Each workshop aims to deepen understanding of smart city trends both in Japan and overseas, put them into practice, and explore the smart city Yokohama should aim to become.
This time we will report on the first event, which took place on November 11th.
First, Mr. Kosugiyama from Sotetsu Urban Creates introduced us to the "Hoshiten qlay" initiative.
"Hoshiten qlay" is a new town that makes use of the space underneath the elevated railway tracks created by elevating the tracks between Tennocho Station and Hoshikawa Station on the Sotetsu Line.
Based on the concept of "a town where people can live and play," creators came together to introduce various town development initiatives that encourage change and enjoyment.
Next, we have a report from Shimizu City from "Enter Espoo," an organization that provides business support and attracts foreign investment in the city of Espoo in Finland.
The city of Espoo's initiatives were introduced online from the site.
The city of Espoo is world-famous as a smart city.
However, the city of Espoo's goal is to develop a sustainable city.
The idea seems to be that technologies such as ICT and big data are merely means to an end.
In order to develop a sustainable city, we must effectively utilize the vast amounts of data, including big data on citizens.
What struck me was the expression "organically" used to describe these various initiatives.
The second half of the session will be a discussion among the students.
The participants began by forming teams for the final presentation, then worked in groups to discuss smart city initiatives in Yokohama, taking into account "Hoshiten qlay" and Espoo's urban development concepts.
Finally, each group gave a presentation and shared their findings, bringing the workshop to a close.
The next and final session of this workshop will be on December 12th.
We will report on the next workshop, so stay tuned!