Smart home, smart community, smart town? That’s what Panasonic and Nomura Real Estate Development Co. are planning for a town southwest of Tokyo.
The companies recently released the concept plan, featuring a hydrogen fuel-cell refueling station, a town “energy center,” and a dormitory for students from abroad. A press release also revealed it hopes to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 40% from 2006 levels and to increase new energy use rates by 30%.
The concept plan is somewhat similar to the U.S. DOT’s Smart City Challenge; Yokohama City intends to support the Tsunamshima Sustainable Smart Town Council to complete the project as a FutureCity. The companies have set ‘sometime’ in 2018 as its completion date.
The concept plan sets forth the town’s environmental targets, safety and security goals, and rules for the landscapes and operations, seeking to create a town where the participants from different industries collaborate in harmony to achieve the goals. Yokohama City will support the Tsunashima SST project as the city pushes forward its efforts as a “FutureCity,” a model city selected by the Japanese government to address common challenges including the environment.
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