for Cities

We are an urban experience design studio

Our work started from our own frustration towards Japanese cities, where we were born and raised. After years of working to build communities and plan interventions, we found ourselves somehow lost in the rapidly changing cities that have an irreversible inclination towards money, towards commerce, towards exchange, towards products.

We believe that a city could be a work of art — something we can make and change with our own hands. We've also seen that there are so many interesting stories, such a rich body of knowledge rooted in cities in Asia, even though we often follow the Westernized, "modern" way of making a city. Our mission is to celebrate this uniqueness and to build an international collective of emerging urbanists who act together to intervene in the existing paradigms.

What we do

Our activities, both in Japan and abroad, span research, planning, and editorial work in the fields of architecture and urban development, as well as curating exhibitions and developing educational programs. All of these efforts aim to enrich everyday urban life—across borders, disciplines, and cultural contexts.

To date, we have organized the “Urbanist School,” a learning platform for essential urbanist skills, and “for Cities Week,” an urban festival held in five cities around the world. Our “Urbanist Kit” introduces playful tools that connect people with urban spaces, and supports the growth of a global community of emerging urbanists who share alternative visions for the future of cities.

In addition, we collaborate with various clients on projects that explore new possibilities for how cities can evolve—together.

Check out our projects

for Cities Handbook (PDF)

Founders

for Cities was founded by urban designer Mariko Sugita and experience designer Yukako Ishikawa in 2019. We are both from Japan—based in Tokyo and Kyoto—with backgrounds in urban design and urban sociology.

Mariko Sugita

Mariko is an independent designer and researcher in architecture and urbanism, educated through the 4CITIES Euromaster program across Brussels, Vienna, Copenhagen, and Madrid. She co-founded the urban experience design studio for Cities, leading placemaking projects in Japan and abroad, and runs Traveling Circus of Urbanism, a publishing platform for mobile urban storytelling. She also manages Bridge Studio in Kyoto, hosting an “urbanist in residence” program, and serves on Kyoto’s Environmental Master Plan Council and Basic Concept Council.

Yukako Ishikawa

Yukako is an urban experience designer based in Tokyo who develops citizen-participatory projects under the motto “using the city with our own hands.” She co-founded the urban experience design studio for Cities after working at Benesse Corporation and Loftwork Inc., and also directs initiatives such as the Social Green Design Association, watage, and Meaningful City Magazine. Her work spans research, planning, and creative programs that connect people with urban spaces, and her favorite moment in the city is “the way home.”

Read the founder's interview

Team Members

everyday studio in Saigon

We've secured a new space in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam 🤝

Everyday Studio is a multidisciplinary space for making, learning, and gathering, located in the heart of Saigon. Housed in a converted townhouse, the studio is designed to be adaptable—part workshop, part classroom, part kitchen, and always a shared space for slow experimentation and collaboration.

We welcome makers, researchers, and curious visitors who are looking for a place to connect ideas with practice, and people with place.

Check it out here!

【#187】都会に住んでると、うるさいよね！都市の「騒がしさ」を議論してみた

Staging

Demo