Diagnosis of "littering" in shopping arcades: Urban and environmental awareness in the late 1990s.

Diagnosis of "littering" in shopping arcades: Urban and environmental awareness in the late 1990s.

In the late 1990s, Japan was in a period of economic stagnation following the collapse of the bubble economy, while citizens began to be keenly aware of the need to revitalize their living environments and local communities. Particularly in urban areas, the issue of how to protect quality of life and cityscapes became an issue, and local governments, citizens' groups, and shopping districts began to take independent initiatives to improve the environment.

Against this backdrop, the "littering diagnosis" conducted by Esplanade Akasaka, a shopping street in Akasaka, Minato-ku, was an extremely symbolic effort: the 650-meter-long shopping street was divided into six areas, and during cleanup activities, detailed records of littering, including paper waste, cigarette butts, and empty cans, were made. Based on these records, an "environmental chart" was created, and by showing passersby a mapped panel, specific problems such as "cigarette butts are conspicuous here" or "there are many empty cans in this corner" were visually shared with them.

The important point of this activity was that it went beyond mere cleaning to encourage pedestrians to change their behavior through visualization of the problem through repeated dialogues between local residents and store owners. This is evidence that, in contrast to the "mass consumption and mass disposal" type of society that has existed since the period of rapid economic growth, awareness of the need to "reduce waste" and "protect the environment" is beginning to emerge at the local level. These attempts were pioneering practices that would later lead to community-based environmental campaigns and "beautiful city development ordinances," and they convey the spirit of an era that is searching for urban sustainability.