ABSTRACT
This chapter adopts a relational view of place-making as socially negotiated, constantly changing, and contingent upon "networked politics of place" that emerge at the intersection of national, metropolitan, and local urban scales, to examine the case of Miyashita Park. The "Nike-fication" of Miyashita Park has been extensively discussed in popular media and among social movement scholarship circles. Homeless citizens, artists, youth activists, unionists, and public intellectuals congregated not only around the physical space of Miyashita Park. But also catalyzed heated debates among planning professionals, or social movement scholars, in which the nature of public space in urban Japan was broadly discussed. In Shibuya, the nonprofit organization Komposition was formed by social entrepreneur Motokazu Terai in 2002 to promote freedom of artistic expression, including graffiti, support young artists, strengthen community, and create a "society that maximizes the possibilities of young people".
