than 3 m. When revisited in 2019 the number of
is homogenised and stabilised, and if those buildings brochures and editions has been increasing and new edi‐
are demolished the identity will be lost or shifted to tions of the same publications were found, such as the
a different stage. However, if the elements of a place map of bookshops (Shinobazu Book Street Map, pub‐
have a dominant expressive role, then their identity is lished yearly), the magazine about Yanesen, Taito City
not bounded completely within the built environment Ward’s publication of Yanaka and Ueno, etc. In addi‐
(the material role is reduced) producing heterogenised tion, the number of maps and promotion materials had
and deterritorialised assemblage. This particular case increased, for example, one of the pamphlets found in
might mean that the elements of a built environment can Nezu is an “Osampo Map” (Strolling Map) titled “History
change while the identity remains the same. This does Experience Nezu” and this neighbourhood is featured
not mean that all of the built environment can change in new books (Hosei University & Politecnico di Torino,
completely, but there is more flexibility compared with 2019; Imai, 2018; Nadarou, 2017; Tsuchiya, 2016; Ursic &
the first case. The expressive role of agents in the assem‐ Imai, 2020). Tourist guides in English are still promoting
blage is generated by the relationship between people the town as a traditional historic Tokyo. Three new hotels

Urban Planning, 2023, Volume 1, Issue 8, Pages X–X 3

were built in this area, demonstrating the need for and what he calls “interface morphology.” Recent research
interest in tourist accommodation. Furthermore, there on this topic has identified a gap in the literature on the
are new guidebooks in the Japanese language about issue of the public‐private interface, which demonstrates
Yanesen that promote strolling in the neighbourhood. relationships rather than objects in space, and there
The OZ Magazine explores Tokyo’s neighbourhoods fea‐ is a need for further research (Dovey & Wood, 2015).
turing the area’s new shops, local produce, renovations, Furthermore, this research adds to the ongoing develop‐
and food (Yoshinaga, 2019, p. 562). As noted by Goddard ment of understanding street edges as socio‐spatial ter‐
(2017) there has been a recent proliferation of urban ritorialised (Thwaites et al., 2020) assemblages by intro‐
guides, mainly orientated towards rising experiential con‐ ducing the dimension of time.
sumerist city‐wanderers describing new and interesting The peculiarity of Nezu’s character was considered
places. Thus, Nezu is following the general trend in Tokyo, when analysing the public‐private interface. The sense of
which is encouraging people to experience the city on domesticity does not necessarily mean that something is
foot and still presenting the traditional character of private. Private is unwelcoming for the outsider, whereas
Shitamachi as the leading aspect of the urban character. closeness and domesticity are familiar and generate wel‐
The fact that this area is still maintaining its expres‐ coming feelings. The way in which the private spaces
sive qualities through tourist guides and other promo‐ in Nezu are mediated in relation to public spaces con‐
tional materials supports the continuity of its character. tributes to the welcoming character. Important aspects
However, this aspect of the assemblage does need to be of this reconciliation are found to result from the loca‐
grounded in the material parts of the assemblage, i.e., tion of domestic and ephemeral things at the interface,
its built environment. Therefore, this article explores the such as potted plants, umbrellas, shoes, etc. Those ele‐
degree of change in the elements of the built environ‐ ments support the enclosure of the street’s public space
ment, particularly focusing on the public‐private inter‐ and promote a sense of being inside the neighbourhood
face to demonstrate the fluidity of the urban character (Aoki & Yuasa, 1993). They are not physically enclosing
and its material aspects. the space; rather their presence creates a sense of being
In 2013, less than 3% of the houses in Nezu had a inside, a sense of domestic public space.
timber cladding façade. Timber is considered to evoke The public‐private interface is defined as the space
a sense of traditional Shitamachi. Today, 62% of those between the private sphere of the interior of the indi‐
houses mapped in 2013 remain. Sparse and scattered vidual dwelling (the house or the apartment) and the
around the neighbourhood, the impact of those rem‐ public sphere of the street, possessing qualitative charac‐
iniscent of the past might be considered insignificant. teristics of both spaces. Our fieldwork has identified six
In addition, during the fieldwork, it was noted that 41% main patterns of the public‐private interface that were
of the newer houses (constructed after 2013) had tim‐ mapped in 2013 and 2019 (Figure 1). Those patterns
ber façade cladding and bore no resemblance to the tra‐ are defined according to the following morphological
ditional architecture. This demonstrates that preserva‐ characteristics: position of the house on the plot, posi‐
tion is not a prominent aspect of the neighbourhood, but tion of the entrance to the private space, and perme‐
the importance of the timber remains in its contempo‐ ability from public to private spaces. Private awareness,
rary use and supports the universal character focusing on setback, mode of accessibility, and fencing were also
the human scale and tactile characteristics of softness in considered in the classification process. This classifica‐
the street. tion follows similar criteria to those developed by Dovey
and Wood (2015) with the addition of a clear bound‐
4. Method ary, such as a fence, and the size of the setback (Ohno,
2018, p. 107).
To explore how domesticity and a sense of closeness
are generated in Nezu, the article focuses on the ana‐ 4.1. Private Awareness
lysis of the public‐private interface and the domestic
ephemera that are present on the streets. In general Since the urban character is based on how the outsiders
terms, the existing urban theories, both essentialist and (visitors) relate to the lived experiences of the insiders
non‐essentialist, have recognised the importance of the (Relph, 1986, p. 49), the analysis has focused on the pub‐
public‐private interface for the definition of the char‐ lic’s perspective of the permeability between the public
acter of urban spaces. Norberg‐Schulz (2000, p. 164) space and the private sphere of the house. This perme‐
emphasises how the articulation of the space between ability is not defined by how visible the private space
the inside and outside in architecture defines the charac‐ is from the street, but often it is about sensing the pri‐
ter of the place. For Habraken (1998, p. 168) the essence vate life inside, hearing the voices, showering, dishes or
of the urban lies in the boundary between the public seeing the shadows, that is, things that evoke a sense
and private spaces. Madanipour (2003, pp. 59–60) also of connection to the domestic life. In addition, this soft
reinforces that this space defines the character of the transition from the public to private spaces of the house
city. Bobic (2004) recognises this space as an impor‐ contributes to the familiar, welcoming, embracing, and
tant element of urbanity and classifies the spaces by almost friendly aspect of the neighbourhood. Outsiders

Urban Planning, 2023, Volume 1, Issue 8, Pages X–X 4

 1 2 3

4 5 6

private awareness setback mode of accessibility fence

1 X P X yes
2 S P X no
3 X L P S close together
4 X L C X L apart
5 S P X C car access
6 X X P X P pedestrian access
Figure 1. Patterns of the public‐private interface in Nezu.

feel part of the neighbourhood and have a sense of 4.4. Fence

belonging (Sand, 2013, p. 67). As noted in recent pub‐
lications about the neighbourhood, “The more I walk This element defines a clear boundary between the pub‐
through this neighbourhood, the warmer feeling I get” lic and private spheres and does not contribute to the
(Yoshinaga, 2019, p. 35). sense of connection and fluidity between the two. This
element was noted as existing or non‐existing (Figure 1).
4.2. Setback Six patterns were mapped in 2013 and 2019, and
the changes in the number and positions of the pat‐
This is the space between the façade of the house and terns were identified and quantified using QGIS software.
the street. There were three patterns identified, based The degree of change was mapped at the level of each
on the existence and size of the setback. If the house had block and defined as the sum of the area of changing
an entrance directly from the street it was considered as patterns in relation to the sum of the area of all houses.
not having a setback. If there was a setback, it was clas‐ The change was considered both when a new pattern
sified as either apart (more than 1 m) or close together emerged as well as when it disappeared as a result of
(from 0.5 to 1 m; Figure 1). the demolition of the building. The degree of change
was measured in percentage; the highest level of change
4.3. Mode of Accessibility being 100%, which assumes that all interfaces in a given
block have changed. Similarly, 0% change assumes that
This relates to whether the house can be accessed by a all interfaces in a given block have been preserved.
car and has parking space on the ground level, or it is only We conducted a photographic survey of ephemeral
accessible on foot. The dominant transport used in this elements in the streets showing either a high or low
area is the bicycle; however, there are some spaces ded‐ degree of change and compared the results with those in
icated to the car. Often, in the case where the ground 2013. Subsequent photos were taken every 10 m along
level is dedicated to the car, the entrance to the house the street and the area of coverage of ephemeral ele‐
is set back from the street, behind the parked car. Thus, ments was measured as a percentage of the total area
the presence of the car interrupts the continuity of the photographed. The more ephemeral things present on
public‐private interface (Figure 1). the street, the higher the percentage, and thus the sense
of domesticity.

Urban Planning, 2023, Volume 1, Issue 8, Pages X–X 5

5. Analysis and Results Patterns 1 and 6 have increased in numbers, the least
changes emerging in pattern 3, notably, the change was
5.1. Comparison of the Public‐Private Interface Patterns not concentrated in any particular location but dispersed
Between 2013–2019 over the neighbourhood. In addition, many houses had
been demolished and replaced with the same pattern
The overall numbers of public‐private interface patterns of the public‐private interface. Those changes are not
demonstrate low levels of change. Patterns 1 and 4 were recorded here; however, they demonstrate the vibrant
found to have increased. Pattern 4 appears to be a popu‐ nature of this area.
lar solution for new family houses as it contains car park‐ The maps of the degree of change (Figure 3) showed
ing at the ground level. This pattern is discontinuing the that some areas have generally changed less across
interface between public and private, thus, contributing all patterns while some have changed significantly.
less to the preservation of Nezu’s character. In 2013, the To develop an understanding of how each block has
most numerous public‐private interfaces conformed to changed, the maps of the degree of change have been
pattern 1 in 50% of all buildings, and by 2019, this num‐ overlapped with 30% transparency across all interfaces
ber had increased to 61%. This pattern has the small‐ (in Figure 3, the map at the right shows the average
est public‐private interface: The boundary between the degree of change across all patterns). To allow further
interior of the house and the public space of the street analysis and to compare the photographic survey, three
is defined by only a thin wall. It usually contains many streets have been chosen that demonstrate examples of
ephemeral things which extend the private space of the high and low degrees of change.
house towards the street and contribute to the sense of
enclosure and domesticity. Thus, it could be argued that 5.2. Comparison of the Photographic Survey Results
this trend adds to the preservation of Nezu’s character. Between 2013–2019
In 2013, 22% of all houses conformed to pattern 6, mak‐
ing it the second largest group, which had reduced to A photographic survey was conducted in 2019 for the
17% by 2019. Pattern 2 decreased from 22% to 8% over three streets and compared with the same survey done
time and similarly, pattern 3 decreased from 7% to 3%. in 2013. Street 1 demonstrated on average the low‐
Both patterns have a physical barrier that makes a clear est degree of change in the public‐private interface,
distinction between the public and private space but has while street 3 exhibited a high degree of change. Street
little effect on the presence of ephemeral things on the two was mixed with low and high degrees of change.
street. Thus, their decreasing numbers are still contribut‐ The survey has shown that on average there is the
ing to the preservation of the character. Pattern 5 was same presence of ephemeral elements in streets 1
found to have plummeted and has mainly been replaced and 2 which have mainly preserved their public‐private
with high‐rise buildings and in some cases with pattern 2. interfaces. The average percentage of ephemeral ele‐
Although the overall number of patterns showed lit‐ ments on street 3 dropped by 50% (Figure 4). Once
tle change over the last six years; the actual interfaces observed in detail, sequences along streets 1 and 2 fol‐
have changed, as demonstrated on the maps (Figure 2). lowed the same patterns of high and low numbers of

paern1 paern2 paern3 paern4 paern5 paern6

0 100

Figure 2. Map identifying change of the public‐private interface.

Urban Planning, 2023, Volume 1, Issue 8, Pages X–X 6

 paern1 paern2 paern3 paern4 paern5 paern6 average degree
of change
across all paerns

80–100% 60–80% 40–60% 20–40% 0–20%

0 100
selected streets for
photographic survey
Figure 3. The degree of change.

ephemera. However, street 3 has lost the places of high The detailed photographic survey has shown no sim‐
concentration of ephemeral elements, which previously ple correlation between the houses that have changed,
existed at three places along the street (Figure 4, ratio and the number of elements found on the street.
of ephemera). The analysis confirmed that there is a link between the

street 1 street 2 street 3

ephemera ephemera ephemera
2013 2019 2013 2019 2013 2019
extracted from photos
extracted from photos

extracted from photos

ra o (in %)
ra o (in %)

ra o (in %)

class 1 (>20%)
high class 2 (15–20%)
0 class 3 (10–15%)
class 4 (5–10%)
10 50 ra o of objects: low class 5 (<5%)

Figure 4. Mapping of the photographic survey of the three streets, highlighting the houses that were changed and the
presence of the ephemera on the street.

Urban Planning, 2023, Volume 1, Issue 8, Pages X–X 7

pattern of interface and the quantity of the ephemera old façade). On the other hand, although the house
on the street. As expected, where the built environment on the right in street 2 had changed (Figure 5b) and
had not changed, the number of elements remained changed its interface by removing the fence, there was
the same. For example, the buildings on street 1 where no change in the scale and size of the interface. In this
the interface is preserved and the function has changed, case, the number of ephemeral elements remained at
have retained the same number of ephemeral ele‐ the same level. Another example was street 3 where
ments (Figure 5a, the shop on the left changed from a single‐storey house was replaced with an apart‐
a tofu shop to a bakery, but preserved most of the ment building (Figure 5c) resulting in a larger setback

2013 2019

d
Figure 5. Comparative photographic survey.

Urban Planning, 2023, Volume 1, Issue 8, Pages X–X 8

compared with the old house in 2013. Consequently, In Nezu’s case, this is more flexible because its charac‐
the number of ephemeral elements was reduced by ter is not based on the buildings but on the relationships.
73%. Photo analysis has also demonstrated that the The expressive role of the elements in Nezu’s assemblage
ephemeral elements on the street are not so ephemeral, is found within the relationship between public and pri‐
and in some cases, the same number and the exact same vate spaces. The ephemeral elements on the street sup‐
elements were still present (for example Figure 5d). port this expressiveness. Thus, the maintenance of the
quality of the public‐private interface contributes to the
6. Conclusions preservation of the urban character in Nezu. Although
the buildings are changing, the relationships between
This study has shown that many houses were demolished the public and private spheres seem to be more stable.
in Nezu between 2013–2019. The relationships amongst Furthermore, this expressive nature of Nezu’s character
patterns of interfaces continue to be proportionally sim‐ is supported by the narrative around this neighbourhood.
ilar, but different in number, thus showing variation The proliferation of publications and promotional mate‐
rather than a complete change. This variation seems to rial continues to build this narrative around Yanesen.
be an important element that supports the dynamics of The narrative itself would not work without the support
the built environment. The built environment as assem‐ of the built environment and vice versa, the built environ‐
blage is flexible to the point that the overall relationship ment is perceived in a particular way because of that nar‐
between elements remains within acceptable levels of rative. Both spheres of the assemblage are maintained
variation to maintain the character of the place. This also within a level of variation, generating a dynamic nature
confirms that the character of Nezu is not bound by the of this space. Thus, instead of focusing on the analysis
buildings but is found in the relationships between ele‐ of preserving the character of a particular building the
ments. Furthermore, this aspect of Nezu demonstrates assemblage approach encompasses the whole spectrum
how a place can be observed as an assemblage of deter‐ of elements and considers how they function together.
ritorialised identity. If there are fewer elements with a material role in the
The ephemeral things such as personal belongings on assemblage, they can be supported with expressive ele‐
the street, seem to be quite persistent. The photographic ments. Therefore, this research has demonstrated how
survey has shown that there are cases where ephemeral observing the place in its totality, comprising both mate‐
things are the same as they were six years ago. Our obser‐ rial and expressive elements over time, contributes to a
vations have shown that even despite the demolition of more holistic understanding of its complex nature and
some buildings, domestic elements continued to be used dynamic preservation.
in the same manner. When the building and interface
have retained the same size, the presence of ephemera Acknowledgments
has been observed. In the example of the change of the
interface, as well as the change in the size of the building, The author acknowledges the University of Canberra and
we have observed the change in the ephemera. This fur‐ Keio University, co+labo which supported fieldwork and
thermore raises the question of the human factor, where this research through the University of Canberra Outside
the change of the building could also imply a change in Studies Program.
the inhabitants and thus habits of occupying the public
sphere. Moreover, it could also mean that the discon‐ Conflict of Interests
tinuous nature of the space does not provide opportu‐
nities for occupying space. This question is beyond the The author declares no conflict of interests.
scope of this research; however, it does confirm that the
size of the interface is an important factor in presence of References
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About the Author

Milica Muminović is a senior lecturer in architecture at the Faculty of Arts and Design, University of
Canberra. She holds a PhD from Keio University, Japan and has held the position of program director
for the Built Environment at the University of Canberra and teaching assistant in Serbia and Japan.
Her present research extends her professional experience through studies about analyses of complex
qualities of urban identity, places, and spaces in between architecture and urban design.

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