Ryo Yamazaki, Guest Professor (Part-time) "Community Design and SFC"
2020.06.05
Ryo Yamazaki, Guest Professor (Part-time), Faculty of Policy ManagementDirector, studio-L
Courses Taught: Social Entrepreneurship (Spring and Fall Semesters)
Public Management (Spring and Fall Semesters)
Parks, community centers, libraries, city halls. When designing public spaces, I once wondered if it was right to proceed with the design without listening to the users' opinions. This was back when I was a university student. When I talked to my senior colleagues, I learned that in most cases, the design was apparently decided through discussions between the government official in charge and the commissioned designer. Was it a matter of, "There's no problem because a professional can anticipate everything a user might think"? The question remained with me.
After finishing graduate school, I joined a firm that designed public spaces while listening to users' opinions. We held workshops and considered the design of public spaces through repeated discussions with residents. It's true that many of the opinions were "within expectations." However, the important discovery for me was that the residents themselves change. The workshop participants learned from each other through discussion, figured out how to make the most of the space, and began to form groups and take action. I have seen many residents whose lives were changed through these workshops. When such people take the lead in utilizing public spaces, others who see them start to think, "If it's okay to do that, then I'd like to try this," and begin to act. This chain reaction is what brings the designed space to life.
Seeing the potential in this method, I left the design firm in 2005 and founded a community design office called studio-L . For the 15 years since, we have advanced projects through resident participation, including the design of public spaces, management of commercial spaces, formulation of government plans, operation of hospitals and temples, enhancement of community welfare, and practice of social education. Recently, I have also been consulted about "community design within prisons," where aging inmates support each other's lives.
Workshops are a place for residents to learn from one another. Universities should be the same, but for some reason, lectures are often just about faculty unilaterally conveying information to students. Just when I was thinking, "What a waste," I found that classes at SFC were completely different. Faculty and students are engaged in dialogue, and students are also discovering learning through dialogue with each other. It reminds me, "Ah, yes. This is what a Juku was originally supposed to be."
In the classes I teach, I first introduce several resident-participation-based projects. After that, the students discuss among themselves and think about the significance of workshops, the value of community, and what a local society should be. In recent years, I often start my classes based on case studies the students have researched in advance, beginning with the words, "First, I'll take your questions."
Precisely because I questioned the process of "a professional designing a space and giving it to the residents," I want to avoid classes that are only about "a faculty member giving their knowledge to the students." SFC graduates who have experienced a student life where students learning from each other and taking action is the norm will become residents who discuss and act on creating the kind of town they want to live in. Such a town should have no need for community designers.