When governments and corporations are able to connect with residents' passions and potential for action, Tokyo can become an urban forest with a thriving ecosystem where the health of soil, plants, animals and people are deeply intertwined. In the leap from last century's industrial economy to a sustainable future, Japan is poised for an outsized role on the world stage. By focusing on habitats and culture, Tokyo can become a model for a new balance between people and nature in 21st century urban life.

The design of contemporary cities are not only about the functional planning of streets and blocks and the arrangement of buildings, rather it is about the organization and coordination of the people living in and events occurring inside these cities and spaces, as well as the elaborate distribution of their interests. Urban designers and architects have long been focusing on the building of physical space, and are seldom attentive to the social structures, community interests and political realities behind these cities and buildings.

We aim to mobilize urban designers and architects to reconsider their social identities and professional roles, moreover, we also want to mobilize artists, authors, musicians, filmmakers, thinkers, social activists, politicians and citizens to offer their intellectual support.

Small changes are appealing for many reasons. They’re cheap, for one thing. Also, what works can be easily expanded, and what doesn’t work can be as easily terminated or altered. One successful food concession can become two; an unsuccessful stall selling local crafts can be replaced; a planter made from a material that discolors or chips can be replaced with a better one. Contrast that with grand schemes, which can attract broad opposition and be subject to complex political, logistical, and financial obstacles. Once an elaborate design has been committed to, backing away from it—or even altering it—becomes both politically and mechanically complicated. Further, planners have a limited capacity to predict how people will respond to their designs. The larger the project, the more likely unintended consequences become, and the more difficult it is to change course.

Based on our editorial experience in our print magazine The Home www.thehome-bg.com, we know how hard it is a young designer or an architect to be noticed – be it by a producer, by an architectural studio, by the public or the press. We know how vitally it is to get some support when you are in the beginning. With the Next Creative Generation project DeZona aims to become the mediator between the young creative people and those who are able to turn their ideas into reality. If you think you are part of this generation, feel free to join us!
The Next Creative Generation is an open-end project and is constantly updated. It is released as a new section on DeZona’s homepage, which contains portfolios in two categories – “Product Design” and “Architecture & Interior Design”. Each portfolio contains general information about the designer/architect, contact details and 6 images of his/her products/projects accompanied with short descriptions of the works.

Shifting economies leave post industrial cities with iconic and dormant sites that are both physically and culturally vacant. These urban islands present new challenges and opportunities for the cities they inhabit.

Cross disciplinary creativity, experimental tactics and broad based participation are needed to inject these places with renewed life.

The Urban Islands project seeks strategies of engagement that respond to the unique qualities of each site whilst imbuing them with the ideas and desires of the city.