2025.07.18FRI
Relay Column: Walking on Asphalt – Road Paving as a Social Phenomenon (Yudai Nakagawa)
PROFILE
Yudai Nakagawa
Ph.D. candidate at the University of Tokyo's Graduate School of Interdisciplinary Information Studies and Special Research Fellow of the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science. His specialization is urban studies. From a sociological perspective, he conducts research on spatial formation through urban planning and architecture. His major papers include "都市計画導入期における「都市」概念の普及過程" published in "Japanese Sociological Review," Vol. 72, No. 2 (2021), and "浅野セメント深川工場をめぐる問題史" published in "Papers on City Planning," Vol. 56, No. 1 (2021).
As a child, I somewhat enjoyed rainy days because wearing my boots and intentionally stepping into puddles or mud felt adventurous.
Before I knew it, wearing boots became a hassle, and now, unless it’s pouring rain, I usually go out in my regular sneakers even on rainy days. In urban areas, as long as I carefully avoid puddles, I won’t have to suffer from the discomfort of wet socks all day. As a result, we have come to venture out in the rain with minimal gear.
However, when I pay close attention to my feet in the rain, I notice that rainwater is absorbed by the asphalt surface or flows into the drainage, designed to prevent water from accumulating on the roadway（1）.
Thanks to such infrastructure, we are able to walk on the roads in our usual shoes without getting stuck in mud or soaking our socks on rainy days.
There's no need to worry about fashion that matches my boots just because it rains. Asphalt literally supports our lives from the ground up.
Asphalt, a Symbol of Civilization
However, it's needless to say that this stable surface was not achieved overnight. Tokyo, now entirely covered in asphalt, was notoriously infamous for its rough roads a century ago. On sunny days, gravel roads would dry out, raising clouds of dust, while rainy days would leave one struggling in the mud.This article is for members only.
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