Going Local 2: Subcultural Capital and Social Creativity

This chapter focuses on the cases of Bakurochō (including Okachimachi and Kuramae) and Kōenji, which are home to various new coworking spaces, art galleries and other new hybrid usages. They display familiar features of urban commons, which indicate that these areas have not just been rediscovered by different creative individuals but are also recognized by a wider social movement and growing art scene, thus reaching a new stage of development and creative placemaking. These areas are becoming more accessible as new private and commercial facilities have opened next to nonprofit organizations, with the aim of attracting elite creatives and upper middle-class residents.