An Urbanist-in-Residence project in Nagata, Kobe.
During a three-week stay in Nagata, participants conducted field research to discover the area’s unique attractions and resources. Over the course of the program, urbanists from Japan and abroad were invited to Nagata, where they applied their expertise to collaborative research and workshops.
Two members of for Cities spent three weeks in Nagata Ward, Kobe, conducting a residency-style field investigation to discover the area’s attractions and resources, using a vacant row house as their base. The row house was opened as an open studio, serving as a space to share the research process publicly.
As a result, urbanists from Japan and abroad visited, contributing their expertise through workshops and collaborative presentations, while also creating opportunities for dialogue. The findings from the research were later presented through an exhibition and a report.
In addition to the two members from for Cities, urbanists from Japan and abroad were selected to stay in Nagata for part of the program. Members were chosen for their diverse perspectives and skill sets, enabling a multifaceted re-examination and reinterpretation of the Nagata neighborhood.
“Mystic Tea House” by Hong Kong–born artist Harry Lee is an ephemeral tea room that appears and disappears in various cities. It redefines tea as a multi-sensory experience connecting the urban environment with imagination and memory. In Nagata, Kobe, a tea gathering was held in an abandoned house, creating a special session that took participants on a journey into the past and offered a glimpse into a lost world naturally preserved within the abandoned space.
A divination event using the “Monster Garden Oracle Cards” by yokai and monster researcher William Zack Wood.
The Monster Garden Oracle Cards, similar to tarot, feature original characters created by Zack himself. In this session, participants not only experienced card-based divination but also engaged in simple theater games.
A workshop led by artist and researcher Juliette Pénélope Pépin. Using scientific data on frogs living in Nagata Ward, participants create frog sculptures from paper clay, incorporating laser-cut stencils and local paper waste.
The sculptures are then coated with patterns combining urban textures and images of real frog skin, creating hybrid forms that serve as metaphors for the past, present, and future existence of frogs in Nagata’s urban landscape.
During the workshop, participants also engaged in discussions about the artist’s research, sharing insights on the current state of local frog populations while making the sculptures.
A temporary pop-up studio was set up within the residency space at Siri Valley. Here, photos, notes, and reflections collected during interviews and fieldwork were displayed on the walls using poster paper and Post-it notes. The space also featured an exhibition by a Germany-based artist/researcher, making it a place that anyone could freely explore.
By presenting the research process and preliminary results in real time, visitors were able to provide feedback and engage in dialogue, creating opportunities for interaction and co-reflection.
In this experiment, moments, places, and phenomena in Nagata that evoke feelings of “envy” or a desire to “make use of” them are captured through framing and photography, along with the reasons for those impressions, creating an archive. The aim is to highlight “Nagata spots admired by outsiders”, serving as a foothold for urbanists who will visit next.
We interviewed unique individuals active in the Nagata community and broadcast the conversations in a four-episode podcast series.