Toyota is building a sustainable city of the future at the foot of Mount Fuji
How do we live and live in the future? Some of us are sure to ask this question. Will the future bring climate catastrophe or will it consist of a sustainable, networked society? Toyota at least seems convinced of the latter and is building a prototype city at the foot of Mount Fuji.
The new town is not far from a Toyota factory and will be called Toyota Woven City. It is made possible by a collaboration between the Toyota Motor Corporation and Woven Planet Holdings divisions. New mobility and life concepts are to be piloted and tested here soon. In addition to autonomous vehicles, robots controlled by AI could also do their laps.
360 residents are to make the start, including seniors, families with children and inventors. Should the concept gain ground, another 2,000 citizens could follow. These can then fall back on three types of roads: One for autonomous vehicles, one for pedestrians and another for small means of transport (e.g. e-scooters and bicycles). Toyota would like to make the leap from automaker to provider of mobility services in this way.
The environment is also an important part of the vision for city planners. Buildings are to consist mainly of wood and roofs should be covered with photovoltaic systems. Food should be obtained sustainably from water cultures.
It is not yet known exactly when Toyota Woven City will be ready. It will also show whether and to what extent mobility and the “life of the future” defined by Toyota will be accepted by the citizens. If the project is a success, the Japanese company will lay the foundation for its own country and maybe even the whole world.
Own opinion:
Smart and connected cities are becoming more and more interesting for large companies around the world. In addition to Toyota, other technology groups (such as Samsung) are also trying to develop pilot cities and base their business models on them. There will hardly be a uniform solution for the whole planet, but ambitious projects like this one help us to find the way into the future. So Toyota shows that even after 84 years you can still act visionary.
via electrek
