At the Kashiwanoha International Campus Town Initiative, various experimental programs have been carried out and a wide variety of events have been planned and implemented.
The Mitsui Fudosan Group proactively takes part in such efforts and events. The following introduces some recent efforts.
Infobox
In June 2007, the Kashiwanoha Innovation Design Research Organization was established by Mitsui Fudosan, the University of Tokyo and the Kashiwa Chamber of Commerce and Industry, all of which run UDCK, with another local company also taking part. This organization is addressing creation-oriented research and development that cuts across fields to create new values by integrating innovative ideas and technologies.
The first theme the organization tackled was “small public space.” The project, called “PLS” for short, examined the desirable forms of Public, Life and Space in the new age based on the three viewpoints of the (1) Review of public facilities, (2) Diversification of public services, and (3) Public nature of individuals. In fiscal 2007, three experimental buildings were built, established and operated with the support of subsidies from Chiba Prefecture among others. They are the Infobox (a local information center), the Book Service (a small-scale library where used books are collected) and the Project House (a project exhibition center open to the public).
Velotaxi
The Mitsui Fudosan Group conducted a test run of the Velotaxi (roofed trishaw) for approximately two months from October 19 to December 16, 2007 to propose an environmentally-friendly, enjoyable and innovative means of transportation.
The Velotaxi has attracted attention as a new environmentally-friendly public transportation system since it was developed in Germany in 1997. At the same time, it is expected to serve as an effective measure to cope with the aging society, stimulate the local economy, and serve as a solution for employment issues.
The Mitsui Fudosan Group conducted the test run in accordance with the concept of the Kashiwanoha Campus City development. The Velotaxi traveled along open roads connecting Kashiwanoha Campus Station, LaLaport KASHIWANOHA, Chiba University's Center for Environment, Health and Field Sciences, the University of Tokyo's Kashiwa Campus, and Kashiwanoha Park, as well as through the premises of major regional facilities such as a university campus and a park. The test run in the park was the first trial of its kind in Japan.
The test run enabled an understanding of problematic points as well as demand trends. Based on this, an operations system and financing sources are planned to be studied toward full-scale operation in the future.
(*1) “Velo” means fast, swift, or rapid in Latin and is used in a number of English words, including “velocity” (speed) and “velodrome” (a banked racing track used for bicycle races. In Japan, operation was commenced in Kyoto in 2002, and the Velotaxis are presently run in twenty cities nationwide.
Marché Couleur
For the two-day period of May 3 and 4, 2008, the community market Marché Couleur was held at UDCK. The Mitsui Fudosan Group also took part in this event as an organizer. “Marché Couleur” is a newly coined phrase made up of the French words “marché” (market) and “couleur” (color) to represent an event where various food products and cooking ingredients are sold in colorful shops.In addition to a major supermarket, approximately twenty stores set up streets stalls to sell their goods, including a direct sales store of agricultural products engaging in local production for local consumption activities in the Kashiwa region. Local university students and elementary school children also participated in running the stalls. As for chairs used in the stalls, those provided by local elementary schools and by the residents of Park City Kashiwanoha Campus Ichibangai were reused after being painted.
The event also featured participation from domestic and overseas artists, including Toru Koyamada, Takahito Kimura and Jean-Luc Vilmouth from France.
Kashiwanoha Campus City is a project that is developing an urban area as a top runner model ahead of other areas in Japan, aiming at creating a next-generation environmental city. In the first stage of the project, the Mitsui Fudosan Group will conduct monitoring of the CO2 emissions of about fifty households in Park City Kashiwanoha Campus Ichibangai over an 18-month period beginning in autumn 2008. The monitoring will use a household navigation system developed in collaboration with Nippon Manufacturing Service Corporation and Cosmo Life Co., Ltd. It is planned to facilitate energy conservation activities by visualizing energy consumption and CO2 emissions.
This project has been selected as a model project of the Ministry of the Environment's Eco-Action Point program. The result of this project will be analyzed in conjunction with the result of the projects concurrently conducted in other regions, with such analysis results then being used to study energy conservation methods by lifestyle.
Further, with regard to the condominiums for sale in District 147 and District 148 that the Mitsui Fudosan Group is planning to develop hereafter, the navigation system mentioned above is planned to be introduced as standard.
Kashiwanoha Future Village
In August 2008, the Mitsui Fudosan Group opened the Kashiwanoha Future Village, a sustainable and creative office in consideration of the environment and health through the concepts of “the environment, healthy living, creativity and communication.”
The Kashiwanoha Future Village consists of Mitsui Fudosan's local office, the Machi no Club House (Town Club House) and Kitchen Kaigi-shitsu (Kitchen Lounge), which serve as communication centers for the local region, as well as Japan's first General Support Center for Cancer Patients and Their Families. Furthermore, the building itself adopts an environment- and health-conscious design. Focusing on energy creation, energy conservation and visualization of environmental friendliness, the facility decreases burdens on the environment as much as possible, and makes effective and comfortable use of energy and resources. Moreover, new eco-friendly and health-conscious technologies and new materials are proactively incorporated and broad-ranging demonstration experiments have been conducted in collaboration with universities and companies, the results of which will provide feedback for future urban development.
The Mitsui Fudosan Group has been promoting Green Power Certification for solar power generation and other power generation alternatives in Kashiwanoha Campus City. In fiscal 2008, the electricity generated by solar power in Kashiwanoha Future Village (14kW) is planned to receive Green Power Certification. In Kashiwanoha Campus City, the introduction of a solar power generation system at schools and other facilities has also been considered. In the years to come, the entire area intends to undertake promotion of Green Power Certification for electric power generated using natural energy (renewable energy) and to contribute to the diffusion of natural energy.
