Japan's New 'Smart' City

The city Yokohama could be Japan's next exportable good. officials there want it to be a low-emissions "smart" city -- a model they hope to be able to convince other cities to replicate.

1 minute read

October 15, 2010, 12:00 PM PDT

By Nate Berg


"The goal is to drastically cut carbon emissions, which many scientists believe cause global warming - ideally to zero. The bigger dream is for the smart city to become Japan's next big export, fueling new growth and ambition at a time when the country finds itself in an economic rut and eclipsed by China as the world's second-biggest economy behind the United States.

The city of Yokohama, just southwest of Tokyo, is the site of a social and infrastructure experiment to create a smart city for the rest of the world to emulate. Begun this year, the Yokohama Smart City Project is a five-year pilot program with a consortium of seven Japanese companies."

The "smart" city is still in its early phases, but officials there hope to have a replicable model soon.

Monday, October 11, 2010 in San Francisco Chronicle

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