The 47th National Conference in Tokyo: 50 years since "Machinami is everyone's common property" - Machinami opens our future

On April 17, 1974, representatives of the "Imaicho Preservation Association", "Tsumago Lovers Association" and "ARIMATSU Machi-dukuri Society" gathered in Arimatsu, Nagoya to form the Association for Historic Conservation. This year marks exactly 50 years since then. To commemorate the 50th anniversary of the founding, the 47th National Townscape Seminar will be held in Tokyo. The first day of the conference will be a 50th anniversary talk. The three founding organizations, three veterans and three activists will share their thoughts.

This is the third time the Townscape Seminar has been held in Tokyo, following the 5th (1982) and 21st (1998) seminars. The advantage of holding the seminar in Tokyo is that it allows us to distance ourselves somewhat from local issues and get a bird's-eye view of universal issues and directions regarding the conservation of historical environments. Therefore, this time, instead of the usual method of dividing into subcommittees for discussion, we would like to narrow down the theme and hold a conference where all participants can share the issues and future direction. Specifically, the morning of the second day will be devoted to "systems" and the afternoon to "disaster prevention." Preservation and utilization, tourism pollution, the problem of vacant houses, place making, international cooperation, climate change... There are endless issues, but this time we will focus on these two basic themes.

The subtitle of the "systems" session is "From historic core preservation to HUL conservation." Next year, the Important Preservation Districts for Groups of Traditional Buildings, the core system for preserving historic districts, will celebrate its 50th anniversary. Although it has achieved great results, there are many challenges, such as 1) the scope and targets tend to be limited, and 2) there are many historical cities that cannot/do not decide on Important Preservation Districts for various reasons. From now on, we will consider how to build a more broad-based historic conservation system.

The subtitle of the "disaster prevention" session is "What is a disaster-resistant town? The goal is resilience." Earthquake-resistance renovation is not progressing, and what kind of thinking should be used to carry out earthquake-resistance renovation in the first place? The debate over disasters is endless. Even if the Building Standards Act, which is necessary for repairs, is relaxed, various disaster prevention measures are required. It seems necessary to ask disaster prevention from the basics, "What is a disaster-resistant town?" On the day, we would like to share the efforts of each region and clarify the points of discussion.

I wrote that we should "keep a little distance from the issues specific to the region." However, even in Tokyo, there is no way that we can be unrelated to the region of Tokyo (one of the results of the 5th seminar was "Tokyo is also a historical city"). Kyojima, Sumida Ward, where the seminar will be held, is the perfect place to consider the two basic themes. The densely populated wooden urban area, which was formed after the Great Kanto Earthquake (1923) and has long needed improvement, is now a historic streetscape that is approaching 100 years old. The streetscape is being evaluated and a renovation is being undertaken to turn what was thought to be a negative heritage into "happy buildings and people who inherit the local culture." Our partner this time is the Yatsu-shima-hana cultural foundation, which is playing a central role in this endeavor. We are sure that they will be able to stimulate our discussions on the state of systems and disaster prevention there.

The Japanese Association for Historic Conservation has been active for 50 years under the slogan "Machinami is everyone's common property." At this conference, we hope to reaffirm this slogan and build a conviction that it is machineries, not tower apartment buildings, that will open up the future of our town.

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The 47th National Conference in Tokyo

Date and time: Saturday, October 26th to Sunday, October 27th, 2024

Location: Chiba University Sumida Satellite Campus

Schedule:

[Day 1]

▷10:00, 10:30: Yatus-shima-hana Town Walking Tour (from Keisei Hikifune Station to the venue)

▷13:00: Opening ceremony

▷13:30:

Keynote speech 1: "The history of the town development of Mukojima, Tokyo"

Yamamoto Toshiya (Meiji University professor, Chairman of the Urban Planners Association, Director of the Mukojima Society)

Keynote speech 2: "Efforts to preserve the tenement houses in Sumida Kyojima"

Goto Daiki (Representative Director of the Yatsu shima-hana Cultural Foundation)

▷14:30: Talk commemorating the 50th anniversary of the Japanese Assocuation for historic conservation

1. Continue to be a front-runner: Thoughts of the three founding organizations

2. Is this the right way to be for our association?: Recommendations from three veterans

3. I will protect our town: The determination of three activists

Interviewer: Nishimura Yukio (Professor, Kokugakuin University, Director, National Townscape Preservation League)

▷17:30: Mineyama Fumi Award 2024 Presentation Ceremony

▷18:00: Networking session (ends at 19:30)

[Day 2]

▷9:00: Session 1

"System: From historic core preservation to HUL conservation"

Moderator: Fukukawa Yuichi (Chairman, Japanese Association for Historic Conservation, Professor Emeritus, Chiba University)

▷11:15: Block meeting and lunch

▷12:45: Session 2

"Disaster prevention: What is a disaster-resistant town? The goal is resilience"

Moderator: Suzuki Shinji (Professor, Yokohama City University)

▷15:00: Closing ceremony (ends at 15:20)