Mitsubishi Corporation

Press Room

December 13, 2013
Mitsubishi Corporation
Nomura Real Estate Development Co., Ltd.

FUNABASHI MORINO CITY Wins World Smart Cities Award

FUNABASHI MORINO CITY, an eco-friendly town development project undertaken by Mitsubishi Corporation (MC) and Nomura Real Estate Development Co., Ltd. (Nomura Real Estate) in Funabashi City, Chiba Prefecture, is the winner of a World Smart Cities Award. The Award, which falls in the Project category, was issued as part of the Smart City Expo World Congress 2013 held in Barcelona, Spain, and recognizes the project’s “Smart & Share Town” concept as an initiative that continuously creates environmental value.
 
What kind of town development does FUNABASHI MORINO CITY pursue?
 
FUNABASHI MORINO CITY is an eco-friendly town development project undertaken by MC and Nomura Real Estate at an old factory site of Asahi Glass Co., Ltd. in Kita-Honcho 1-chome, Funabashi City, Chiba Prefecture. In order to both share and make sensible use of space and energy, the project capitalizes on advanced environmental technology and ICT to lay the foundation for a low-carbon city, while at the same incorporating the traditional wisdom and ingenuity associated with housing, including the flow of wind and the relationships with greenery and with the sun.
The project also aims at creating “future hometown” which is open to local community while continuing revitalization of the town and supporting daily lives, which reduces environmental impacts by connecting people, nature and technology, and which evolves and becomes more “friendly” through connection and mutual help between people. To that end, the project helps residents nurture and share civic pride, making them feel attached to or proud of their town, provides support for community creation and development, and promotes activities closely related to the local community and the town.
In this connection, the World Smart Cities Award’s Project category recognizes the fact that this is not just a project in the experimental stage but a large-scale private-sector re-development initiative fully incorporating advanced environmental technology that covers housing, commercial facilities, and a hospital, as well as the fact that it has developed low-carbon infrastructure, and includes mechanisms for area management.
 
 [Recognition]
✓The project is based on an innovative urban redevelopment plan that combines a wide variety of smart city solutions, such as energy efficiency improvement, sustainable environmental considerations, and the use of ICT.
✓These initiatives are playing effective and crucial roles in community activities.
 
World Smart Cities Awards
 
The Smart City Expo World Congress 2013 was held in Barcelona, Spain from November 19 to 21, 2013. Some 9,000 visitors from nearly 400 cities from 29 countries had discussions and exchanged opinions about the development of a sustainable society.
The international congress established the World Smart Cities Awards to recognize cities, projects and innovative solutions that contribute to its concept. Award winners are selected by a jury comprising of representatives from the World Bank and other external experts.
The 2013 awards received over 200 entries in total from 35 countries for the three categories of city, project, and innovation. From among finalists in the project category, including entries from Germany, Denmark, Spain, and China, FUNABASHI MORINO CITY from Japan was selected as the winner. Winners in the City and Innovation categories were Rio de Janeiro, Brazil and an information sharing system from Spain, respectively.
 
FUNABASHI MORINO CITY Project Outline
◇ FUNABASHI MORINO CITY Project Outline ◇
Address
811-2 Kita-Honcho 1-chome, Funabashi City, Chiba Prefecture
Access
14-minute walk from Funabashi Station on the JR Sobu Line 
1-minute walk from Shin-Funabashi Station on the Tobu Noda Line
6-minute walk from Higashi-Kaijin Station on the Toyo Rapid Railway Line
Total site area
About 11.2 ha (about 34,000 tsubo) at Shin-Funabashi Station East Zone
(plus about 6.4 ha (about 19,000 tsubo) at AEON Mall Funabashi)
Project outline
1,497 condominium units (blocks I to V), 42 detached houses, a large shopping center,
a supermarket,a hospital, child-raising support facilities
Project owners
Mitsubishi Corporation (formulates the town development concept, forms the consortium
for implementing the concept, and manages the entire project from site acquisition to zoning
and development) Nomura Real Estate Development Co., Ltd. (manages the residential
development project
for implementing the concept)
<MORINO CITY Town Meeting Organization Chart>
 
As a communication platform for MORINO CITY residents, businesses and organizations to work together in developing an attractive town, MORINO CITY Town Meeting was established in February 2013, with about 80% of residents from Proud Funabashi blocks I, II, III and V participating.
MC and Nomura Real Estate will support MORINO CITY Town Meeting activities for three years from the foundation.

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Mitsubishi Corporation
Telephone:+81-3-3210-2171 / Facsimile:+81-3-5252-7705
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