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Title: Civiczonesofpeace.By:Duffy,Terence,PeaceReview,10402659,Jun97,Vol.9,Issue2 Database: AcademicSearchPremier

CIVICZONESOFPEACE
Public monuments commemorating the tragedies of war characterize the urban fabric of many nations. In recent RECOMMENDED years,however,memorialsofpeacehavecometoplayan READINGS important role in many towns in the U.S., Europe and beyond. Peace parks and civic peace architecture have becomemorevisibleaspectsofmunicipalandpubliclife.Rangingfromambitious international parks to humble peace sculptures, such projects contribute significantlytotheidealsofpeaceandreconciliation.Theymarkastepontheroad to creating a genuinelypublic,"peace culture." Theyconstitute civic"zonesof peace"--distinctsitesforproclaimingpeace.
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For manyyears,a dignified campaign hasbeen waged in manycountriesto promote the message ofworld peace through civicpeace architecture.Peace ParksorPeaceGardensarepopularattractionsinnationsasdiverseasJapan,

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India,Canada,Hungary,Romania,Costa Rica,the U.S.,and the U.K.Peace Pagodasandotherpeacearchitectureconstitutesignificantmonumentsinmany places. Acrossdifferent"culturaltraditions,"there'sacommondesiretocreatepeacein publicplaces.In"Easterncultures,"thegardensymbolizesapeacefulharmony with nature. The Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park has its "Woods of Peace" monument.RobertJungk'smonumentalChildrenoftheAshesshowshow,inthe years after Hiroshima's atomic devastation, the Cherry Tree became a living memorialtoitsvictims.TodaytheCherryTreestandsasasymbolofinternational peace. Likewise, in Western countries, peace gardens and parks advocate peacefulsocieties.AstheU.K.lobbyinggroup,ArchitectsforPeace,claims,such initiativestrulycreate"placesforpeace." Theconceptofcreatingcivic"zonesofpeace"hasbecomefashionableamong enlightenedtownplannersandpeaceactivistsalike.Itrestsontheassumptionthat wecandosomethingtangibletowardsmodelingpeacebycreatingcivicpeace environments.Sucheffortshavebeenmostsuccessfulwheretheyhaveexpressed anunderlyingagendaoftrade,ecologicalorpoliticalcooperation. Indeed,PeaceParksmaybequitepragmatic,suchasthoseproposedbyCosta Rica'sformerPresident,OscarArias.TheseincludedajointCostaRica-Nicaragua InternationalPeaceParktohelppreservethetropicalrainforestontheeastern belt, and the Guancaste International Park, which was designed to prevent air-operations by "contra" rebels. The first project significantly enhanced environmentalprotectioninaregionafflictedbyunregulateddeforestation.Italso made both countriesseriouslyexamine their shared border responsibilities.It producedaclimateofenhancedcooperationamongneighboringstates. AsfortheGuancastePark,whilemotivatedbythe"contras,"itgenerallyinduced the two nationsto activelyfulfill their regional securityobligations.Guancaste constitutes a classic"zone ofpeace" separating guerrilla territories,and thus limiting the spread ofpolitical violence.Such parkscan help contain regional terrorism and counter-terrorism, and prevent warring parties from exploiting "neutral" or strategically valuable terrain. The peace parks sometimes have pragmatic origins but they may also reflect genuine interest in cross-border cooperationandcommunication.Andtheymayimprovediplomaticrelationships. Parkshave longbeenused tomodelinternationalcooperation.Asfarbackas 1925,Poland and Czechoslovakia developed international cooperation across symbolicallysharedterritories.TheysignedtheKrakowProtocol,promotingcrossborder parks as symbols of shared history and commitments to peace. This fostered regional economiclinks--a precociousidea for the 1920s.Whathas becomethecornerstoneofEuropeanUnionpolicyinthe1990swasadvocatedby thePolishandCzechoslovakiangovernmentsin1925. Similarly,in1931theCanadianParliamentandtheU.S.Congress"symbolically united"Montana'sGlacierNationalParkandAlberta'sLakesNationalPark.This allowed resources to be combined over large stretches of forest, facilitating responsestotheperennialproblemsofdiseaseandforestfires,neitherofwhich respected maps. In 1932 the International Peace Garden linked Manitoba, CanadawithNorthDakota,USA,spanningoneoftheworld'slargestunfortified borders.Thisgardenrespondedtomutual,practicalproblems,butalsopromoted asenseofcommonstewardship.Indeed,theprojectofficiallycommemorated"the longrelationshipofpeaceandgoodwillbetweenthetwonations."Thishappened amidstpolitical goodwill and unprecedented Canadian-U.S.trade cooperation;

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certainlyothersuchparkscanalsostrengthenbilateralrelationshipsandpromote internationalunderstanding. Furthersouth,Panama'sParqueNacionalFronterizoDarienadjoinsColombia's LosKatiosNationalPark.Thisbufferzone formsa cordon sanitaire preventing cattlesicknessfromspreadingacrossSouthAmerica.Itscreationalsoenhanced relationshipsbetweenthetwocountriesatseverallevels.Cooperationonlivestock persuaded the Panamanian and Colombian authoritiesto actjointlyon other regionalproblems,includingbanditry,organizedcrime,andillegallogging.This helpedtorecognizetheareaasa"sharedregion."Itreducedlevelsofviolence and helped preventenvironmental damage.Improved relations atstate level emergedfromthiszoneofpeace. Many other Latin American nations have pursued similar inter-governmental cooperation.In the late 1970s,the Iguazu FallsParksymbolized agreements between Brazil and Argentina in the fields of ecology, deforestation and hydropower. It also followed the harmonization of relations between the two governments.Likewise,inthe1970s,theAmistad(Friendship)InternationalPark between Panama and Costa Rica promoted cooperation over regionalpolitical violence and over issues such as the destruction of rare plant species and agriculture. It also improved Panamanian-Costa Rican relations at the governmentallevel. Elsewhere,regional "twinning" haspromoted international understanding and jointconservation.BorneoandBruneihavepursuedsuchanarrangementinthe Lanjak Entimatu Reserve. Brunei supported a number of development and ecologicalconservationprojectsinBorneo.Thisandothercooperationdidmuch tofostergoodwillbetweenthetwonations. Severalofthemorefamousinternationalpeaceparksself-consciouslyseekpeace fromthetragedyofwar.BasedonthenuclearlegacyinJapan,Hiroshimaand Nagasaki have two ofthe mostfamousparksofthiskind.Hiroshima'sPeace MemorialParkislocatedintheNakajima-chodistrict,thehypo-centeroftheatomic bomb.Constructedunderthe"PeaceMemorialCityConstructionLaw"ofAugust6, 1949,theparkhasmadeHiroshimaan"internationalpeacecity."Todayitcontains oversixtypeacememorials,fivepeacebridges,andnumerousexamplesofpeace architecture. Among these are the Peace Memorial Museum,the Peace Cenotaph--which containstheregisterofthedead,andthe"FlameofPeace"--whichwillburnuntil theworldfreesitselfofnuclearweapons.Adjoiningthisisthe"Children'sPeace Monument," erected in the memoryofthe junior high school student,Sadako Sasaki,whose death in 1955 fromthe A-bomb disease,rekindled a nation's memoriesofitslegacy. Hiroshima'sA-bombDomeispreservedasanappealforworldpeace,andthe MemorialMoundpreservestheashesoftensofthousandsofunidentifiedvictims. The Parkalso includesthe famous"Peace Bell,"firststruckon September 20, 1946atthePeacePark'sopening.ThereisaMonumentinMemoryoftheKorean VictimsoftheA-bomb,manyofwhomhadbeeninJapanasforcedlabor.Oneof thenewermonumentscommemoratesPopeJohnPaulII'sAppealforPeaceand forthetotalabolitionofnuclearweapons. Nagasaki'sAtomicPeaceParkwasestablishedin1955aspartofthe"Nagasaki InternationalCultureCityConstructionLaw,"passedinMay1949tocontributeto lasting world peace. In the Park's northern section, a massive "peace

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statue"--comprisedofahumanfiguretranscendingrace--praysforthereposeof thesoulsoftheAtomicBombvictims.AdjoiningthePeacePark,aMausoleumfor theVictimscontainstheashesofnearlyninethousandpeoplewhodiedinthe A-bomb'shypo-center. In1978,Nagasakiestablisheda"PeaceSymbolsZone"intheparkandinvited donationsofpeace monumentsfromcountriesaround the world.Close to the PeacePark,theNagasakiInternationalCultureHallhaslongofferedexhibitions on the affectsofthe atomicbomb.In April 1966,itwastransformed into the Nagasaki AtomicBomb Museum,which offersa critique ofmodern Japanese history,includingafrankdiscussionofJapaneseimperialismthathasprovokeda Japanese rightwing backlash.Nevertheless,the newmuseumsymbolizesan increasingopennessininterpretingmodernJapanesehistory. Together,NagasakiandHiroshimaprovideexcellentexamplesofthecreationof symbolic"zonesofpeace."Thesetwo"peacecities"alsoprovidethedrivingforce behindtheWorldConferenceofMayorsforPeaceThroughInter-CitySolidarity, whichpromotesworld-widemunicipalcooperationforglobalpeace. Particularly impressive, among;other Japanese peace parks, is Kawasaki's NakaharaPeacePark.Openedin1982,itincludespeacesculpturesbyChinese, French,GermanendJapaneseartists.Ithasanopen-airamphitheaterforpeace concertsandapeacebellthatringsonlyatthetimeswhentheatomicbombswere droppedonHiroshimaandNagasaki. OkinawaIslandalsohasaPeacePark.AndanewPrefecturalPeaceMuseum hasbeenplannedforopeningbytheendofthecentury.SetinaPeacePrayer Park,itwillfeaturethe"CornerstoneofPeace"monument,displayingthenamesof the200,000personsofallnationalitieswhoperishedinthebattleforOkinawa. Thiswillrepresentasymbolic"zoneofpeace"onthisisland,whichhasknownso muchtragedy. Inthemid-1980s,a"zoneofpeace"wasproposedthatwouldhavebreachedthe "ColdWar"divide.PlannedforWashington,DC,theU.S./U.K./USSRInternational Peace Parkemerged amidstthe "people to people"diplomacyofthe ReaganGorbachev era. Two U.S. NGOs, Ploughshares and Planners for Social Responsibility,hadteamedupwithU.K.-based,ArchitectsforPeace.Thescheme fellthroughduetologisticalandfundingdifficulties,butevenso,ithelpedpromote dialogueforimprovedU.S.-Sovietrelations. Other recent parks include Hungary's Kiskunfolegyhaza Peace Park, commemorating"victoryoverfascism,"andRomania'sTurguJuiPeaceParkwith itsfamousBrancusi sculpture,"TablesofSilence." The Prairie Peace Parkin Lincoln,NebraskahelpspreservenativeAmericantraditions.Canadahasother peaceparkventures,aswell,suchastheWindsorOntarioPeacePark.Further newparkswill likelysoon emerge,keeping alive the notion ofcivic"zonesof peace." In South Africa, yet another "zone of peace" has developed during the post-apartheid period: the Nobel Laureate Peace Park, which was formally inauguratedinMarch1986bySouthAfrica'sfourNobelPeaceLaureates.Each Laureate donated something to symbolize peace and reconciliation.President MandelagaveabrickfragmentfromRobbenIslandPrison,whileF.W.deKlerk presentedapieceoftheBerlinWall.AnglicanArchbishopDesmondTutugave somenailsfromtheoriginalCoventryCathedral,whichwasdestroyedbybombing raidsin1940.Dr.AlbertinaLuthuli,daughterofAlbertLuthuli(formerPresidentof

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theANC)donatedfragmentsfromherfather's"pass-book"--thathatedsymbolof apartheidSouthAfrica. ThisPeaceParkwasorganizedbytheWilgespruitFellowshipCentre(whichthe apartheid-eraauthoritiesattemptedtoban),whichhasaspiritualfocus,reflectedin itsdecision to locate the parkin the Kloofendal Nature Reserve asa place of contemplationforthe"PeacePilgrim."TheParkconstitutesanappropriate"zone ofpeace"foranationtryingtomakeprogresstowarddemocratizationandhuman rights. Municipalitieshave modeled the "zone ofpeace"conceptbycreating symbolic peace gardens around the world. In the U.K., Tilgate Park in Crawley was designatedapeacegardenin1982.MaygrovePeacePark,inLondon'sCamden Borough,providesanotherexample;itopenedonNagasakiDay,August9,1984. ThisParkalso launched the "Avenue for Peace" concept,which encourages "visualizingpeace"innature. The Philip Noel-Baker Peace Garden, in London's Islington section, was dedicatedin1984tothepeacecampaignerandNobelPeacePrizewinner.The 1988 GlasgowGarden Festival led to the creation ofa United NationsPeace Garden,whichincludesvariouspeacesculpturesandpathways.Edinburghalso hasa Peace Garden thatoccupiesa prominentspotin the fashionable West PrincesStreetarea. AlsointheU.K.,partofNorwich'sChapelFieldwasdesignateda"zoneofpeace" in December 1986 with its"peace pillar"and more than one hundred "peace trees." Wolverhampton City Peace Park was opened in October 1986, while Manchester established the St.Peter'sSquare Peace Garden,symbolizing the municipalnuclear-freecitypolicy.AberdeenhasaJapanesePeaceGarden,while Dundee opened a Peace Garden on a site formerly occupied by a Royal OrdinanceCorpsbunker.Leeds,DorsetandCambridgeallhavePeaceGardens aswell.InNorthernIreland,a"peacebridge"willbebuilttosymbolizeunityinthe dividedcityofLondonderry.Thesearejustafewofthemorethan70townsinthe U.K.thathavecivicpoliciesforcreating"zonesofpeace." Untilrecently,American citieshave notbeen enthusiasticaboutcreating peace memorials in public spaces. The United States National Peace Garden in Washington, DC was intended to address this deficiency. In March 1986 an EnablingBillwasintroducedinCongressandinmid-1987thePeaceGardenBill passedbothHouseandSenate.Thenationalinitiativehasnowinspiredpeace gardensincitiesacrosstheU.S. Civic"zonesofpeace"havealsobeenestablishedintheformofPeacePagodas, which now adorn many cities around the world. The idea came from the NipponzanMyohoji,anorderofJapaneseBuddhistmonksandnunsfoundedby Nichadatsu Fujii in response to the 1945 atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.TheOrderhasmanyfollowersinJapan,India,SriLanka,Europeand theU.S.Itviewsastrulysanctifiedthelandwherepeacepagodasareerected;on thosesites,peoplecanreallycontemplatepeace. TheoriginalpagodaconceptactuallyaroseinIndiatocommemoratetheBuddha Gautama.Itsymbolizespeace,harmonyandcompassion.Ofthemanypagodas aroundtheworld,thefirstBritishexample,andthefirstconsecratedstupaever builtintheWest,openedinthetownofMiltonKeynesinSeptember1980.The 60-acresiteincludesathousandcherrytreesdonatedbythepeopleofYoshino, JapanasatributetoallwhosufferedintheSecondWorldWar.

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TheMiltonKeynesPagodawasbuiltunderthedirectionoftheNipponzanMyohoji Orderwhich,in1983approachedtheGreaterLondonCouncilwithaproposalfor aLondonpagodathatwentupinthecity'sBatterseaParkinMay1985.Itwas London'sfirstmajor peace monument.The Pagoda hasbecome a focusfor peopleofallnationalitiestoshareinthesearchforinternationalpeace. ThePeacePagodaideahasalsobeenwellreceivedintheU.S.Twoofthemwere builtinthemid-1980s:theGraftonPeacePagodainPetersburg,NewYork,and the Peace Pagoda ofLeverett,Massachusetts.Japan hasmore than seventy PeacePagodas.Nearlyeverysignificantcityandsmalltownhasitsownstupa. Apartfromlarge-scalePeaceGardensandPeacePagodas,manyother"zonesof peace"take the formofcommemorative peace architecture.These include the "Commemorative Plaque Against War" on the Acropolis in Athens. A major international peace monument is located in Shanghai's Peace Park, while London's Tavistock Square is a good example of an area with "peace associations,"includingthe1953dedicationoftheMahatmaGandhistatue,anda 1967 "Cherry Tree Dedication" to the Hiroshima victims.Commemorating the UnitedNationsInternationalYearofPeaceinduly1986,theLeagueofJewish WomendonatedaMapleTree.TheSquarealsofeaturesa"PeacePillar,"anitem ofpeacearchitectureerectedinmanypartsoftheworld. The"PeacePavilion"concept,asanotherexampleofcivicpeacearchitecture,has alsobeengrowinginpopularity.Pavilions,whetherfeaturedaspartofaPeace Gardenorasseparateentities,provideafocusforpeaceactivities.Tworecent initiatives are the Peace Pavilion Projectin New Jersey in the U.S.and the KanagawaPlazaforGlobalCitizenshipinYokohamaCity,Japan.Thelatterwill sponsor international peacemaking activities and peace exhibitions, and has dedicateditselftothethemeof"thinkglobally,actlocally."Bothprojectsconstitute additional"zonesofpeace"intheirrespectivecities. The idea ofpromoting peace through international peace parksor civicpeace architectureisnowwellestablished.Throughthesemechanisms,peacehasnow been enshrined in the publiclife ofmanynations.Such effortsoften originate pragmatically,such aswhen geographical neighborsface problemsoffrontier terrorism,diseasecontainmentorenvironmentaldevastation.Theresultingparks helpnurtureasenseofcooperationthatpromotesregionalandworldpeace. Inothercases,peaceparkscommemoratethetragiclegacyofconflict.Hiroshima andNagasakihaveservedas"watch-towers"foreverynationaboutnuclearwar's drasticconsequences.Some parks,such asGlasgow'sUnited NationsPeace Garden,symbolizeinmunicipalspacesthesearchforglobalpeace.Others,such asSouthAfrica'sNobelLaureatePeacePark,expressthepluralisticimpulsesof emergingdemocracies.Whatevertheapproach,internationalparkscreatezones ofpeace thatcan,theoretically,firstimprove interstate relations,promote trade links,encourageregionalcooperationand,ultimately,generateworldpeace. Manyorganizationsnownurturetheidealsofpeaceparksandpeacearchitecture. IntheU.K.,ArchitectsforPeaceisdedicatedtocreatingsymbolsofpeaceinpublic life. U.K. groups such as the Ecology Party and Friends of the Earth have supported the idea of"Avenuesfor Peace."Official organizations,such asthe SteeringCommitteeofNuclearFreeCouncils,trytointegratezonesofpeaceinto localgovernmentpolicies.Single-issuegroups,suchasthePeacePagodaMilton Keynes,specializesinthepeacepagodaidea.OutsidetheU.K.,groupssuchas theArchitectsforSocialResponsibilitypromote"architectureforpeace"intheU.S., andU.S.andCanadiannetworksforpromotinginternationalpeacegardens.

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Civiczonesofpeace mayhave a practical role in promoting international or regional cooperation, but they also perform a powerful symbolic function in creating"peaceconsciousness."Whetherlaunchingatransnationalprojectsuch asa"nuclearfreezone,"orendowingamodestmunicipalpeacesculpture,such initiativesfurtherdeveloptheconceptof"zonesofpeace."Whenwehaveplaces wherepeaceissacred,wethinkseriouslyabouttheimportanceofworldpeace. Perhapsbylivinginpeacewithinourpublicspacewemayfindthecommitmentto embracetheidealsofatrulyglobal"peaceculture."
RECOMMENDEDREADINGS

ArchitectsforPeace.1989.PlacesforPeace.London:ArchitectsforPeace. Duffy,T.M.1993."ThePeaceMuseumConcept."MuseumInternationalXLV(1). Duffy,T.M.1993."ExhibitingPeace."PeaceReview(December):487. Duffy,T.M.1996.JapanesePeaceCulture.Hiroshima:HiroshimaPeaceCulture Foundation. Jungk,Robert.1959.ChildrenoftheAshes;ThePeopleofHiroshimaAfterthe Bomb.Bern:Verlag. Kosakai,Yoshiteru.1986.HiroshimaPeaceReader.5thedn.Hiroshima:Peace CultureFoundation. Nagasaki Foundation for the Promotion ofPeace.1990.Speaking ofPeace. Nagasaki:Author. Nagasaki International Culture Hall.1993.Nagasaki Speaks;A Record ofthe AtomicBombing.Nagasaki:Author. WorldConferenceofMayorsforPeaceThroughInter-CitySolidarity.1995.Peace inAsiaandthePacificRegionandtheRoleofCities.Hiroshima:Author.

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ByTerenceDuffy Terence DuffyteachesPeace and ConflictStudiesatthe UniversityofUlster, Magee College,in Northern Ireland and also directsthe Irish Peace Museum Project.InrecentyearshehasservedonanumberofmissionsoftheU.N.,OSCE, EUandothertransnationalbodies.Correspondence:PeaceStudiesProgramme, MageeCollege,UniversityofUlster,Londonderry,BT487JL,NorthernIreland.
CopyrightofPeaceReviewisthepropertyofRoutledgeanditscontentmaynotbecopiedor emailedtomultiplesitesorpostedtoalistservwithoutthecopyrightholder'sexpresswritten permission.However,usersmayprint,download,oremailarticlesforindividualuse.

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