@conference {1918,
	title = {Analysis of Change- Intercultural Design Exchange Germany and Japan - Approaching the Question of Future Living},
	booktitle = {Fourth International Conference on Degrowth for Ecological Sustainability and Social Equity},
	year = {2014},
	address = {Leipzig},
	abstract = {This is the topic this paper wants to discuss in the context of Tokyo, which is characterized by Roland Barthes as a city without a center. After the enormous growth in the second half of the twentieth century of Tokyo, we have to discuss the De-growth and the chance for future living at different examples found in Japan and Germany. In summary, this paper focuses on the question in which way can we transform the shrinking city for a better life, with more community space and less marginalization? The young generation of architects who concentrate on issues of social integration as an integral element of architectural processes are focusing on the connections of gardens and dwelling spaces, the integration of the surroundings into the architecture and the constant interaction of exterior and interior. Keywords: Future Living, Japan, Germany, Cultural Diversity and Design Approach Contribution to Special Session A model for urban life in demographic change: {\quotedblbase}Less is more (space){\textquotedblleft} - A intercultural Comparison of Changing Regions in Japan and Germany},
	author = {Heide Imai and Prof. Anthusa Loeffler}
}
@conference {1917,
	title = {Grassroots Movements and Urban Development - the Cases of Kitakyushu, Japan and Leipzig -},
	booktitle = {Fourth International Conference on Degrowth for Ecological Sustainability and Social Equity},
	year = {2014},
	address = {Leipzig},
	abstract = {As a result of the {\textquotedblleft}shrinking{\textquotedblright} societies in Germany and Japan, cities and regions are facing different challenges. While metropolitan areas like Berlin and Tokyo are growing quickly, intermediate cities like Leipzig and Kitakyushu can only keep their population or grow slowly. After a process of deindustrialisation, these cities still carry dozens of empty buildings and vacant spaces. There is a demand to struggle with such unoccupied spaces. But while the urban planning as the usual {\textquotedblleft}top-down{\textquotedblright} method is limited, various grassroots movements by local activists create vivid urban life styles. A city with empty spaces has a lower economic pressure on its inhabitants and a climate for alternative modalities is created. It is intended to focus on the possibilities of our future life by learning from the study of Leipzig and Kitakyushu. Keywords: Leipzig, Kitakyushu, De-industrialization, alternative modalities},
	author = {Heide Imai and Architect Noriko Minkus}
}
@conference {1919,
	title = {A spatial Anthropology of the Changing Use of Urban Spaces in Tokyo, Japan},
	booktitle = {Fourth International Conference on Degrowth for Ecological Sustainability and Social Equity},
	year = {2014},
	address = {Leipzig},
	abstract = {Cities like Tokyo face recently new, complex urban challenges. However, responses to the changing urban space are often reflected in the emergence of new cultural revivals or the forging of unknown, hybrid subcultures, which can be understood when studying the diverse ways people (re-) interpret small urban places in relationship to their changing lifestyles. This paper will discuss the development of hybrid lifestyles of young artists and creatives, families and elderly found and studied in two local neighbourhoods in central Tokyo, asking how are these creative practices and small urban places shape Tokyo{\textquoteright}s changing urban landscape? The paper will discuss specific examples of urban practices which take place within the dynamic urban landscape of contemporary Tokyo and can - when analysed and understood - offer new approaches for hybrid and multi-generation living. Keywords: Hybrid Lifestyles, Growth and De-growth in Tokyo, Small Urban Niches and their Potential Contribution to Special Session A model for urban life in demographic change: {\quotedblbase}Less is more (space){\textquotedblleft} - A intercultural Comparison of Changing Regions in Japan and Germany},
	author = {Heide Imai}
}
