Low Carbon Urban Infrastructure Investment in Asian Cities

SMART CITIES IN JAPAN AND THEIR APPLICATION IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES 99

In light of these trends, we refer to SCs in this chapter in terms of
technical factors, and we defi ne an SC as “a city with electricity and other
social infrastructures that have been improved in terms of effi ciency levels
via technological innovations and ICT technologies.”

6.2.2 The Four SC Sectors

This chapter examines several important SC infrastructure sectors.
However, Aida and Morozumi ( 2010 ) identifi ed fi ve areas: electricity, gas,
water, waste management, and transportation systems. Moreover, the four
Japanese pilot studies focus on electricity, gas, transportation infrastruc-
ture smartization projects, and some cities have broadened these areas to
the water and waste realms (MIAC 2015 ).
Some critics identify ICT and green infrastructure as separate sectors
(Yamamura 2014 ). ICT, nonetheless, represents the fi rst SC principle.
Green infrastructure serves as one of the most important features. As ICT
and green infrastructure are extremely relevant, the authors treat them as
overarching concepts that are present in each sector.
In terms of green infrastructure, many scholars believe that SCs have
not only technocratic but also ecological implications (e.g., material loop-
ing and cascading). For example, water use cascading approaches, whereby
brown water is used for other purposes, should be employed in modern
water use systems (Suzuki et al. 2010 ). Looping material via solid waste
management can help reduce material resources (Suzuki et  al. 2010 ).
In addition, Chinese SCs always prioritize ecological factors. Thus, this
chapter considers ecological concerns pertaining to SCs with reference to
ecosystem effi ciency levels and Mother Nature.
From the literature reviews, the authors summarize the typical traits of
SCs in Table  6.1.

6.3 T HE YOKOHAMA CASE STUDY

6.3.1 Minato Mirai 21, Dawn of City Smartization

Yokohama employed European and American state-of-the-art tech-
nologies at the end of the nineteenth century when Japan experienced
a reopening of the country after its feudal era. Yokohama emerged as a
leading industrial city following the creation of the Yokohama harbour
port. Environmental improvements in the central business district (CBD)
occurred as a result of industrial relocation to the suburbs. The Minato