Christian Dimmer
@remmid.bsky.social
dad／urbanist／assoc.prof. transition design + urban studies｜waseda university｜Tokyo｜co-learning／co-design｜public spaces／spheres｜urban practices／theories｜place {un}making／becoming｜climate + sustainability／resilience
Pinned
Many people are still unsure when I ask about the “endgame” of our work. Back in 2014, we held a #deepadaptation bootcamp & mapped out root causes of the #planetarycrisis. Yet, despite accelerating change, far too many still assume a business-as-usual future.
→ rci.nanzan-u.ac.jp/ISE/ja/publi...
→ rci.nanzan-u.ac.jp/ISE/ja/publi...
It might be far simpler than that: it’s an identity issue. Whatever the respective “other” advocates for is, by definition, bad and therefore has to be attacked. That said, great interview!
“If you care about the bottom line, budgets & taxes, then you should care about urban biking, because it’s a money saver. It’s ironic when so-called fiscal conservatives attack biking, when their efforts just show a lack of understanding of math.” My interview with @modacitylife.com #CityMakingMath
Opinion: Why more urban cycling saves everyone money | Urbanized
The resulting benefits of a ‘car-less’ household are myriad, but few are as quantifiable as the money most people sink into a depreciating asset that sits unused for 95% of the time.
dailyhive.com
December 26, 2025 at 10:35 AM
It might be far simpler than that: it’s an identity issue. Whatever the respective “other” advocates for is, by definition, bad and therefore has to be attacked. That said, great interview!
Reposted by Christian Dimmer
This is what every institution he threatens with frivolous defamation suits should be doing
President Trump’s spiteful defamation suit against the Pulitzer Prize Board may backfire, as the latter is now demanding Trump’s psychological records, prescription medication records, and tax returns in the discovery process. trib.al/LUCScTR
December 26, 2025 at 2:06 AM
This is what every institution he threatens with frivolous defamation suits should be doing
Reposted by Christian Dimmer
Take a moment to watch and understand what the Trump administration and Bari Weiss would rather keep out of view.
December 25, 2025 at 2:17 AM
Take a moment to watch and understand what the Trump administration and Bari Weiss would rather keep out of view.
Reposted by Christian Dimmer
As cities around the globe scramble to face the unpredictable local impacts of runaway climate change and a growing polycrisis, the question is clear: how do we plan and build resilience?
Here’s my take on the Resilience Project of the world’s biggest city, #Tokyo.
Here’s my take on the Resilience Project of the world’s biggest city, #Tokyo.
Tokyo’s Perpetual Resilience Project: Between Local Knowledges and Universal Modernist Concepts | Climate Change and Risk Mitigation
www.cabidigitallibrary.org
November 22, 2025 at 10:54 PM
As cities around the globe scramble to face the unpredictable local impacts of runaway climate change and a growing polycrisis, the question is clear: how do we plan and build resilience?
Here’s my take on the Resilience Project of the world’s biggest city, #Tokyo.
Here’s my take on the Resilience Project of the world’s biggest city, #Tokyo.
Reposted by Christian Dimmer
An excellent resource! Highly recommended for aspiring changemakers!
On our shelves this fall: books about the unstoppable rise of solar power, civic budgeting + economic justice, Black archivists, fossil capital, the value of weeds, repair and architecture, and more.
Read reviews from our contributing critics in our latest seasonal roundup, "Bookshelf: Fall 2025."
Read reviews from our contributing critics in our latest seasonal roundup, "Bookshelf: Fall 2025."
Bookshelf: Fall 2025 | Book Reviews in Places Journal
Brief reviews of recent books on civic budgeting, solar power, fossil capital, Black archives, the value of weeds, architecture and repair, and more.
placesjournal.org
December 21, 2025 at 4:38 AM
An excellent resource! Highly recommended for aspiring changemakers!
Reposted by Christian Dimmer
Bravo! I see it even more fundamentally. A plan is not a tool to build stuff alone but a mechanism that can bring together a polarised public to debate a concrete common spatial future for all. Proper participation creates social capital which fosters community resilience in an age of rapid change.
Every significant new plan for a city isn’t just an opportunity for policy change.
It’s an opportunity, and a responsibility, for culture change.
That’s how I do the plans I work on. That’s my definition of success.
New conversation. New plan. New culture.
It’s an opportunity, and a responsibility, for culture change.
That’s how I do the plans I work on. That’s my definition of success.
New conversation. New plan. New culture.
December 21, 2025 at 2:15 AM
Bravo! I see it even more fundamentally. A plan is not a tool to build stuff alone but a mechanism that can bring together a polarised public to debate a concrete common spatial future for all. Proper participation creates social capital which fosters community resilience in an age of rapid change.
Reposted by Christian Dimmer
“never again”
When Americans insist "it can't happen here," they’re wrong. A sociologist who studies collective memory and identity examines how the U.S. forgot its own fascist movements and what that collective amnesia means today. buff.ly/9mzgR3S
America faced domestic fascists before and buried that history
Although thousands of Americans embraced fascist ideas during the interwar years, a new study examines why the US has had little appetite to remember that past.
buff.ly
December 24, 2025 at 5:51 AM
“never again”
Take a moment to watch and understand what the Trump administration and Bari Weiss would rather keep out of view.
December 25, 2025 at 2:17 AM
Take a moment to watch and understand what the Trump administration and Bari Weiss would rather keep out of view.
Reposted by Christian Dimmer
A must watch! ‘The Invisible Doctrine’ argues that an unnamed ideology—neoliberalism—quietly rewired politics, everyday life and our very minds: markets over people, profit over planet. By staying unseen, it dodged debate—and hollowed out democracy.
Delighted to hear that The Invisible Doctrine, the film by @peterhutchison.bsky.social and @lucas-sabean.bsky.social, is being offered free to view on YouTube for the holiday season. It's all yours! youtu.be/gR4eSEetKP0
The secret history of Neoliberalism | The Invisible Doctrine | Full Film
YouTube video by Journeyman Pictures
youtu.be
December 22, 2025 at 8:17 AM
A must watch! ‘The Invisible Doctrine’ argues that an unnamed ideology—neoliberalism—quietly rewired politics, everyday life and our very minds: markets over people, profit over planet. By staying unseen, it dodged debate—and hollowed out democracy.
“never again”
When Americans insist "it can't happen here," they’re wrong. A sociologist who studies collective memory and identity examines how the U.S. forgot its own fascist movements and what that collective amnesia means today. buff.ly/9mzgR3S
America faced domestic fascists before and buried that history
Although thousands of Americans embraced fascist ideas during the interwar years, a new study examines why the US has had little appetite to remember that past.
buff.ly
December 24, 2025 at 5:51 AM
“never again”
Reposted by Christian Dimmer
The Abundance movement often points to environmental groups as the obstacles to building. But who actually files the lawsuits blocking projects? It’s not environmental groups. It’s been lawyered-up HOAs protecting property values all along. Regulation by litigation is the problem.
December 20, 2025 at 7:57 PM
The Abundance movement often points to environmental groups as the obstacles to building. But who actually files the lawsuits blocking projects? It’s not environmental groups. It’s been lawyered-up HOAs protecting property values all along. Regulation by litigation is the problem.
Will Nagoya turn into a bed town of Tokyo, or experience a renaissance?
From test runs to real rails — Japan’s maglev train is on the home stretch! Soon, commuters could be flying between Tokyo & Nagoya in just ~40 minutes thanks to cutting-edge superconducting levitation.
From test runs to real rails — Japan’s maglev train is on the home stretch! Soon, commuters could be flying between Tokyo & Nagoya in just ~40 minutes thanks to cutting-edge superconducting levitation.
Japan's $85B Maglev Train is Soon to be on Track
YouTube video by Looking 4
youtu.be
December 22, 2025 at 12:44 PM
Will Nagoya turn into a bed town of Tokyo, or experience a renaissance?
From test runs to real rails — Japan’s maglev train is on the home stretch! Soon, commuters could be flying between Tokyo & Nagoya in just ~40 minutes thanks to cutting-edge superconducting levitation.
From test runs to real rails — Japan’s maglev train is on the home stretch! Soon, commuters could be flying between Tokyo & Nagoya in just ~40 minutes thanks to cutting-edge superconducting levitation.
A must watch! ‘The Invisible Doctrine’ argues that an unnamed ideology—neoliberalism—quietly rewired politics, everyday life and our very minds: markets over people, profit over planet. By staying unseen, it dodged debate—and hollowed out democracy.
Delighted to hear that The Invisible Doctrine, the film by @peterhutchison.bsky.social and @lucas-sabean.bsky.social, is being offered free to view on YouTube for the holiday season. It's all yours! youtu.be/gR4eSEetKP0
The secret history of Neoliberalism | The Invisible Doctrine | Full Film
YouTube video by Journeyman Pictures
youtu.be
December 22, 2025 at 8:17 AM
A must watch! ‘The Invisible Doctrine’ argues that an unnamed ideology—neoliberalism—quietly rewired politics, everyday life and our very minds: markets over people, profit over planet. By staying unseen, it dodged debate—and hollowed out democracy.
Reposted by Christian Dimmer
Psychology of changemaking：
“For decades，cities around the world have said they’re too spread out，too cold，too hilly，too car-dependent to make cycling mainstream．Paris proves that narrative wrong．In the end，the French capital didn’t just build bike lanes—it built（the）belief（that change’s possible).”
“For decades，cities around the world have said they’re too spread out，too cold，too hilly，too car-dependent to make cycling mainstream．Paris proves that narrative wrong．In the end，the French capital didn’t just build bike lanes—it built（the）belief（that change’s possible).”
New Study Shows How Paris Pedaled Its Way to a Cycling Revolution
Cycling through central Paris meant weaving between buses and scooters—a bold choice reserved for the fearless few.
momentummag.com
December 14, 2025 at 10:18 AM
Psychology of changemaking：
“For decades，cities around the world have said they’re too spread out，too cold，too hilly，too car-dependent to make cycling mainstream．Paris proves that narrative wrong．In the end，the French capital didn’t just build bike lanes—it built（the）belief（that change’s possible).”
“For decades，cities around the world have said they’re too spread out，too cold，too hilly，too car-dependent to make cycling mainstream．Paris proves that narrative wrong．In the end，the French capital didn’t just build bike lanes—it built（the）belief（that change’s possible).”
An excellent resource! Highly recommended for aspiring changemakers!
On our shelves this fall: books about the unstoppable rise of solar power, civic budgeting + economic justice, Black archivists, fossil capital, the value of weeds, repair and architecture, and more.
Read reviews from our contributing critics in our latest seasonal roundup, "Bookshelf: Fall 2025."
Read reviews from our contributing critics in our latest seasonal roundup, "Bookshelf: Fall 2025."
Bookshelf: Fall 2025 | Book Reviews in Places Journal
Brief reviews of recent books on civic budgeting, solar power, fossil capital, Black archives, the value of weeds, architecture and repair, and more.
placesjournal.org
December 21, 2025 at 4:38 AM
An excellent resource! Highly recommended for aspiring changemakers!
Bravo! I see it even more fundamentally. A plan is not a tool to build stuff alone but a mechanism that can bring together a polarised public to debate a concrete common spatial future for all. Proper participation creates social capital which fosters community resilience in an age of rapid change.
Every significant new plan for a city isn’t just an opportunity for policy change.
It’s an opportunity, and a responsibility, for culture change.
That’s how I do the plans I work on. That’s my definition of success.
New conversation. New plan. New culture.
It’s an opportunity, and a responsibility, for culture change.
That’s how I do the plans I work on. That’s my definition of success.
New conversation. New plan. New culture.
December 21, 2025 at 2:15 AM
Bravo! I see it even more fundamentally. A plan is not a tool to build stuff alone but a mechanism that can bring together a polarised public to debate a concrete common spatial future for all. Proper participation creates social capital which fosters community resilience in an age of rapid change.
Reposted by Christian Dimmer
Professional urbanist Brent Toderian in conversation with self-taught urbanism creator Jason of #NotJustBikes and practitioner-turned-academic urbanist—that is myself—listening. Bottom line: it takes a diverse ecosystem of motivated changemakers collaborating, to turn our cities around. Let’s do it!
NEW/LISTEN! Been REALLY looking forward to this one — my interview with Jason from #NotJustBikes IS LIVE on many podcast platforms plus YouTube! We cover a LOT of really important ground on how to ACTUALLY ACHIEVE BETTER CITIES IN REAL PRACTICE! I’m looking forward to your thoughts and comments!
How to Actually Improve a City (w/Brent Toderian)
YouTube video by The Urbanist Agenda Podcast
www.youtube.com
December 12, 2025 at 11:33 PM
Professional urbanist Brent Toderian in conversation with self-taught urbanism creator Jason of #NotJustBikes and practitioner-turned-academic urbanist—that is myself—listening. Bottom line: it takes a diverse ecosystem of motivated changemakers collaborating, to turn our cities around. Let’s do it!
Reposted by Christian Dimmer
Many people are still unsure when I ask about the “endgame” of our work. Back in 2014, we held a #deepadaptation bootcamp & mapped out root causes of the #planetarycrisis. Yet, despite accelerating change, far too many still assume a business-as-usual future.
→ rci.nanzan-u.ac.jp/ISE/ja/publi...
→ rci.nanzan-u.ac.jp/ISE/ja/publi...
November 27, 2025 at 12:06 AM
Many people are still unsure when I ask about the “endgame” of our work. Back in 2014, we held a #deepadaptation bootcamp & mapped out root causes of the #planetarycrisis. Yet, despite accelerating change, far too many still assume a business-as-usual future.
→ rci.nanzan-u.ac.jp/ISE/ja/publi...
→ rci.nanzan-u.ac.jp/ISE/ja/publi...
Reposted by Christian Dimmer
Only 10 days left to submit your work to the RC21 Conference in Vienna, 20-22 July 2026. www.rc21.org/en/rc21-conf... #urban #sociology
December 19, 2025 at 11:43 AM
Only 10 days left to submit your work to the RC21 Conference in Vienna, 20-22 July 2026. www.rc21.org/en/rc21-conf... #urban #sociology
Reposted by Christian Dimmer
Brilliant idea. We should think more broadly about how gamification can help people grasp the difficult trade-offs we face in an era of accelerating climate change and resource depletion.
cc @cityatlas.bsky.social
cc @cityatlas.bsky.social
🗑️Waste disposal rules in Japan are complicated. The board game Gomi-Gē helps people understand the disposal system through play
▶️ “Gomi-Gē” – A Game for Workshops on Waste Management by Shinichi Ichino, Chika Hirashima, Nodoka Tsuru (Tokyo Metropolitan University) sustainability.hypotheses.org/1736
▶️ “Gomi-Gē” – A Game for Workshops on Waste Management by Shinichi Ichino, Chika Hirashima, Nodoka Tsuru (Tokyo Metropolitan University) sustainability.hypotheses.org/1736
December 16, 2025 at 1:42 AM
Brilliant idea. We should think more broadly about how gamification can help people grasp the difficult trade-offs we face in an era of accelerating climate change and resource depletion.
cc @cityatlas.bsky.social
cc @cityatlas.bsky.social
Reposted by Christian Dimmer
In a finite world, "growth" becomes a zero sum game. My space against yours. My right to consume, pollute, hoard etc.
We have barely begun establishing social contracts that will allow harmonious societies living within #planetaryboundaries
Denial, hypocrisy, kicking cans down congested roads...
We have barely begun establishing social contracts that will allow harmonious societies living within #planetaryboundaries
Denial, hypocrisy, kicking cans down congested roads...
“Anyone who believes exponential growth can go on forever in a finite world is either a madman or a̶n̶ ̶e̶c̶o̶n̶o̶m̶i̶s̶t̶ a traffic engineer.”
— paraphrasing Kenneth Boulding
via Michael Baoigheallain
— paraphrasing Kenneth Boulding
via Michael Baoigheallain
December 16, 2025 at 7:34 AM
In a finite world, "growth" becomes a zero sum game. My space against yours. My right to consume, pollute, hoard etc.
We have barely begun establishing social contracts that will allow harmonious societies living within #planetaryboundaries
Denial, hypocrisy, kicking cans down congested roads...
We have barely begun establishing social contracts that will allow harmonious societies living within #planetaryboundaries
Denial, hypocrisy, kicking cans down congested roads...
I wouldn’t be able to put it more skilfully!
In a finite world, "growth" becomes a zero sum game. My space against yours. My right to consume, pollute, hoard etc.
We have barely begun establishing social contracts that will allow harmonious societies living within #planetaryboundaries
Denial, hypocrisy, kicking cans down congested roads...
We have barely begun establishing social contracts that will allow harmonious societies living within #planetaryboundaries
Denial, hypocrisy, kicking cans down congested roads...
“Anyone who believes exponential growth can go on forever in a finite world is either a madman or a̶n̶ ̶e̶c̶o̶n̶o̶m̶i̶s̶t̶ a traffic engineer.”
— paraphrasing Kenneth Boulding
via Michael Baoigheallain
— paraphrasing Kenneth Boulding
via Michael Baoigheallain
December 16, 2025 at 7:43 AM
I wouldn’t be able to put it more skilfully!
After the last couple of horrible days, may there be peace and human decency. I hope people can rediscover their shared humanity and come together in grief, compassion, and warm memories.
We've been talking about this internally at The Bulwark as something like a vigil or shiva—just sitting and talking and remembering together. Rob Reiner's work meant so much to so many of us, let's be together for a while.
LIVE: We're trying something tonight—a livestreamed conversation about Rob Reiner's life and work, with our @sonnybunch.bsky.social and Bill Kristol @billkristolbulwark.bsky.social joined by Dave Weigel @daveweigel.bsky.social and Richard Rushfield @richardrushfield.bsky.social.
YouTube:
YouTube:
December 16, 2025 at 2:17 AM
After the last couple of horrible days, may there be peace and human decency. I hope people can rediscover their shared humanity and come together in grief, compassion, and warm memories.
This clearly speaks to the strategic foresight of Ford’s executives ………
……… NOT
……… NOT
Ford says it is "following the customer" in discontinuing its large electric pickup, which was well-received but never profitable. Ford will keep the Lightning name alive as a plug-in hybrid. n.pr/4pyLdvK
Ford pulls the plug on the all-electric F-150 Lightning pickup truck
Ford says it is "following the customer" in discontinuing its large electric pickup, which was well-received but never profitable. Ford will keep the Lightning name alive as a plug-in hybrid.
n.pr
December 16, 2025 at 1:46 AM
This clearly speaks to the strategic foresight of Ford’s executives ………
……… NOT
……… NOT
Brilliant idea. We should think more broadly about how gamification can help people grasp the difficult trade-offs we face in an era of accelerating climate change and resource depletion.
cc @cityatlas.bsky.social
cc @cityatlas.bsky.social
🗑️Waste disposal rules in Japan are complicated. The board game Gomi-Gē helps people understand the disposal system through play
▶️ “Gomi-Gē” – A Game for Workshops on Waste Management by Shinichi Ichino, Chika Hirashima, Nodoka Tsuru (Tokyo Metropolitan University) sustainability.hypotheses.org/1736
▶️ “Gomi-Gē” – A Game for Workshops on Waste Management by Shinichi Ichino, Chika Hirashima, Nodoka Tsuru (Tokyo Metropolitan University) sustainability.hypotheses.org/1736
December 16, 2025 at 1:42 AM
Brilliant idea. We should think more broadly about how gamification can help people grasp the difficult trade-offs we face in an era of accelerating climate change and resource depletion.
cc @cityatlas.bsky.social
cc @cityatlas.bsky.social