Japanese artist Ken’ichiro Taniguchi's City Study is a series of sculptures that map the delicate boundary between nature and the man-made landscape. By tracing these dividing lines from aerial images of major cities worldwide, Taniguchi captures the intricate ways urban environments and natural elements intertwine. In cities like Chengdu, China, and Nagasaki, Japan—where nature manages to persist and adapt within sprawling concrete jungles—his work highlights the quiet resilience of the natural world as it coexists with human development.
The resulting line drawings are then cast into 3D plastic model pieces that he connects with gears and motors, transforming them into a single-functioning or non-functioning machine. These pieces attempt to showcase how imbalanced or balanced nature and man-made structures are within these cities—propelling his viewers to think about what steps they can take to integrate nature within their man-made spaces, creating breathable cities and reflecting the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal of Sustainable Cities and Communities.
When tracing aerial views of cities, Taniguchi carefully outlines coastlines, rivers, and green spaces, paying close attention to how natural elements shape the urban landscape. His intention is to capture the temperament and character of each city, viewing it not as an abstract spatial concept but as a living, breathing organism. Through this perspective, his work reimagines cities as dynamic entities where nature and human development are in constant dialogue.
By following this way of thinking, Taniguchi is able to break the city’s traced over maps, which he calls City Tracings, to create different 3D PVC plastic model pieces. These pieces are then put together with hinges, motors and rotors as if they are organs that make up a single sculptural body.
The results vary from city to city—some appear fragile, loosely held together by delicate strings, like City Study: Nagasaki, Japan, while others, like City Study: Leiden, the Netherlands, form more solid, structured wholes. This contrast does not imply that one city is superior to another; rather, it visually illustrates how different urban landscapes interact with nature. Leiden, with its network of waterways weaving through the city, is reflected in the holes and lines present in its City Study. In contrast, Nagasaki is flanked by mountains and natural landscapes, causing its urban development to stretch out more sparsely, resulting in a thinner, more fragmented structure in Taniguchi’s representation.
Much like aerial maps, Taniguchi’s City Study sculptures offer viewers a new perspective on the cities they inhabit. Rather than the familiar, ground-level view seen through human eyes, these works present the world as birds see it—an interconnected landscape shaped by both natural and man-made elements.
This bird’s-eye perspective encourages audiences to reconsider how their cities interact with nature, revealing that urban landscapes do not exist in isolation. Instead, they are built upon and shaped by the natural world, altered over time to accommodate human habitation. Through this lens, City Study fosters a deeper awareness of the delicate balance between development and the environment.
The World Bank reports that as of 2024, 50 percent of the world’s population lives in cities—a figure projected to rise to nearly 70 percent by 2045. This rapid urbanization directly correlates with cities generating 80 percent of the world’s GDP, making them the driving force of the global economy.
As more people migrate to urban centers for economic opportunities, the need for thoughtful city planning becomes increasingly urgent. Future development must prioritize integrating nature within predominantly concrete and inorganic spaces, ensuring that cities remain functional economic hubs and livable, sustainable environments that support both people and the natural world.
In 2014, researchers studying the ancient city of Akko along occupied Palestine’s northern shores discovered that urban development had led to the collapse of the local ecosystem. Dense coastal forests had been reduced to dry, shrubby grasslands, a stark reminder of how human expansion reshapes the environment.
This is precisely the reality that Taniguchi seeks to highlight through his City Study pieces. His work serves as a warning, urging people to recognize that they do not simply live in cities but in urban spaces surrounded by mountains, rivers, and oceans—natural landscapes that predate human settlements yet remain increasingly vulnerable to unchecked development. By reframing how we see our cities, Taniguchi reminds us of the delicate balance between human progress and the ecosystems that sustain it.
Ken’ichiro Taniguchi’s City Study series offers a thought-provoking exploration of the delicate balance between cities and nature. His sculptures invite viewers to reconsider the relationship between the urban landscapes they know and the natural environments that surround them—landscapes that should feel familiar yet often go unnoticed. Through this perspective, City Study underscores the urgent need for sustainable urban development that prioritizes harmony between human habitats and the ecosystems that make them possible.