Toyota’s ambitious Woven City project, located at the base of Mount Fuji in Japan, is on track to welcome its first residents in the summer of 2025. The company has announced that around 100 employees, known as ‘Weavers’, will move into the city, marking the beginning of the $10 billion initiative to create a living laboratory for future technologies.
Unveiled at CES in 2021, Woven City is designed as a prototype city where cutting-edge technologies, including autonomous vehicles, robotics, smart homes, and new mobility products, can be tested in a real-world setting. Toyota Chairman Akio Toyoda described the city as “a place where people can invent and develop all kinds of new products and ideas,” with residents participating in the testing of these innovations.
The first phase of construction has been completed, and the city is expected to host 360 residents initially. The first group will consist of Toyota employees or those from its subsidiary, Woven by Toyota. The community will eventually expand to include external inventors and their families.
The name ‘Woven City’ refers to the design of its streets, which are divided into three different pathways: one for fast vehicles, one for personal mobility and pedestrians, and a park-like promenade exclusively for pedestrians. This innovative street design aims to facilitate safe and efficient transportation for all users.
In addition to its focus on transportation, Woven City will incorporate sustainability features, such as hydrogen-powered utilities. The site is being designed by renowned Danish architect Bjarke Ingels and has already earned Japan’s first “LEED for Communities Platinum certification.”
The project’s first ‘Weavers’ include individuals from various sectors, including a vending machine company and a startup exploring futuristic cafe experiences. Toyoda also mentioned potential projects, such as high-powered motorized wheelchairs for people with disabilities and personal drones for added security.
Though Woven City aims to provide a unique testing ground for future innovations, Toyota’s venture could raise concerns similar to those faced by Google’s now-defunct Sidewalk Labs project, particularly regarding data privacy and surveillance. Nonetheless, Toyota is focused on enhancing residents’ quality of life, with the city promising an advanced, sustainable, and technologically integrated living environment.
The city is expected to gradually expand over the coming years, with the goal of eventually housing up to 2,000 people. Toyota plans to open the site to the public in 2026.
