Recently in Japan, the emerging practices of young architects in Tokyo have held the spotlight with the design of small single-family homes in urban and suburban areas. While in the western context, cities are rigidly master planned facilitating the growth of individual buildings, however the urban socio-political conditions of Japan have provided architects with opportunities to explore their individual methodology of urbanism. It is through this definition that these architectural practices are "urbanistic" in nature. This concept has further been examined by research projects on Tokyo's urban condition, which has presented revealing and informative sections of the city. These projects share the attitude that the dynamics of the city should be displayed through eyes of an inhabitant, rather than an overseeing planner. We identify this approach as micro-urbanism; urbanism that is not abstracted and understood rationally from the outside but rather an urbanism from the inside, a gaze from within the urban setting, where the possibilities are more informed by its context.

Is Micro-urbanism simply a local phenomenon generated by particular circumstances of Tokyo, or will it manifest itself as a common strategy used to redevelop dense urban cities into interesting environments? Thus, the conference primarily aims: 1) to serve as an introduction in the United States, the current collection of young architects in Tokyo, which practice Micro-urbanism 2) to contextualize this phenomenon within a broader history and theory of architecture and urbanism, and 3) to examine its possibilities as a model of urbanism. Within the architectural discourse in the United States, little exposure is given to the practice of young architects in Japan, producing a limited dialogue between architects in Japan and in the United States. Therefore, the conference would act as a catalyst for the intellectual exchange between these two countries. If the topic of Micro-urbanism is an attitude towards the city regardless of the physical scale of projects, the outcome of this discourse might give a certain impact on broader discussions of architecture and urban design in general, including small and large-scale urban developments.

The conference will consist of presentations by young architects from Tokyo, and historians and theoreticians from the United States. Panel discussions and question sessions participated by lecturers and GSD faculty, and students will follow the lectures, in order to open up the discourse on the importance and possibilities of "Micro-urbanism."