Toyota Is Building Its Own City near Mount Fuji

Japanese car company Toyota isn’t just investing in building a new building, or even a Silicon Valley-style campus like Google or Apple — it’s building an entire city.

According to Forbes, Toyota announced that it will be building a “city of the future” on a former factory site near Mount Fuji in Japan. "Woven City" will be a place for people to live, work, and help the carmaker conduct market research.

The 175-acre site will be set up with a grid system, according to Forbes, with three lanes of traffic for different types of commuters: one for higher speed vehicles like cars, one for slower speed vehicles like scooters and bikes, and one only for pedestrians. For those on foot, the city will have pleasant, “park-like” walking paths for anyone to get around the city easily. According to Forbes, the grid system will be the perfect place for the company to test autonomous, self-driving cars.

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And the buildings of the city will also feature some futuristic products from Toyota, including ones to help with personal mobility and health, Forbes reported.

“Building a complete city from the ground up, even on a small scale like this, is a unique opportunity to develop future technologies, including a digital operating system for the city’s infrastructure,” the company’s president, Akio Toyoda, said in a statement. “With people, buildings and vehicles all connected and communicating with each other through data and sensors, we will be able to test connected AI technology… in both the virtual and the physical realms … maximizing its potential.”

Every building will be built with sustainable materials and feature renewable energy, including photovoltaic solar panels and the company’s hydrogen fuel cell technology to power the town, Forbes reported.

According to The Verge, the town will be able to house around 2,000 people, with lots of space for Toyota employees and their families. CEO Akio Toyoda said in the statement that the city will “welcome all those inspired to improve the way we live in the future, to take advantage of this unique research ecosystem and join us in our quest to create an ever-better way of life and mobility for all.” The company is expecting to break ground in 2021.

For more information about the city, visit the Woven City website.