Reviews about “Asian Alleyways” (with Marie Gibert-Flutre)
“The rich ethnographic data provide insights into how to address the central question posed in the book, which asks what the future roles and functions of the old alleyways are in the modern city. Each chapter elucidates the potential of alleyways by examining their transformations and functions, explaining the conflicts and initiatives, and underlining concerns and uncertainties. Together, they develop new perspectives on the laneways through the concepts of marginalization and reintegration. […] Asian Alleyways opens up questions that will interest architects, urban planners and designers, as well as policymakers interested in the spatial qualities and dynamics of these alleyways.”
– Ha Minh Hai Thai, School of Architecture and Urban Design, RMIT University, Melbourne, Journal of Urban Design, 2021
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/13574809.2021.1880267?journalCode=cjud20
“The volume edited by Marie Gibert-Flutre and Heide Imai approaches the ever-changing, multi-faceted Asian alleyways as spaces of everyday practice through dense de-scriptions of the quotidian and interviews with urban planners, businesspeople, and the residents of these “liminal places” ( Jones 2007), thus bringing to light these often neglected—in real life as well as in academia—in-between spaces.The volume presents a fascinating kaleidoscope of rich ethnographic detail gathered from metropoles across Asia, such as Ho Chi Minh City, Beijing, To-kyo, Seoul, Bangkok, Shanghai, Taipei, and Hong Kong. It furthers discussions on how spaces create collectives, how collectives create space, and how social change, local politics, and recent modes of globalization impact lived realities in Asian cities.” Daniel BULTMANN, Humboldt-Universität Berlin,
Review about “Creativity in Tokyo” (with Matjaz Ursic)