This year, the workshop for university students in Yokohama City, "What does the future of 'Smart City Yokohama' mean?", is being held again with the cooperation of companies, as a valuable opportunity to deepen understanding of smart cities and think about the future of Yokohama.
The first workshop was held on Wednesday, November 12th, in the presentation room of the Yokohama Minato Mirai 21 General Incorporated Association. The theme of this workshop was "Considerations on the Relationship between Regional Banks and Smart Cities." Guest speaker was Mr. Yanagisawa from the Regional Strategy Management Department of the Bank of Yokohama, Ltd. Facilitated by Mr. Sato of BizTech, Inc., which planned and managed the program, the workshop was a very productive experience.
Aims of this program
At the beginning of the workshop, facilitator Mr. Sato explained the purpose of the program.
When we hear the term "smart city," we tend to imagine technological aspects such as IT, AI, and infrastructure. However, this program aims to view smart cities from a broader perspective.
While the focus in Japan tends to be on ICT and technology, in Europe smart cities are discussed from a perspective closely related to people's lives, such as "responsive city government," "safer public spaces," and "the needs of an aging society." Keywords collected on the World Bank blog include not only "sustainability" and "innovation," but also "ecosystem," "people," "community," and "livability."
What makes this program unique is that it focuses on "people's lives" while also focusing on the "power of companies" that make this possible. Yokohama, a city of 370 million people, is home to a diverse range of companies. Through the activities of local banks, railway companies, plant engineering, and international logistics companies, students will discover for themselves the pieces necessary to realize a smart city. That is the aim of this workshop.
Yokohama Bank's urban development initiatives
Our guest this time, Mr. Yanagisawa, graduated from a university in Yokohama in 2020 and joined the Bank of Yokohama. After working in corporate sales at the Hadano branch, he was seconded to the Yokohama Minato Mirai 21 General Incorporated Association.
"I came to Yokohama from Nagoya and wanted to give back to the city that had looked after me for the past four years," said Yanagisawa, who chose Yokohama Bank with this thought in mind. During his secondment, he was involved in urban development in the Minato Mirai area and in creating innovation through inter-company matching.
Specific examples of initiatives
Mr. Yanagisawa introduced a variety of project examples that go beyond the boundaries of banking.
ポケモンワールドチャンピオンシップスTo coincide with the tournament at Pacifico Yokohama, we participated in a project to turn the entire city into a Pokémon city, going beyond the role of a simple financial institution to become involved in the production of an entire city.
Demonstration experiment of autonomous EV busIn collaboration with Macnica, we went beyond simply testing autonomous driving technology to realize a groundbreaking experiment in which entertainment content was incorporated into the car by installing 360-degree surround sound in the vehicle, and we acted as a coordinator with the police and Yokohama City.
YOXO FESTIVALAt first glance, it may look like an event, but it actually functions as a place where various companies can conduct demonstration experiments of products and services they are developing in the city. Experiments on public roads are usually subject to strict regulations, but if they are conducted in the form of an event, permission is more easily granted - this is an initiative that utilizes this system to transform Yokohama into a city where demonstration experiments can be actively conducted.
The culmination of Yanagisawa's time at the company was his involvement in TECH HUB YOKOHAMA. Equipped with a cafe and inter-company networking space, the facility aims to serve as a gateway connecting Yokohama with the rest of the world and become a hub for innovation.
Why banks send employees on secondment
One of the participating students asked, "Why do banks second their employees to these urban development organizations?"
Yanagisawa cited the bank's policy of "nurturing a diverse workforce." When young employees return to the bank, they are exposed to people, values, and information that they would not encounter if they were just at the bank, and this breathes fresh air into the entire organization. He said that, precisely because the organization has been in existence for over 100 years, it is important for them to maintain contact with the outside world.
Financial institutions do more than just handle money; they also serve as "catalysts" that create the future of their regions by revitalizing the local economy, promoting collaboration between companies, and supporting the creation of new businesses. Through this session, the students seemed to gain a real sense of the multifaceted role that local banks play in realizing smart cities.
Voices of participating students
This time, students from the School of Economics, School of Urban Science, and School of Science and Engineering participated. The gathering of members with different fields of expertise brought diverse perspectives to the discussion.
In the second half of the workshop, students also held discussions, providing an opportunity to reexamine smart cities from multiple perspectives, including not only technology but also finance, local communities, and corporate activities.
This workshop will be held in six sessions. The next one will be held on Wednesday, November 19th, and will feature representatives from Sotetsu Urban Creates Inc. and Tokyu Corporation, with the theme "Exploring the Activities of Electric Railway Companies 'Beyond the Railway'."
We will continue to report on the workshop, so please stay tuned!