The "Shibuya Data Consortium" is composed of experts and member companies to build a foundation for creating solutions for social issues by multiplying industry-government-academia-private data. We invited Seiichi Saito (President of Panoramatics), who is also a Future Designer of Future Design Shibuya, who was appointed as an advisor to the organization, and talked about the data utilization in Shibuya and the vision that we would like to realize through the activities of the consortium. ..
Utilizing city data to the phase of concrete action
——As an advisor to the newly appointed Shibuya Data Consortium, what are your expectations for the consortium in the future?
When it comes to utilizing urban data, I think that until now, as the PoC phase, there were many perspectives on how much data could be collected and how open it could be, but we have to work on it from now on. I think the point is how to utilize the data and what actions can be taken.
Within the framework of the Shibuya Data Consortium, there are examples that can be seen nationwide by promoting data utilization in collaboration with the government, the private sector, and Future Design Shibuya (FDS), which is in between. I think I can do it. It is rare for a city like Shibuya to have such a high resolution, and now that the city is changing rapidly due to redevelopment, I am very interested in how data can be used in an action manner. there is.
FDS is taking so many actions, isn't it? It is a great motivation for me to collect data firmly, mine it, analyze it, and take action while connecting the government and the private sector.
It is difficult to create the "back" of the city in virtual space
Personally, I think very much these days that "everything doesn't have to be converted to DX." I think we should promote the part that uses the power of data to strengthen it, such as the safety of the city, and conversely, we need to select and concentrate on the parts that are not. I'm doing it.
For example, for events and shopping where people gather, I think it's okay to have a hybrid that does not only do virtual things, but also virtual things based on real things. One of the reasons is the importance of the experience in the city.
If there is a person who shop at a store in Shibuya, the latter motive is to think "Do you want to buy things from the store in Shibuya" or "Do you want to come to Shibuya and buy things?" I think that is strong. It can be said that the city of Shibuya is making people buy things, so I think it's better to shake the parts related to the experience in such a city more and more realistically instead of virtual.
——There are also things that can only be achieved in real life.
Of course I don't think everything should be real. I think it is important to change the ratio of real and virtual according to various situations including the epidemic of corona.
However, I feel that the appearance of a real city can only be realized in a real way. No matter how much a digital building is built with a digital twin, it is virtual and different from real. I think that the appearance of the city should be left as a real thing.
——In the early days of Korona-ka, I think it was a kind of hope that various things would be replaced by digital ones. However, after a certain amount of time, on the contrary, I feel that the original real things are becoming more precious.
There was a "margin" in the real and old cityscape of Shibuya. There are front and back sides in the city, and various things are born from the back side. When it comes to white or black, the gray part creates something interesting or a chemical reaction. However, in that respect, I think that digital is not good at creating "margins".
——It may not be possible to create a “back” in the digital city ...
Now, I think that we are heading in the direction of disappearing the "margins" and "back" of the city, both real and virtual. Even in a real city, what used to be "back" is becoming more and more "front". Of course, it certainly has merits, such as disaster prevention, but I thought that everything should be the same. Therefore, I feel that it is necessary to be aware of the areas of strength of each of digital and real.
High resolution, matching puzzles for problem solving
——What kind of data do you think would be an interesting initiative in Shibuya?
One of the strong points of digital is that you can see things that could only be regarded as "groups" such as "ward residents", "city residents", and "nations" at higher resolutions. You can get data that shows what kind of characteristics each person has, what kind of interests they have, what kind of life they have, and what kind of problems and problems they have. Therefore, I think that it is possible to create a high-resolution town that collects the voices of various people using digital technology in Shibuya.
Recently, I've been thinking a lot about puzzles that use data to multiply what's left over and what's missing. For example, as is often the case around my work, if you combine "people who have no place but have content" and "people who have place but no content", they can win-win each other. right. I think it would be great if we could do that kind of thing in Shibuya, like Domino, on an individual or corporate basis. I would like to use the data to match puzzles that did not fit until now.
——There are many different people in Shibuya, that is, because it is a city with high resolution, there are many ways to match puzzles.
that's right. A long time ago, there was a section like "Sell / Buy / Give" on the bulletin board in the supermarket. At that time, the phone number of the recruiter was usually listed, and it was like "I will give you an unnecessary bicycle." People who needed it would call and go to pick it up. For example, if it's not a bicycle and it's less valuable in the market, even one in 1,000 people may find it worthwhile. It would be nice to be able to connect such places using digital.
——I can't find one in 1,000 people on the bulletin board at the supermarket, but if it were digital ...
The denominator will be very large.
I hope that the Shibuya Data Consortium will be able to create innovation by connecting voices with such ideas.
Town development gives back to Shibuya
——Finally, what is your impression of the efforts you have made at FDS as a Future Designer?
What impressed me was the utilization of public space on "Shibuya River Street" along the Shibuya River. It was a project titled "WORK PARK PACK" with a container that sends various contents. It is impressive that Shibuya Ward, Tokyo, and partly the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism have made administrative adjustments so that the space can be used effectively.
I think FDS is an organization that can speak various languages. You can talk to the government and the private sector, and you can talk to younger children and more seniors. I think that's the good thing about FDS, and I also find that Future Designers have different fields of activity, different interests and different issues. I think it's really big.
I think that other local governments should also have a place like Dejima, which is an affiliated organization of the government like FDS. It is possible to give up from the beginning if it is only a private company, for example, "You can not use Shibuya River" by talking with the government together with an organization like FDS. I can see the sex. Once that project has become a reality and can be implemented once, it will be easier to do the same thing after that.
I think it is the role of Future Designer to doubt the conventional wisdom and try to turn it over, and from the perspective, I think that they are also extremely annoying people (laughs). But as I got older, I was taken care of in the city of Shibuya when I was young, and I was crazy about it, and I felt like returning to the city for some reason. I hope that you will continue to be involved in more and more and contribute more.
