iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

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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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 · 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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Christian Dimmer @remmid.bsky.social · 11/06/2026

On my daily commute in Tokyo, I enjoy walking through naturally traffic-calmed streets where pedestrians and motorists share public space harmoniously, guided less by regulation than by everyday courtesy and mutual respect.

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Christian Dimmer @remmid.bsky.social · 31/05/2026

A real privilege to be co-hosting André Sorensen for a talk and panel discussion tomorrow in #Tokyo —exploring path-dependency, timing, contingency, and emergence in the context of #Tokyo's urbanisation. If you happen to be around, please do join us. All welcome! #urbanhistory #theoriesofchange

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Christian Dimmer @remmid.bsky.social · 24/05/2026

Research finds that Tokyo lost tree canopy equivalent to 256 Tokyo Domes in just 9 years. While summers grow hotter, street trees keep disappearing. While cities such as New York, Sydney, Paris, or Shanghai expand tree cover in response to climate change Tokyo continues to lose green infrastructure.

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Christian Dimmer @remmid.bsky.social · 18/05/2026

Another example of “homification” of public space in (urban) Japan. Architectural theorists have noted that people are accustomed to removing their shoes at the entrance and stepping up into the home. Could this cultural practice help explain it—treating public space with the same care as our homes?

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Christian Dimmer @remmid.bsky.social · 17/05/2026

People do it quite regularly like here for example:

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Christian Dimmer @remmid.bsky.social · 17/05/2026

Preparing for the coming energy crisis. Countries like Japan, heavily dependent on imported fossil fuels, may soon face serious strain because of the Hormuz Crisis, just as summer heat will peak. Our new 4m² portable PV panel is cooking on this sunny day. Call me a prepper if U like. Are U prepared?

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Christian Dimmer @remmid.bsky.social · 17/05/2026

In this paper we explored how local climate initiatives in Japan often pursue very different agendas from the government. We showed that climate action is driven less by “climate change” itself than by immediate local social, economic, and environmental concerns. www.researchgate.net/publication/...

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Christian Dimmer @remmid.bsky.social · 17/05/2026

In Japan, people often remove their shoes before putting their feet on street furniture. A small gesture of consideration towards other fellow urbanites—but also a quiet act of “homifying”& personalising public space. For a brief moment the anonymous city becomes intimate, almost like a living room.

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Christian Dimmer @remmid.bsky.social · 07/02/2026

I am very much looking forward to Osaka City fully pedestrianising its main downtown traffic artery, Midosuji, by 2037. This transformation is not happening overnight but incrementally—gradually reshaping the street into a major public space that functions as an urban amenity axis.

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Christian Dimmer @remmid.bsky.social · 04/02/2026

More green space—Tokyo remains a concrete jungle. Despite an accelerating climate crisis and ambitious resilience plans, the city continues to lose mature green spaces at a faster rate than new green is created. Every year summers get hotter and the heat island effect is worsening.

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Christian Dimmer @remmid.bsky.social · 04/02/2026

Deeply gratifying to see thoughts like these by young Japanese architecture & planning students in response to my Transition Design talk. Reading thru 198 assignments, I realise that although young people don’t often talk about the #polycrisis we face, they care deeply. I feel more hopeful today!

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Christian Dimmer @remmid.bsky.social · 01/02/2026

Politicians must embody their own values, demonstrate they take voters seriously, communicate their reasoning patiently, and explain how something as complex as government works in the service of the public good. They must also make clear that every political decision involves difficult trade-offs.

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Christian Dimmer @remmid.bsky.social · 30/01/2026

The pains of #overtourism are felt in more and more places in Japan, especially in tourism hotspots like Kyoto.

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Christian Dimmer @remmid.bsky.social · 28/01/2026

Chilling! Adolf Eichmann, one of the primary organisers of the Holocaust, consistently used the defense that he was "just following orders.”

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Christian Dimmer @remmid.bsky.social · 26/01/2026

Yokohama Stadium, home of the BayStars, was completed in 1978 and deliberately built in the city center, designed to be reached primarily by public transportation. It works very well, and the surrounding park remains pleasantly scaled, accommodating a wide range of urban events.

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Christian Dimmer @remmid.bsky.social · 25/01/2026

Great point! It’s crucial to manage the transition of a social movement from protest to program, as we saw in post-austerity Spain. To build more democratic, resilient—and ultimately happier—cities, more people need to take responsibility. We need to (re)conceive of the city (again) as a commons.

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Christian Dimmer @remmid.bsky.social · 25/01/2026

Once again, I’m reminded of Rittel’s idea of wicked problem: a complex social policy issue that allows multiple interpretations, forcing policymakers to pick one & proceed. Biden initiated meaningful police reform which reduced crime; Trump has undone much of that, thus numbers likely to rise again.

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Christian Dimmer @remmid.bsky.social · 23/01/2026

Upcoming talk: "Students’ urban ethnography of Tokyo" as part of the Itinerant Seminar “Contemporary Tokyo Seminar Series” January 28th 2026 (Wed.) / 18:00-20:00, Rikkyo University www.mfj.gr.jp/actualite/wh... #urbanethnography #urbanstudies

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Christian Dimmer @remmid.bsky.social · 23/01/2026

闇市と都市―Black Markets and the Reimagining of Tokyo On view through February 23, the exhibition examines Tokyo’s legacy of informality at the Takashimaya department store in Nihonbashi. —> www.takashimaya.co.jp/shiryokan/to...

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Christian Dimmer @remmid.bsky.social · 19/01/2026

"Instead of asking Republicans if they support Donald’s policies, it’s time to start asking them why they continue to back a man who is so obviously out of his mind." — Mary Trump @maryltrump.bsky.social

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Christian Dimmer @remmid.bsky.social · 18/01/2026

History warns us: The Guns of August & Clark’s The Sleepwalkers show how great powers drift into crises through miscalculation & bravado. The #Greenland situation feels uncomfortably similar—small moves, big symbols, and leaders (in the U.S. Congress) assuming it will all work out…until it doesn’t.

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Christian Dimmer @remmid.bsky.social · 17/01/2026

After 9/11, the U.S. invoked NATO’s Article 5 for the 1st—and only—time. Troops from Denmark, the UK, Canada, Germany, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, Poland, Norway, Estonia, Lithuania, Latvia, Ukraine, Finland and others fought in Afghanistan, where over 1,000 paid the ultimate sacrifice.

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Christian Dimmer @remmid.bsky.social · 15/01/2026

" Them」is now all of us! " What a grim & powerful statement. Only months ago, many people still treated the famous Niemöller quote half-jokingly, convinced that something like that could never happen in the U.S. Now it is here — time for all well-meaning folks to break their silence and speak out.

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Christian Dimmer @remmid.bsky.social · 14/01/2026

I hate this, but I felt compelled to return to Twitter temporarily and turn myself into a bot for retweeting pro-democracy, pro–rule of law content. You might consider doing the same to help crowd out pro-totalitarian voices there.

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Christian Dimmer @remmid.bsky.social · 11/01/2026

I am old it enough to remember this heroic man in 1989, but many younger people might need a refresher.

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Christian Dimmer @remmid.bsky.social · 01/01/2026

Wishing you a happy & peaceful New Year 2026. A better future doesn’t simply happen—it is shaped by our shared vision, courage, and action. I look forward to collaborating with all you changemakers to build happier, sustainable, resilient, and just cities & local communities for generations to come.

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Christian Dimmer @remmid.bsky.social · 16/12/2025

“Anyone who believes exponential growth can go on forever in a finite world is either a madman or a̶n̶ ̶e̶c̶o̶n̶o̶m̶i̶s̶t̶ a traffic engineer.” — paraphrasing Kenneth Boulding via Michael Baoigheallain

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Christian Dimmer @remmid.bsky.social · 13/12/2025

I wish today’s advertisement was as ephemeral: 1948 (Shōwa 23): In Tokyo, a man walks the streets stamping ads onto pavement with a pat-pat sound. Water from a backpack tank feeds a felt pad on his foot—called the “Road Sign.” Inspired by tabi socks, the prints vanished when dry, leaving no trace.

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Christian Dimmer @remmid.bsky.social · 13/12/2025

This is a thought-provoking reflection by Josephine Liu on ‘cities as cognitive infrastructure.’ To make better cities, we need to design them with cognitive& behavioural realities in mind—not according to how planners imagine or wish cities to function. => transformative-cities.com/cities-as-co...

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Christian Dimmer @remmid.bsky.social · 06/12/2025

This is a profoundly revealing read, underscoring how the media fall short of portraying the world as it truly is. This opens the door for bad-faith politicians & spin doctors to sow fear and anxiety—and, ultimately, to nurture a troubling politics of revanchism. ourworldindata.org/does-the-new...

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Christian Dimmer @remmid.bsky.social · 27/11/2025

Many people are still unsure when I ask about the “endgame” of our work. Back in 2014, we held a #deepadaptation bootcamp & mapped out root causes of the #planetarycrisis. Yet, despite accelerating change, far too many still assume a business-as-usual future. → rci.nanzan-u.ac.jp/ISE/ja/publi...

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Christian Dimmer @remmid.bsky.social · 25/11/2025

A fitting moment to bring back this old transit meme. However they’re powered—gas, hydrogen, electricity, or driverless—leaning on cars instead of investing in quality public transit is still a poor long-term strategy.

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Christian Dimmer @remmid.bsky.social · 23/11/2025

For anyone interested in a more visual take on #Tokyo, you’re invited to follow me on Instagram. On my walks to work, I often reflect on both the strengths & the shortcomings of Tokyo’s urbanism. No smoke, no sunshine—just honest thoughts. Beware, I am also using words. www.instagram.com/chr.dimmer/

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Christian Dimmer @remmid.bsky.social · 23/11/2025

Another wonderful & sharply perceptive book is「Tokyo Totem」．It’s beautifully produced & approaches the city from a wide range of angles，bringing together many of the leading Tokyo-based urban thinkers of the time—not only architects，but scholars & practitioners from an array of different fields.

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Christian Dimmer @remmid.bsky.social · 22/11/2025

Walking home after a long day reminds me how much I enjoy living in Tokyo. My daily 10,000 steps let me feel the city’s ever-changing rhythms. Its resilience comes from its adaptability and flexible planning rules that foster innovation and experimentation.

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Christian Dimmer @remmid.bsky.social · 21/11/2025

"Tokyo’s Perpetual Resilience Project" Happy to see this chapter out—an attempt to weave together some of the big themes of our time, from ecological #resilience to #sustainability, and what they actually mean for local #climateaction. → www.cabidigitallibrary.org/doi/10.1079/... (sadly paywalled)

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Christian Dimmer @remmid.bsky.social · 20/11/2025

Just a quick reminder to Mr. Trump and all so-called conservatives who keep whitewashing his assault on democratic institutions—excusing unprecedented, previously unimaginable levels of corruption. There's also nothing conservative about trying to jail political opponents or suppressing free speech.

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Christian Dimmer @remmid.bsky.social · 20/11/2025

Join the movement! Stop cycling and walking right now! It ruins the economy ……… ……NOT

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Christian Dimmer @remmid.bsky.social · 19/11/2025

How can planning help communities adapt to societal & spatial consequences of #climatechange? Why is #resilience relevant to sustainable planning in the context of adaptation to accelerating environmental risk and how can it be ‘built’ into formal planning processes? www.ssoar.info/ssoar/bitstr...

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Christian Dimmer @remmid.bsky.social · 19/11/2025

Mythos öffentlicher Raum. Für uns damals normativ geprägte Planungsstudis war es ein wichtiger Lernschritt zu verstehen, dass es DEN öffentlichen Raum nicht gibt. Vielmehr prägen lokale Raumnutzungskulturen seine Bedeutungen, Formen und letztlich auch seine Planung. kluedo.ub.rptu.de/frontdoor/de...

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Christian Dimmer @remmid.bsky.social · 05/11/2025

Barber’s 'If Mayors Ruled the World: Dysfunctional Nations, Rising #Cities' (2013) feels timelier than ever. As national politics remain gridlocked and the #polycrisis demands local action, it’s encouraging to see @zohrankmamdani.bsky.social win in NYC and @wutrain.bsky.social in Boston.

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Christian Dimmer @remmid.bsky.social · 04/11/2025

I can’t help but wonder how much of our current populist political predicament stems from the loss of social infrastructure and vibrant public spaces—and how much from exclusionary zoning and car-dependent lifestyles. When we no longer encounter “the other,” it becomes far easier to lose empathy.

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Christian Dimmer @remmid.bsky.social · 04/11/2025

It’s devastating. The love for the car is utterly irrational! In Tokyo, it’s even worse—home builders often shrink houses just to make space for a car. They give up precious living area for a vehicle that’s even less used than in Europe, all in a city with the world’s most efficient public transit.

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Christian Dimmer @remmid.bsky.social · 02/11/2025

Even after seeing this montage countless times, I’m still struck by how much change is possible when political leaders & citizens come together to challenge the status quo & imagine something better. What Utrecht accomplished, Tokyo COULD too—IF only there were the will & urgency to make it happen.

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Christian Dimmer @remmid.bsky.social · 02/11/2025

This scene captures the quiet magic of Tokyo’s unplanned, human-scaled backstreets—where cars are welcome only as guests, weaving their way gently through pedestrians and cyclists. Streets like these remind us that vibrancy and human connection are at the heart of every truly liveable, lovable city.

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Christian Dimmer @remmid.bsky.social · 29/10/2025

In 1978, German science journalist Hoimar von Ditfurth warned millions on national TV about the coming climate crisis. His daughter later co-founded the Green Party. We’ve known what’s coming—and what must be done—for nearly half a century. Yet we still can’t act decisively. What holds us back?

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