Building smart cities
Sustainable development of Semboku New Town
A representative example of community development through collaborative creation is our initiative in Semboku New Town*.
Located in Sakai City, for which we have been promoting a development plan for since 2014, Izumigaoka Station is the main station in Semboku New Town. We are promoting the Izumigaoka Station-Front Vitalization Project and Semboku New Town Smart City Strategy to take advantage of the opportunities created by the relocation of Kindai University’s Faculty of Medicine and Kindai University Hospital to Izumigaoka and the influx of new residents due to the UR redevelopment projects (public housing condominiums) and other rental accommodation in neighboring areas. We will develop a sustainable and attractive town as a pilot model for the new town regeneration project.
* Semboku New Town is one of the largest new towns in Kansai, which once boasted a population of 165,000 in 1992. More than 50 years after its establishment, the population had dropped to 116,000 in 2021. By 2030, it is expected to drop further to less than 100,000, so the declining and aging population is a serious social issue. In response, we are working with stakeholders to promote activities that bring out the area’s appeal and vitality.
SENBOKU Smart City Consortium
Based on the principles of the SENBOKU New Design and the Sakai Smart City Strategy, the SENBOKU Smart City Consortium was established in June 2022 by Sakai City, Osaka Gas, Nippon Telegraph and Telephone West Corporation, and our company. Currently, more than 140 organizations, including companies and universities, have joined the consortium, accelerating efforts through equal partnership between public and private sectors.
In FY2022, 11 projects were implemented in five working groups (Mobility, Energy, Healthcare, Smart Town, and Data Linkage), and the Nankai Group tested the AI-based NANKAI On-demand Bus service and the Health-Smart Semboku healthcare app.
As a member of the steering committee, we will work with members to establish the new services in the community through planning and coordination of demonstration projects and other activities.
Testing (1)Conducting NANKAI On-demand bus demonstration project*
– Initiatives of the mobility working group –
Our company and Nankai Bus Co., Ltd., together with Sakai City, ran an AI-driven on-demand bus demonstration project in selected areas of the Semboku New Town area and at three stations, including Senkaoka Station on the Semboku Rapid Railway, in FY2022. The purpose was to encourage residents to go out and about, improve the convenience of transportation to destinations, and create a new way to get around the area. We have been running the same project since October, in a wider area and for a longer period of time in FY2023.
* This test project was selected as a model project for AI-driven on-demand transportation in Osaka Prefecture in FY2022 and FY2023, and is being implemented using the subsidy.
Testing (2) Testing of the “Health-Smart Semboku” app
– Initiatives of healthcare working groups –
“Health-Smart Semboku” is a smartphone app that promotes prevention of lifestyle-related diseases and behavioral changes by creating exercise and measurement routines for seniors. Since FY2022, we have been testing targeted residents and visitors in the Semboku New Town area. In April 2023, we launched a service to exchange reward points accumulated by walking with digital transportation tickets between each of the stations on the Semboku Rapid Railway line. We are currently working to expand the app’s content.
Stakeholder’s message
Osaka Gas Co., Ltd.
Mr. Shigeru Chikamoto
More than 50 years have passed since Semboku New Town first opened to the public, and the community is facing such issues as declining population and birthrate, and aging population and infrastructure. A new public-private collaborative initiative, the SENBOKU Smart City Consortium, has been launched with the aim of recreating a city capable of developing sustainably by solving the above issues, increasing the value of the community, and passing it on to the next generation.
We are promoting smart city projects with various member companies of the consortium in energy-related fields. We believe that collaboration with Nankai Electric Railway, which unites the mobility, healthcare, and smart town fields, is particularly important to promote decarbonization and resilience, as well as to improve the residents’ QOL*.
We will continue to strengthen collaboration with Nankai Electric Railway to bring about the smart city, with them continuing to take initiative as a business that has roots in our community.
* Short for “Quality of Life.” Refers to each individual’s “quality of life” based on its content, quality, and social standards.
Sustainability Site Map
(materiality)
- Major sustainability themes (materiality)
- Identification processes
- Further seek safety, security, and satisfaction
- Thriving and friendly community development
- Create a future full of dreams
- Achieve an enriched life
- Develop a workplace and staff in a way that enables each person to put their abilities to use
-
Contribute to preserving the global environment
- Environmental philosophy
- Reducing CO2 emissions in response to climate change, promoting the use of renewable energy, and so forth
- Bringing about a circular society
- Preserving biodiversity
- Deepening our environmental management
- Expanding environmental buildings (green buildings)
- Responses to TCFD Recommendations
- Bolster a corporate foundation that is sincere and fair
