Japanese breakbeat duo Hifana bang out a funky rhythm on sensor-embedded Nikes that function as sound controllers (sound programming by Daito Manabe, hardware by 4nchor5 la6). [Via: SNOW Magazine]
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Meanwhile, the homeless residents of Shibuya's Miyashita Park (now known as "Miyashita NIKE Park") are getting the boot as the local government uses Nike money to transform the public space into a private commercial sports facility. "Our Park," a short documentary directed by Emil Langballe, looks at the issues from the perspective of the homeless. [Via: Hypebeast]
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Texas_Reb
It seems governments and corporations around this world are all out of control. The founders of the USA believed the people were the ones with the power and we gave a limited amount of it to the government. Now the government acts like they have all the power and the people should be happy with the little it grants to us. We lose rights and property every day. I am saddened to see the same happening in Japan.
I had the good fortune to spend two weeks in Tsukuba and Tokyo -- I loved every moment of it. I thought the cities and people were very beautiful. I am hoping to return again one day.
I did not get to spend any time in Miyashita Park, but I did get to spend a Sunday wondering around Harajuku Park during a cultural celebration. I hate the thought off any corporation destroying the unique Japanese culture that is celebrated in the parks.
You can add my support to the effort to save Miyashita Park from Nike. Parks belong to the people, not the government. The role of the government is to protect and maintain the parks that are entrusted into their care by the rightful owners of the parks -- the people of Japan. The government officials who have violated this trust and the law should step down in shame and dishonor or else be held accountable in the courts of law. And Nike should have to restore Miyashita to its original state!
Nike's motto of 'Just Do It' seems to have led them to 'Just Do It, Even If It's Wrong'. I will boycott Nike and any subsidiaries until they 'Just Do the Right Thing'. They have to know that what they are doing is wrong. Just because they have money to buy a political action does not mean it is right. By going against the will of the people who are the true owners of Miyashita Park they dishonor their company and themselves.
Keep up the good fight and do so with honor.
Your supporter in Texas
[]Caitlin
Sad story..
Did you know Nike sells a shoe named "Usurper"? I can't decide if the company trying to be ironic or if they are just a bunch of rubes.
http://www.finishline.com/store/catalog/product.jsp?productId=prod360672
[]Sasutan
The argument the homeless make is that this is a public space and should be kept for the public. But the fact is that homeless have re-appropriated public space for their own private use. Their blue tarp houses are not open to public and are not at all inviting. I would argue that fact the homeless people "live" in the park makes it less appealing to the general public to use.
Could the Nike renewal of the park actually reinvigorate a now dingy space?
I'm sorry homeless people. The threat of losing your home is awful, but your argument for losing "public" space is disingenuous. You are purely promoting your needs.
[]Texas_Reb
@Sasutan: I concur that the homeless should also not be allowed to move into the park either. As you pointed out, that denies the public the traditional use of the park just as much as turning it into a Nike complex would. The park is for ALL the people of Tokyo and Japan. It is not there to be sold to coporations or claimed by individual citizens. It is well within the rights of the government to establish rules on the use of the park that protect it for everyone since that is one of their roles - protect the common good.
Many of the parks near where I live prohibit overnight camping. For those wishing to camp out there are designated parks. Those parks have the amenities to support the campers and a means of gaurding the grounds to prevent crime and littering.
If Nike is looking for a public relations win, perhaps their purchase of the park should include some option for those who will be pushed out of the park. If there are homeless shelters, sponsor them. If there are none, then partner with others to establish them. And they should not just be place to house them but also places where they have some resources to figure out a way out of unemployment and homelessness.
A tough problem filled with lots of emotion on both sides. How to show compasion without destroying public spaces? how to fund programs without selling the soul of the city? Tough ones. No matter what is done, though, it must follow the rule of law.
I wish y'all all the best.
[]Shoegazer
It's hard to fault Nike in this situation. They're simply taking advantage of a unique opportunity to promote their brand just like any other large corporation would.
The real culprit here is the local government, which has decided the fate of this public park behind closed doors without any input from the community.
And where exactly does the local community stand on this issue? Do people not care that their park, however dingy and degraded it may be, is being turned into a giant advertisement?
What's also sad is that the seemingly cool artists in the top video have aligned themselves on the corporate side of this issue. On one hand you can't really blame them if they are getting paid. Artists need to make a living too. But their project would be infinitely more poetic and interesting if they took their musical shoes out into the park to draw attention to social issues and/or contribute to the community. Instead we just get a glorified commercial.
[]dandfx
There's defiantly a lot of ways to look at this. In my past and growing experience with Japan i have found that there is quite a large amount of homeless people, no of which hassle you like in other major cities worldwide which I have experienced.
We spent half a day in osaka castle park and there was a reasonably large amount of tarp and makeshift shelters, they were tidy with no rubbish, no filth and were out of the way leaving us without feelings of it being unsafe or inhibiting the public from enjoying these areas.
Japan is insanely built up and it seems that public parks are a necessity to these people, there isn't spaces under bridges, alleyways or voids where they could set up on more then a short term basis. Major Japanese cities (especially Tokyo) simply don't have the space for a park bench let alone thousands of homeless.
On the note of corporations taking over the space I can completely agree, its not their place to buy into it or the government to sell it. I guess that it may come across as acceptable to the government who are trying to develop the area into an innovative approach or as a tourist hot spot but it still seems like nike should find somewhere else to throw their wealth around
PT - can you let us know if the park development starts.... Ill be in Tokyo this July and would like to see whats happening 1st hand
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