Season’s Greetings for 2022 新年おめでとう御座います

Multicolored rocks by the Atlantic Ocean in Marblehead, Massachusetts

Water ebbs and flows,

yet still finds a way forward.

2021 continued to reveal our vulnerabilities,

yet ongoing challenges revealed our strengths:

Strength together, as we move into a new year,

in hopes for a more resilient 2022!

In this past year, we participated in several events to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the 3.11 triple disaster. We continue to remember our friends and collaborators in Tohoku. In the ongoing pandemic, inequities, and crises near and far, we will continue to foster the good we can accomplish when in community.

Happy new year from eTOPOS!

Image: By the Atlantic Ocean in Marblehead, Massachusetts / Photo by Shun Kanda

Events commemorating the 10th anniversary of 3.11

This week we commemorate the 10th anniversary of the 3.11 triple disaster in Tohoku, Japan, remember all of those who were and who continue to be affected on the long road of recovery. We have created a list of events, many of which will be streaming in the US and in Japan:

Shun Kanda will be presenting at the following events:

Global Discussion: A Japanese Placemaking Primer for US and Global Practitioners

Friday March 12th from 6:00 pm to 7:00 pm ET /
Saturday March 13th, 8:00 am to 9:30 am JT

The panel is part of Placemaking Week Japan 2021. Although this series focuses on placemaking and public space, Shun will be sharing about our work in Japan over the years, including post-3.11 collaborations with local communities in Tohoku. One of the event’s coordinators, Tina Govan, is an MIT MArch alumna and a former student and colleague of Shun’s.

Sign up for this free event here. (Content in English.)


IPPO x 365 x 1010 Years from the Triple Disaster

Saturday March 13th from 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm ET

Shun will be presenting in this 10th anniversary panel hosted by archiPicnic, reflecting alongside other designers and architects on frontline recovery efforts over the last decade. Filmmaker and photographer Jake Price will also be sharing. Jake joined us in 2013 for a community project in Iriya, Japan, and produced a video documenting the rebuilding process.

See the event page to RSVP. (Content in English.)


Other events, which will be updated over the course of the week:

Remembering March 11, 2011: Looking Back, Looking Forward

Wednesday March 10, 2021 at 6:00 pm ET /
Thursday March 11, 2021 at 8:00 am JT
Presented by the U.S.-Japan Council

Mayor Jin Sato, who we worked with as part of the MIT Japan 3.11 Initiative, will be part of the panel of speakers. See more information on our collaboration here.


MIT Starr Forum: 3.11 Ten Years Later: Disaster and Resilience

Thursday March 11, 2021 at 4:30 pm ET

Miho Mazereeuw, MIT professor of architecture and urbanism, will be presenting. The MIT Center for International Studies funded much of our initial work as part of the MIT Japan 3.11 Initiative.


Footprints and Footsteps: 3.11 and the Future of Tohoku, a panel discussion

Thursday March 11, 2021 at 7:00 pm ET
Hosted by the Japan Local Government Center

Part of their week-long online tribute event.

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