Contested identities and models of action in Japanese discourses of place-making

This article examines discourses related to newly-built neighborhoods in contemporary Japan. The focus on recently constructed housing estates is a corrective to many recent studies which have been overwhelmingly examinations of "old' or "traditional' neighborhoods. On one level, such discourse is related to the reputational content of a locality, that is to the series of typifications and images that capture the character and "spirit' of a place. On another level, people often use the residential community as a medium for discussing or evoking wider issues. Through addressing specific places and their attendant qualities, people constantly promote or denigrate certain visions of what Japan was, is, or should be. This study suggests that a fruitful way to explore the complexity of these discourses is to uncover the "folk' models of locality which are held by different local groups. People use these models to describe, analyze, and evaluate what goes on in their communtiies and to prescribe ways to change them. -Author