On Sept. 16, Fukuoka City and Kyushu University announced plans to turn the site of the Hakozaki Campus in Higashi Ward into an cutting edge IT-driven Smart City. Dubbed Fukuoka Smart City East, the site would serve to promote technological research and partnerships with private companies in tandem with similar initiatives in Island City, also located in Higashi Ward. For starters, the City will invite guests, including a professor from the Harvard Graduate School of Design, to participate in a panel discussion on the future of Fukuoka’s urban design this November. After that, the City and Kyushu University will team up with their corporate partners to try to bring to fruition the proposals and ideas raised at the panel discussion. The City and Kyushu University have already reached a general agreement on the usage of the Hakozaki site once it is vacant, and City Hall will begin soliciting bids for construction and facility management in or after next fiscal year. Source: Nikkei homepage
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