Toyota's Futuristic Woven City In Japan Is Ready For Its First Residents (theverge.com)
- Reference: 0175841867
- News link: https://slashdot.org/story/25/01/06/227248/toyotas-futuristic-woven-city-in-japan-is-ready-for-its-first-residents
- Source link: https://www.theverge.com/2025/1/6/24337152/toyota-woven-city-japan-residents-phase-one
> Toyota said it completed "phase 1" of the construction, with the official launch planned for 2025. "Woven City is more than just a place to live, work, and play," Toyota Chairman Akio Toyoda said during today's press conference at CES. "Woven City is a place where people can invent and develop all kinds of new products and ideas. It's a living laboratory where the residents are willing participants, giving inventors the opportunity to freely test their ideas in a secure, real-life setting." [...] In fall 2025, Toyota said it will welcome the first 100 residents to Woven City, all of whom will be employees of Toyota or its subsidiary, Woven by Toyota. The community will gradually expand to include "external inventors and their families" who will be invited to relocate to the new city. In total, the first phase of the city will eventually house 360 residents, Toyota says.
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> Toyota dubs these first residents "Weavers," adding that they are people who "share a passion for the 'expansion of mobility' and a commitment to building a more flourishing society. Through their participation in co-creation activities, Weavers will contribute to realizing the full potential of Woven City." That said, the first "inventors" confirmed for Woven City are mostly in the food services business, including a vending machine company and a startup that wants to explore "the potential value of coffee through futuristic cafe experiences." Toyoda mentioned several other ideas during his press conference, including high-powered motorized wheelchairs for people with disabilities who want to experience the thrill of racing. He also pitched the idea of a personal drone that follows joggers for added security, and "pet robots" for elderly people.
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> The Woven City site, which is located at the base of Mount Fuji, includes buildings that are designed by famed Danish architect Bjarke Ingels. The goal, through phase 2 and subsequent phases, is to build enough housing and facilities for up to 2,000 people to live year-around, with utilities powered by the company's hydrogen fuel cell technology. The site is private for now, though Toyota says it plans on inviting the general public to see it in 2026. The name "Woven City" is a reference to weaving together three different types of streets or pathways, each for a specific type of user. One street would be for faster vehicles only. The second would be a mix of lower-speed personal mobility vehicles, like bikes and scooters, as well as pedestrians. And the third would be a park-like promenade for pedestrians only.
Japan first announced the "prototype city of the future" [2]at CES 2020 .
[1] https://www.theverge.com/2025/1/6/24337152/toyota-woven-city-japan-residents-phase-one
[2] https://tech.slashdot.org/story/20/01/06/2138248/toyota-will-transform-a-175-acre-site-in-japan-into-a-prototype-city-of-the-future
Good luck to them (Score:2)
It can be difficult for even masterplanned communities of single-family homes to truly work-out, and the track record for multiunit masterplanned communities is even worse. The Dutch experimented with similar concepts of utopian central management and the main community turned into a dystopian community where residents didn't feel safe and basically all of the outdoor amenities provided for them fell into disrepair.
Perhaps Toyota can do it, but I remain skeptical until I see it proving successful. And wit
Re: (Score:2)
That would be real fun, if your employer administered the police department for your live-in office / residence.
> Residents could include Toyota employees and visiting researchers. The city will have its own police officers, fire and emergency services and schools.
[1]https://learningenglish.voanew... [voanews.com]
[1] https://learningenglish.voanews.com/a/japan-s-toyota-to-build-city-of-the-future-to-test-new-technologies/5235881.html
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that sounds like a nightmare.
It's already problematic enough when on-staff security get involved in things that are not really their concern, it would be even worse when security personnel have police powers but don't answer to the community at large and instead answer to the same entity that one's employment comes through.
A panic-button (Score:2)
> ... drone that follows joggers ...
What happens when the 'jogger' or woman stops for coffee and a doughnut? What happens when a drone suffers a flat battery, mid-run?
Surely a panic-button surgically-implanted into vulnerable persons would be more reliable and less overhead?
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How about a glowing gem in your palm that turns black when you are no longer of use, and the corporate police show up to remove you to the rendering plant?
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"Renew! Renew!"
Jogging in Japan: Security Needed? (Score:2)
"He also pitched the idea of a personal drone that follows joggers for added security"-- Security from what, I wonder?
This is Japan, after all, where you can sleep off last night's hangover on the train station stairs and still get home with that 100,000 yen roll in your pocket. Maybe someone is expecting sinister changes to the Woven City's populace?
$10B? (Score:2)
Man, there are so many things I could do with $10B that would be better than that.
So: Pedestrians on the bike path (Score:1)
"The second would be a mix of lower-speed personal mobility vehicles, like bikes and scooters, as well as pedestrians. "
So this whole "woven" thing is architect bullshit talk for putting pedestrians on the bike path.
Let me guess: the architect and his family are not going to live there.
Buzzword Bingo (Score:2)
I pretty much stopped reading at "realizing the full potential of Woven City."
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Why not just give the residents $100m each?
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> Why not just give the residents $100m each?
My first guess was that TFA said $10B USD instead of $10B JPY (about $65M USD), which would be more reasonable.
But a Google search yielded many more articles stating $10B USD.
I can't imagine how they could spend so much for so little benefit.
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Woven my ass. There already is a word for a corporate utopia, and it's dystopia. We know very well what all of this tech will be used for: surveillance and control. Case in point: the aforementioned security drone. Place is not even open yet, and they already have crime, I guess it must be the Minority Report kind, with everything that follows. And why do I get the vibe that sooner or later you'll have to get chipped to hang around...
Good luck with the vending machines and the self-service ad-filled coffee
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Yes, instead of Woven, it should be Wrung, as in "Wrung dry of all ideas for the shareholders"
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You mean you totally missed the experience of reading "the potential value of coffee through futuristic cafe experiences"?
Well, I mean, I've fixed that now, but still...