Speaker: Yoshihide Sekimoto, University of Tokyo

Abstract: Recently, the term "smart city" has gained widespread popularity as a concept that represents futuristic cities utilizing cutting-edge information technology. Examples of such cities include autonomous driving cities with zero accidents or cashless cities equipped with numerous surveillance cameras. However, it is important to acknowledge that the majority of cities worldwide are not large or extraordinary, and their focus should be on sustainability for the benefit of their citizens. In this regard, fostering collaboration between citizens and local governments, utilizing self-controlled data that is not exclusively governed by a single stakeholder, such as a large corporation, becomes crucial. To address this need, the introduction of the "People Flow Project" and the "Geospatial Information Center" is proposed as research initiatives based on data governance. Furthermore, the "My City X" project is aimed at providing citizens with collaborative urban planning tools, including the "My City Forecast" for predicting city developments, and the "My City Report" for monitoring civil infrastructure. These tools will leverage a city dashboard, various types of open data, and machine learning techniques to facilitate effective urban management.

Speaker Bio: Dr. Yoshihide Sekimoto directs the Human-Centered Urban Informatics Laboratory, established in April 2013, which is part of the Institute of Industrial Science (IIS) at the University of Tokyo. He is currently the Director of the Center for Spatial Information Science (CSIS) at the University of Tokyo. He received his Ph.D. in civil engineering from The University of Tokyo in 2002. He had previously worked at the National Institute for Land, Infrastructure and Management from 2002-2007 and the Center for Spatial Information Science at the University of Tokyo from 2007-2013.