Japan's hi-tech Fujisawa Sustainable Smart Town a glimpse into the future
Powered by renewable energy and controlled by tablets, here's what happens when cutting-edge companies build their own community
Efficient, energy-neutral, safe and truly communal, towns of the future may look a lot like the Fujisawa Sustainable Smart Town.
The pioneering project, 50 kilometres south of central Tokyo, is the brainchild of Panasonic and 18 companies keen to put their cutting-edge technologies in the areas of energy, construction, security and the utilities to the test.
The first families have moved into the initial phase of the community, which is built on a 19-hectare plot that was formerly the site of three Panasonic production plants, and the ground has been broken on phase two.
When it is completed, the Y60 billion (HK$3.96 billion) development will be home to 3,000 people in 600 homes and 400 apartments, with associated shopping facilities, restaurants, communal centres, parks and a "Wellness Square" providing nursing facilities for the elderly alongside a clinic, childcare centre and sheltered accommodation.
"We have a 100-year vision for the entire project and we believe the most important thing is how we make this community evolve sustainably and constantly over that time frame," Hiroyuki Morita, chief of Panasonic's Business Solutions Division, told the Sunday Morning Post.
Morita said the plan was for the town - which was first proposed in 2008 - to be physically completed in 2018.