As Woven City gears up for its official launch this fall, the preparations are not focused solely on infrastructure. We spoke with the teams working to recruit and receive residents.
Passing through curtains emblazoned with the words “Weaving the Future,” you find a lawn with cushions, and tables with snacks.
Screens show images of Woven City. The people seated on the grass look relaxed, jotting down notes on the provided materials.
This rather curious scene, somewhere between a conference and a picnic, was actually part of a briefing held in May for prospective residents of Woven City (Susono City, Shizuoka).
Hosted across the road from Woven City at Toyota Motor East Japan’s recently-renamed Fuji Susono Technical Center, the event was organized for Toyota personnel working near the site.
The word “briefing” may conjure up images of a large meeting room with rows of desks—which is exactly how the venue looks on a regular day.
This series has looked at the efforts and vision of those involved in Woven City. For this article, we spoke with Woven by Toyota (WbyT) members hard at work handling various tasks for prospective residents, from applications to moving in or out, which includes these unusual information sessions.
Heart of Woven City
The people who will live in or visit Woven City are known as “Weavers.” When we dropped by in June, preparations were underway to welcome the first resident Weavers at the official launch this fall*.
* Woven City plans to begin accepting Weavers as visitors from the next fiscal year.
Those hoping to move into Woven City need to understand and embrace the purpose and concept of the city as a “living laboratory” that seeks to enhance “well-being for all”. Selection will depend on various factors, including individual preferences as well as the types of rooms WbyT can offer and the trials being conducted.
One of WbyT’s mottos is “Weavers Are the Heart of Woven City.”
Risako Kusu, who has been planning and organizing the Weavers (resident) recruitment website and the recent briefing, explains the mindset behind these words.
Kusu
Even if we have Inventors eager to create things, they cannot achieve this without Weavers—the city can’t exist without Weavers, that’s how important they are. That is the idea we have always tried to convey, from the very start of the application process through to the briefing sessions and beyond.
We’ve been consistent with this messaging since we first put out the call for residents.
While all the talk of a “living laboratory” inevitably turns the spotlight on Inventors and their creations, the city’s uniqueness stems from being able to obtain real feedback from everyday life.
That is why Weavers and Inventors are considered equally essential.
The WbyT team is working to share this message with Toyota staff and their families, as well as members of the general public who will one day call the city home.