都市における多様性をめぐるいくつかの断章

Abstract

In the context of sociology in Japan, where ethnic homogeneity has been assumed and vernacular culture has rapidly vanished since the end of WWII, it has been usual that the term “diversity” has carried a critical nuance. However, recently, in the age of late modernity, “diversity” has come to be embedded into the logic of global capitalism and the efforts of national and municipal governments that hope to attract fluid multinational companies and a cosmopolitan “creative class”. The author seeks to articulate the meaning of “diversity” in this context, and to point out that what kind of urban practices would be excluded in the recent urban redevelopments that have sought to create cities with diverse urban amenities. This paper examines the paradox that some restrictions on what can be done in the urban space are required to guarantee the diversity in that same urban space.