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Christian Dimmer

@remmid.bsky.social
4K followers 491 following 1.1K posts

dad/urbanist/assoc.prof. transition design + urban studies|waseda university|Tokyo|co-learning/co-design|public spaces/spheres|urban practices/theories|place {un}making/becoming|climate + sustainability/resilience|views expressed here are my own

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Reposted by Christian Dimmer
Astra Taylor @astra.bsky.social · 13/09/2026
And that, fundamentally, is the prospect that terrifies end times fascists more than anything else. What keeps these men up at night is … us. It’s the possibility that a popular and vigorous movement will rise up and defend this planet and the many life-forms who call it home.”
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Naomi Klein @naomiaklein.bsky.social · 13/09/2026
Since it can be hard to believe that political and corporate elites would actively give up on our shared future on this singular planet, we made a short film so folks can hear from the end timers and judge for themselves. www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...
theguardian.com
Naomi Klein and Astra Taylor: the future according to end times fascism
In a new video, Klein and Taylor outline a ominous evolution taking shape on the far right – and how to stay loyal to this planet and each other
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Christian Dimmer @remmid.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
Your scholarship and your writing is outstanding and deeply inspiring!
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Christian Dimmer @remmid.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
I have my difficulties with the “war” metaphor. Who, after all, is the Secretary of War here? Like climate change and unregulated AI, this is a wicked systems problem. There is no single enemy, command centre or actor to defeat. 1/3
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David McNeill @davidamcneill.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
I went to Nanmoku in Gunma to ask: what happens to societies that begin to depopulate and shrink? Japan is finding out. My piece in The Irish Times: www.irishtimes.com/world/asia-p...
irishtimes.com
Japan’s disappearing village fights to avoid extinction
Some years pass without a single baby in Nanmoku. Now the mountain community is searching for a way to avoid extinction
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Brent Toderian @brenttoderian.bsky.social · 03/09/2026
This is really important. “What the far right feels about cities isn’t physical fear. It’s discomfort. Canadian urban planner @brenttoderian.bsky.social decodes this feeling as: “I’m not the majority any more, it isn’t my city anymore.” Via @simonkuper.bsky.social in @financialtimes.com
ft.com
Myth of the big, bad megacity
What the right feels about metropoles isn’t physical fear. It’s discomfort
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rain-singer.bsky.social @rain-singer.bsky.social · 04/09/2026
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Brent Toderian @brenttoderian.bsky.social · 03/09/2026
Imagine inventing something so awful that the world has decided to call it “pervert glasses.”
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Christian Dimmer @remmid.bsky.social · 02/09/2026
“Of course, we want to believe that the real economic benefits are yet to come. But right now, it’s hard to say that the impact has truly trickled down.” Beware of cataclysmic money, Jane Jacobs warned. It can undermine resilience by creating dangerous dependencies.
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Christian Dimmer @remmid.bsky.social · 31/08/2026
For those who enjoyed Koenji’s #Awaodori festival last weekend,here’s a short article of mine exploring its history.The bottom line:what looks “traditional” is sometimes invented—and there’s nothing wrong with that.Traditions are made, remade and reinvented.So why not invent some exciting new ones?
mascontext.com
Place-making in Kōenji: (Re)Invented Spaces and Traditions
Short essay by Christian Dimmer.
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Christian Dimmer @remmid.bsky.social · 31/08/2026
Odaiba has never been popular enough to justify the gigantic investment required to reclaim the land& build it. Yes, it had the Gundam, Palette Town, the Statue of Liberty, the beach & Decks. But attractions are not the same as a city. For all the money poured into Odaiba, it never truly came alive.
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Christian Dimmer @remmid.bsky.social · 31/08/2026
A rapidly ageing society w/ shrinking workforce needs migrants.Not only are care givers in short supply;every work-intensive sector is competing for a shrinking pie.That’s a demographic fact. Make of it what you will,Mr & Ms populist.It’s time to stop feeding fear& start developing positive visions.
politician.is
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Christian Dimmer @remmid.bsky.social · 30/08/2026
As we see in the U.S., pandering to anti-foreigner sentiment for short-term political gain—often to outflank the far right—doesn’t just harm the economy. It manufactures the resentment it claims to respond to.
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Christian Dimmer @remmid.bsky.social · 27/08/2026
The treacherous thing about climate change is how differently it plays out locally: more snow in New York or around Sea of Japan, prolonged droughts across parts of Europe, alongside unprecedented, freak weather events. Resilience thus cannot be one-size-fits-all. We need locally grounded toolkits.
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William Andrews @william-andrews.bsky.social · 24/08/2026
My interview with the Books on Asia Podcast about my biography of Adachi Masao, released next week by @awaibooks.bsky.social booksonasia.net/podcast/boa-...
booksonasia.net
BOA Podcast 93—Adachi Masao: Pink Films, Red Politics with William Andrews  - Books on Asia
John talks to Tokyo-based researcher, writer and translator William Andrews about Pink Auteur, Red Outlaw, his new biography of this provocative filmmaker and revolutionary.
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Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 23/08/2026
Mark Carney: "In recent days. the US proposed new terms that were uneconomic, unfair, and undermine the net benefits for Canada, and called into question the reliability of any deal. In short, they asked too much and they offered too little ... You're at war when you get attacked. We got attacked."
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Christian Dimmer @remmid.bsky.social · 24/08/2026
TOKYO JAZZ JOINTS @tokyojazzjoints.bsky.social is a documentary photography project that set out to document Tokyo's myriad jazz bars and cafes back in March 2015, with little idea of how far and wide it would eventually reach. www.tokyojazzjoints.com
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The Japan Times @japantimes.co.jp · 20/08/2026
Commentary: Japan's response to the U.S. campaign against the ICC is emerging as a critical test of its long‑standing commitment to international justice and a rules‑based order.
ebx.sh
The time to defend the International Criminal Court is now
Despite reticence to confront destabilizing U.S. behavior, there are risks to Japan’s interests and wider support for the ICC should it choose not to firmly respond.
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Christian Dimmer @remmid.bsky.social · 21/08/2026
Working in/ on participatory planning, I’m not quite sure whether I should be scared or delighted by this. Ideally AI could act as a neutral arbiter, helping surface competing interests, make trade-offs more transparent. The question is whose values shape the AI& who gets to challenge its decisions.
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Steven Vertovec, Futures of Difference @fod-soc.bsky.social · 20/08/2026
The future of diversification is no longer Europe or North America. It is Africa, Asia & Latin America. Sakura Yamamura (RWTH Aachen) argues the shift has to reach our frameworks too, not just our case studies. And that temporal orientation is itself a form of difference.
futuresofdifference.substack.com
How Do Social Categories Work Across Scales?
Short · Sakura Yamamura on decentering Western frameworks as diversity moves to the Global South
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Christian Dimmer @remmid.bsky.social · 20/08/2026
Beautiful hearts and minds. The world needs more of such Japan-style courtesy and mindfulness.
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Christian Dimmer @remmid.bsky.social · 20/08/2026
Brave new world … but clearly not working for everyone. In my humble view, there is nothing wrong with cash. It provides a small but important freedom and resilience dividend in an economy increasingly dominated by monopolistic Big Tech firms. #freedomdividend #resiliencedividend
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Christian Dimmer @remmid.bsky.social · 20/08/2026
Urban #resilience has long been framed around disaster response & reconstruction. But since Crimea (2014) many democracies are already living in a grey-zone conflict. Sabotage, cyberattacks, drones, infrastructure disruption are becoming part of the planning context. thediplomat.com/2026/08/taiw...
thediplomat.com
Taiwan’s Urban Resilience Drills Are Becoming a Core Part of Deterrence
The Han Kuang drills are a useful step, but it should lead to more measurable questions for Taiwan’s ability to weather a crisis.
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American-Refugee @american-refugee.bsky.social · 20/08/2026
We must preserve literacy. So long as most people can read (and will do so voluntarily), representative government still has a chance. Post-Industrial societies ignore the unread masses at the peril of losing all the human rights gains of the last century. With a worsening climate, this is critical.
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Christian Dimmer @remmid.bsky.social · 20/08/2026
The general feeling is that we need to circle the wagons around the last vestiges of democracy worldwide. It also means strengthening our real-world, offline communities and their resilience before the AI bubble bursts and its ripples together with that of the Hormuz crisis hit local economies hard.
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Christian Dimmer @remmid.bsky.social · 20/08/2026
For once feeling relieved as an old-fashioned, unapologetic cash-only person …
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JJWalsh @jjwalsh.bsky.social · 19/08/2026
We need more of this support from government leadership who know and see our contribution and value as a part of Japan's economy and communities
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Christian Dimmer @remmid.bsky.social · 19/08/2026
Finally, some voices of reason. Living in Japan is not easy, given the language and cultural barriers, and those of us who make our lives here have chosen to be here. We pay taxes, create economic value, raise children who are Japanese citizens, and contribute to society in countless other ways.
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Eric Doherty @ericdoherty.bsky.social · 21/03/2026
There is no solar power crisis. No wind power crisis. No insulation crisis. No heat pump crisis. No e-bike crisis. No electric bus crisis. But there is a #fossilfuel crisis. And a #climatecrisis.
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Christian Dimmer @remmid.bsky.social · 18/08/2026
This is an exciting development for #sustainability & #resilience researchers in Japan & the EU. Both face many shared challenges—and have much to learn from each other in accelerating the urgently needed socio-ecological #transition. euraxess.ec.europa.eu/worldwide/in...
euraxess.ec.europa.eu
Japan officially joins Horizon Europe
Japan has officially become associated with Horizon Europe, strengthening international cooperation between Japanese and European research and innovation communities.
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Christian Dimmer @remmid.bsky.social · 18/08/2026
This is an exciting development for #sustainability & #resilience researchers in Japan & the EU. Both face many shared challenges—and have much to learn from each other in accelerating the urgently needed socio-ecological #transition. euraxess.ec.europa.eu/worldwide/in...
euraxess.ec.europa.eu
Japan officially joins Horizon Europe
Japan has officially become associated with Horizon Europe, strengthening international cooperation between Japanese and European research and innovation communities.
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Christian Dimmer @remmid.bsky.social · 18/08/2026
I just found this wonderful and innovative photography project by @philo.gay : Using the railway network as a flatbed scanner via @alfie.photography
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DavidB @david.eurosky.social · 18/08/2026
France doesn't have 100 million visitors coming by plane and roaming around the country. Most of them come by car or train and stay in one or two spots (on the beach or in the countryside) for their summer vacation.
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DavidB @david.eurosky.social · 18/08/2026
And this is so completely insane. When people (including the JP government, I assume) see the top countries (France and Spain) they don't understand that 75% of these visitors are other Europeans coming for summer vacation and staying in one spot designed for this. ⤵️
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Christian Dimmer @remmid.bsky.social · 17/08/2026
New infra to address choking effects of tourism on transit systems, already operating@ capacity. It raises a bigger question: r we adapting infrastructure to accommodate multiplying tourist numbers, or asking how much tourism our cities can actually absorb w/o undermining everyday life of residents?
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Christian Dimmer @remmid.bsky.social · 17/08/2026
Aber interesting talk!
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gquaggiotto.bsky.social @gquaggiotto.bsky.social · 16/08/2026
Once an ontology becomes institutionalised, the institution begins reproducing it. This is why inherited systems are so persistent. Departments, files, professional roles do not survive simply because people have failed to imagine something better digitalstatecraft.substack.com/p/reimaginat...
digitalstatecraft.substack.com
Reimagination
Why real transformation begins by questioning the objects, categories and relationships around which institutions are built.
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Andreas Sieber @andreassieber.bsky.social · 14/08/2026
Holy shit! While I complain about 37C of #climate induced heat at my desk in the Netherlands, in #SouthKorea potatos “boil“ under ground 😳 www.theguardian.com/world/2026/a...
theguardian.com
Potatoes ‘boil’ in the ground as record heatwave sweeps across swathes of Asia
South Korean farmers are suffering in record heat, as Hong Kong reports its highest ever temperature and Japan swelters through newly designated ‘cruelly hot’ days
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Sheila Foster @sheilarose.bsky.social · 16/07/2026
This is a boss move by Mamdani! "In announcing the role, Mamdani’s office noted that New Yorkers pay some of the highest energy rates in the nation...The appointment marks Mamdani’s latest step to bring down costs for New Yorkers." He's killin it' @mayor.nyc.gov gothamist.com/news/mamdani...
gothamist.com
Mamdani appoints NYC's first 'public utility advocate' to help lower energy costs
In announcing the role, Mamdani’s office noted that New Yorkers pay some of the highest energy rates in the nation.
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Christian Dimmer @remmid.bsky.social · 16/08/2026
It is a real honour to be included alongside so many inspiring urban thinkers and changemakers. Grateful to be part of a community of people imagining—and working towards—more just, resilient and liveable cities. Thank you so much for including me @brenttoderian.bsky.social !
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Christian Dimmer @remmid.bsky.social · 16/08/2026
Tokyo is known for bold quantitative targets—and often achieves them, at least on balance sheet. But those who cycle here know how few genuinely protected bike lanes exist. Too often “cycling infrastructure” means little more than paint on the road, leaving cyclists dangerously close to moving cars.
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Christian Dimmer @remmid.bsky.social · 15/08/2026
A very important article that sheds light on a little explored issue. Highly recommended!
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Christian Dimmer @remmid.bsky.social · 15/08/2026
The problem is that these floods expose a deeper failure of urban planning. When cities build on floodplains and steadily erase green space, they lose their capacity to absorb water. We then spend billions engineering our way out of a crisis we planned ourselves into.
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Christian Dimmer @remmid.bsky.social · 14/08/2026
Typhoon disruption at Tokyo Narita shows what resilience means: not preventing every shock, but absorbing disruption, adapting, recovering. With thousands stranded overnight it was striking to c how well-rehearsed the restart of train services was. In Japan resilience is practiced before the crisis.
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Christian Dimmer @remmid.bsky.social · 29/07/2026
It’s hard to understand why anyone would want to bring cars back to Granville Street. I hope many people will support keeping this wonderful street the way it is!
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Christian Dimmer @remmid.bsky.social · 22/07/2026
Every generation invents a new villain: yesterday it was the moga (modern girl), today it’s “selfish” career women. Calling women “too modern” has always been less about morality than policing independence. The moga debate proves these culture-war narratives aren’t new.
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Christian Dimmer @remmid.bsky.social · 22/07/2026
Japan’s working mothers face a relentless double shift: demanding jobs and disproportionate caregiving at home. Abenomics sought to boost female labor participation, but without broader social change, families remain under strain as Japan navigates a difficult #demographic #transition.
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Christian Dimmer @remmid.bsky.social · 21/07/2026
Tokyo’s walkable neighbourhood streets blur the line between road and gathering place, belonging to everyone.
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Christian Dimmer @remmid.bsky.social · 17/07/2026
Finding a moment of peace and calm in the big city … Tokyo as a total space — where metropolis and village, place and landscape, territory and sanctuary become one.
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Unseen Japan @unseenjapan.com · 17/07/2026
Kusunose Kita oversaw the assets and properties after her samurai husband’s death. It rankled her that she had to pay taxes yet couldn’t vote. In 1878, she refused to pay them. When her local government rejected her petition, she took her grievances to the national government.
unseen-japan.com
The Feminist Movement in Japan: Meiji to World War II - Unseen Japan
Learn about the early history of the feminist movement in Japan, and how women went from being "daughters in boxes" to earning suffrage and liberty.
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