[Special Feature: Viewing the City through Parks] Aqua Metropolis Osaka as Seen from its Parks

In the spring of 2020, Nakanoshima Park presented a landscape entirely different from anything seen before.

Spring always arrives bearing change. In Japan, where temperature and rainfall vary greatly, the transition of nature through the four seasons is remarkably beautiful, and historical and cultural activities have been layered in harmony with that rhythm. Spring, in particular, is a season filled with anticipation for a new way of life. However, the changes brought by the spring of that year plunged daily life into a vortex of unrest. The more beautifully the flowers bloomed, the greater the damage to our hearts. Stay-at-home lifestyles were enforced, and the essential appeal of urban life—human interaction—was compromised. On the other hand, one could also sense the budding of a new kind of charm.

The landscape of a park is a visible totality composed of the natural foundation that supports it, the structures built upon it by people, and the very presence of the people who use it. In the park, while avoiding large gatherings, people appeared as a new urban landscape—walking, exercising, enjoying meals, working on laptops, and even playing mahjong under the blue sky. While these were actions taken to satisfy desires within a suppressed lifestyle, if we set aside the social situation for a moment and look only at the scene before us, it can be seen that the urban stage of the park was being utilized quite skillfully. Even amidst a pandemic, a new value for parks can be found in the sight of people spending time as they please, gathering discretely while maintaining distance from one another. Dispersion is not alienation; rather, it creates meaning between those who are apart. A new landscape of public life is emerging, where people interact with others by sharing the same time and space, even without physical contact.

In recent years, parks have focused solely on creating bustle, with an emphasis on collaboration between the public and private sectors. "Collaboration" (kyodo) refers to working together for the same purpose, where individuals with specific abilities or skills use them to tackle a common goal. In contrast, "Common Use" (also kyodo, but with different nuances) refers to two or more people doing or using something together, without necessarily having a common purpose or requiring each other's specific abilities. A public bathhouse is a bath used by everyone together; it does not require people to join forces to achieve a common mission. Perhaps parks are originally meant to be this kind of common space.

Even without going back to the Edo period, communities existed in Japanese society until quite recently. Urban development, however, destroyed these communities and transformed the "common spaces" used by everyone into "collaborative spaces" where the public and private sectors work toward the same goals. Yet, the COVID-19 pandemic created a situation where individual lives had to spill out into the outdoors, making it clear that common spaces are indispensable even before collaborative ones. Parks are the last common spaces remaining in the modern era. The cultural depth of a society is revealed in actions that follow implicit considerations and unwritten rules for common use. In Nakanoshima Park during the pandemic, one could see a solidarity among people through common use that was different from mere bustle.

Regardless of time or place, waterfronts are spaces that form the backbone of a city. Among them, the waterfronts of cities called "Aqua Metropolises" hold special historical significance. Early modern Osaka flourished as the "Kitchen of the World" where people and goods gathered. The moats and canals crisscrossing the city served not only for transportation and trade but also as places for human interaction; events at the water's edge were the very essence of urban life.

A characteristic of Osaka is that it was supported by the "private sector" (min). In many cities, waterfronts—which play crucial roles in disaster prevention and industry—have been managed by the "public sector" (kan). However, in early modern Osaka, it was the townspeople, known as the machishu, who took charge of the waterfront. It is said that of the approximately 200 bridges in Osaka at the time, only 12 were official bridges (kogibashi) built by the Shogunate; all others were town bridges (machibashi) built by the townspeople. The fact that the library and the Central Public Hall, which still stand on the Nakanoshima waterfront today, were built through donations from the business community shows that this spirit was inherited even into the modern era.

The eastern end of Nakanoshima was reclaimed in the late Edo period and became popular as a recreational area for the public. Surrounded by warehouse residences (kurayashiki), it was one of the centers of Osaka since the early modern period. This area was designated as a park in 1891. Furthermore, an expansion plan was approved in 1915, and the land was developed into the current shape of Nakanoshima Park. With the completion of the new City Hall in 1921, Nakanoshima began to play a role as Osaka's civic center under the "public sector." Nakanoshima Park featured fountains, flower beds, a music hall, and tennis courts, and with many boats floating on the water, it was a place with a modern atmosphere. This version of Osaka was called the "Venice of the East" and became a longed-for Aqua Metropolis.

At that time, Osaka expanded its city limits by incorporating surrounding towns and villages. In 1925, it surpassed Tokyo in both area and population to become the largest city in Japan, known as "Great Osaka." As industries like spinning and steel flourished, the "Venice of the East" came to be called the "Manchester of the East," and the city of water also became a city of smoke. While the economy prospered greatly, problems such as land subsidence caused by pumping up large amounts of groundwater also came to light.

In this way, Osaka developed by absorbing both the pure and the muddy. In 1931, Osaka Castle was rebuilt through donations from citizens, and in 1937, Midosuji was completed as a new main street. In modern Osaka, the public and private sectors each played their roles to build the "urban character" that has been passed down to the present. The 1939 Osaka special issue of the magazine "Parks and Open Spaces" describes the ideal park plan of the time. Architect Yasushi Kataoka stated: "I hope to complete a central park with an effective area of at least 80,000 tsubo centered on Nakanoshima, making it a waterfront park that Osaka citizens can be proud of as an Aqua Metropolis. At the same time, I wish to build a large plaza within it where citizens can gather to hold festivals for all of Osaka with cheers or solemn feelings of gratitude, making it a center for the National Spiritual Mobilization and the promotion of civic pride."

80,000 tsubo (approx. 26 hectares) is about 2.5 times the area of the current Nakanoshima Park. Had this been realized, the "Park of the Aqua Metropolis" would undoubtedly have been even more attractive as a park that fosters civic pride and makes Osaka citizens proud.

However, such ideal green space plans of the Great Osaka era were never realized. As can be inferred from Kataoka's mention of "National Spiritual Mobilization," the raison d'être of parks subsequently changed significantly into spaces for air raid defense as the country moved toward war.

After the war, Osaka's waterfronts ceased to be the center of the city. The center of transportation for people and goods shifted from water to land, and many moats were filled with rubble for reconstruction. The beautiful canal network that was once called the city of water became foul-smelling drainage ditches, turning into the backside of the city. This situation began to change significantly when the urban regeneration project "Regeneration of Aqua Metropolis Osaka" was adopted in 2001. A public-private partnership involving Osaka Prefecture, Osaka City, and the Osaka business community was promoted. In the "Aqua Metropolis Osaka Regeneration Concept" formulated in 2003, the "Water Corridor" surrounding the city center in a rectangular shape was designated as a priority area.

Urban parks account for about 40% of the public spaces in central Osaka where the water surface can be viewed—the highest proportion, even exceeding river spaces. They are particularly concentrated along the Okawa River from Nakanoshima Park to Minami-Temma Park and Sakuranomiya Park. Most of these were developed before the war, and very few new parks have been created through recent urban regeneration. Since the revision of the Riverbed Occupation Permit Criteria in 2011, unique private-sector waterfront spaces like "Kitahama Terrace" have been created, and attempts are being made to linearly connect the previously disconnected accessibility of the waterfront. However, recent examples of area-wide waterfront regeneration involving the development of land behind levees—such as "Minatomachi River Place" and "Hotarumachi"—are few and have been in planning for decades. This illustrates the difficulty of fundamental waterfront space reorganization that includes the hinterland, showing that it is not easy to create parks on the waterfront in an era of advanced urbanization.

On the other hand, efforts to enhance the value of existing parks are also important. In 2006, Osaka City held a competition for the redevelopment of Nakanoshima Park, which was renovated in time for "Aqua Metropolis Osaka 2009." Before that, Nakanoshima Park was a blank space—not an air pocket, but a "river pocket" left behind in the city center—lined with blue tarp tents and avoided by citizens. Through redevelopment, the rose garden, which had been a famous spot since the old days, was beautifully reborn. The lawn area was given undulations that gracefully connect the northern and southern rivers, allowing the water surface to be seen from anywhere one sits. By utilizing the potential of the land as an island, it has now become established as a place that citizens use on a daily basis.

The symbolic event for the regeneration of the Aqua Metropolis, "Aqua Metropolis Osaka 2009," impressed the value of these waterfront spaces, including Nakanoshima Park, upon the citizens. Art programs and workshops were held at various locations along the Water Corridor, and a variety of programs were implemented for citizens to enjoy the newly redeveloped waterfront. A citizen participation method centered on local activity groups was introduced, establishing a process driven by public-private partnerships. The hardware development, which had previously been led by the public sector, did not end with construction alone; private sector intentions were incorporated into the waterfront regeneration, laying the foundation for a continuous management system.

The background that allowed such public-private partnerships to develop was largely due to the accumulation of independent activities by the private sector prior to that. Activities at the waterfront, such as floating rafts for cherry blossom viewing or using bridges as live music venues, began as guerrilla-like efforts stemming from individual passions. Through the gradual introduction of social experiments and the construction of cooperative systems, these activities became formally recognized, and the individuality of the waterfront grew. The role of the public sector in the future of Aqua Metropolis Osaka will likely lie in planning to spread the waterfront charm created by the private sector throughout the entire city.

There is a historical accumulation unique to Osaka in how it perceives who manages the city. Ryotaro Shiba, who loved Osaka throughout his life and continued to live there, described Osaka as "the most civic city in Japan." There is a spirit in this city that the town is not something made for you by someone else, but something you create yourself. It accepts the clashing and resonating of various personalities. That is why Osaka people feel close to the city of Osaka and take pride in it. Parks, in particular, are one of the places that best represent the civic spirit of the people. The trust between people and the city is reflected in the public life of the parks. They possess the inclusiveness to accept free activities. In the city of Osaka, the charm of the people is reflected in the character of the places. Rather than maintaining order through discipline and restrictions, Osaka people expect a city where they can encounter something interesting, unique, and new. The city of Osaka exists as a place for such communication.

"β (Beta) Honmachibashi," opening this summer in a park along the Higashiyokobori River, looks to be a facility where one can feel this free and intimate private-sector spirit of Osaka. It aims to be more than just a facility for food, drink, or boat transport; it seeks to develop a business that deeply understands the social value of being located in a park. On a waterfront stage that was previously overlooked and covered by an expressway, new communication connecting the waterfront and the city, and people and places, is about to be born through a variety of private-sector programs.

In this way, the charm of Aqua Metropolis Osaka has expanded greatly with the public sector supporting private sector initiatives. In her essay titled "Osaka Connects," Osaka-born author Tomoka Shibasaki describes the charm of the city as follows: "While the environment remains harsh due to over-concentration in Tokyo and economic stagnation, the flexibility of Osaka people—who once boldly stepped out as the 'Manchester of the East'—is still alive and well. I believe that today, rather than recklessly expanding in scale as they did then, Osaka is a city with the potential to do interesting things and communicate flatly with various people and places, transcending the frameworks of cities or countries." It is people who create the charm of a city, both directly and indirectly. The impression of a city visited for the first time is influenced more by communication with the people encountered there than by the food or souvenirs. Osaka people are adept at communicating flatly with various people and places as a form of personal enjoyment. Urban planning is nothing other than direct and indirect continuous support for people creating the charm of the city. It is important whether the city side can accept the spirit of the people and reflect it in the image of the city. It is not just the people asserting themselves, nor is it just the city standing out. The charm of Aqua Metropolis Osaka is formed by people and the city becoming one.

Parks have always been important places for this. The role played by parks in the history of the Aqua Metropolis built by the public and private sectors has the potential to become greater than ever before. By combining greenery with the Water Corridor and expanding the network, the free and active movements of citizens will connect. I believe that Osaka will continue to deepen the communication between people and the city toward becoming a "City of Water and Greenery."