A Study on the Restoration of Urban Ecology: Focus on the Concept of Home Place in Callenbach’s Ecotopia—A Park Conservation and Community Networks

Abstract

More than ever before, after the nuclear power plant disaster caused by the Great Tohoku Earthquake on March 11, 2011, people living in urban regions are beginning to consider a more eco-friendly and sustainable lifestyle. To present a practical vision that citizens can translate into action, this study examines North American writer Ernest Callenbach’s important concept of “home place” in his novel Ecotopia as a sustainable vision to apply to the restoration of urban ecology. As a case study, we review a citizen movement to preserve a municipal park in Bunkyo Ward, Tokyo, Japan. This study illustrates how diverse citizen activities can organically form multiple layered and intertwined networks that strengthen local communities and function effectively even in difficult situations—a small but inspiring example that Ecotopian principles can emerge and thrive even within the context of a large city such as Tokyo.