Introduction to Saitama City's efforts efforts

Overview of Saitama City

Population: 1,336,679 people (as of May of 2022)
Area: 217.43 square kilometers

　The population of Saitama City now exceeds 1.33 million people, making it the 9^th largest city in Japan.
　Saitama City is located just 30 kilometers north of central Tokyo, connected via no less than six Bullet Train lines. This makes Saitama a nucleus for cooperation throughout East Japan, serving as a central hub for people, goods, and information between the Tokyo Metropolitan Area and destinations throughout the region.
　The city is also home to historical and cultural resources such as Bonsai, railroads, and the craft of traditional Japanese dolls, as well as natural resources such as the Minuma Rice Paddies, an agricultural strip running through the city that covers over 1,260 hectares. 　Saitama also boasts an active sports culture and hosted the soccer and basketball venues for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.

Introduction to Saitama City's efforts

E-KIZUNA Project

　In 2009, Saitama City launched the E-KIZUNA Project, an initiative to reduce CO2 emissions in the transportation sector by spreading the use of electric vehicles (EV) according to three basic policies: developing a charging safety net, creating demand and incentives, and educational/promotional activities for community.
　To date, EV charging stations have been installed in over 300 locations within the city, while the replacement of official city vehicles with next-generation vehicles, was completed in 2013, with the exception of some special purpose vehicles, thereby helping to reduce the city’s environmental impact while improving disaster resilience.
　Saitama City has also concluded E-KIZUNA Project agreements with Nine major Japanese company in an effort to further spread the use of next generation vehicles through public-private collaboration.

Special zone for next-generation vehicles and smart energy

　Saitama City is working toward the embodiment of the Future City under the Future City Initiative. Meanwhile, in order to strengthen resilience based on lessons from the Great East Japan Earthquake of 2011, the city is also promoting three initiatives, including the spread of multi energy stations along with smart home communities and low-carbon personal mobility, by making use of deregulation and the support offered under special zone designation programs. The knowledge and experience gathered through those initiatives is being leveraged using cutting edge technology, such as AI and IoT, to improve quality of life for city residents.

Development of the Smart City Saitama Model

　The Smart City Saitama Model is a program to maximize the quality of life of city residents through several initiatives. First, the Misono District, a subcenter of the city, has been selected to serve as a model of the ideal which Saitama City aims to become through a strong focus on community formation in terms of individual connections between the people that live there. Meanwhile, cutting edge technologies, such as AI and IoT, are being combined with data utilization to introduce smart solutions for many of the sectors by providing the new life support services. By doing so, we will offer support services for residents that will help solve the diverse society-wide problems they face.
　These new life support services introduced in the Misono District will ultimately be extended to all residents throughout Saitama City.

Development of the Smart City Saitama Model