The three smartest green cities in Asia.

Private homes with solar panels for power and designs that utilize wind and natural light - Photo: edb.gov.sg

The city with zero energy consumption (Japan), the city without garbage trucks (South Korea), and the billion-dollar smart city (Singapore) are three cities that leverage technology to design the future.

The review was published on the edb.gov.sg website of the Economic Development Board of the Singapore Ministry of Trade and Industry in early April 2018.

Shioashiya - a town with zero energy consumption.

Located in a corner of Ashiya City in Hyogo Prefecture, Japan, Shioashiya is a town designed and developed by PanaHome, a subsidiary of the electronics giant Panasonic.

The town covers an area of ​​120,000 square meters.²Designed to accommodate 9,000 people, the town currently has 400 detached houses and 83 apartment units. Beyond its smart design philosophy, the town planners also aspire to minimize energy consumption and maximize the use of renewable energy.

Each home here is equipped with solar panels on the roof, battery storage, and a home energy management system that allows for the use of clean energy when needed, enables energy sharing with neighbors, and switches off appliances when not in use.

Apartment and office buildings in Shioashiya - Photo: edb.gov.sg

The house's architecture also aims for energy efficiency, with Puretech technology and the Eco-Navi ventilation system keeping the house from overheating in the summer and cool enough in the winter, without requiring excessive energy consumption.

In apartment buildings, solar power systems are installed on the rooftop; fuel tanks are brought directly to the apartments to become the power source, generating electricity from the chemical reaction between hydrogen and oxygen.

Each apartment in Shioashiya can generate approximately 199 MWh of electricity per year – exceeding the consumption needs of properties within the town. The surplus electricity is sold back to the grid, generating an annual profit of approximately $11,700 for the management association, according to a representative from PanaHome.

The house's architecture also aims for energy efficiency, with Puretech technology and the Eco-Navi ventilation system keeping the house from overheating in the summer and cool enough in the winter, without requiring excessive energy consumption.

In apartment buildings, solar power systems are installed on the rooftop; fuel tanks are brought directly to the apartments to become the power source, generating electricity from the chemical reaction between hydrogen and oxygen.

Each apartment in Shioashiya can generate approximately 199 MWh of electricity per year – exceeding the consumption needs of properties within the town. The surplus electricity is sold back to the grid, generating an annual profit of approximately $11,700 for the management association, according to a representative from PanaHome.

Situated between the sea and mountains, Shioashiya enjoys abundant wind and sunlight, which helps cool, ventilate, and illuminate the buildings. - Photo: edb.gov.sg

Songdo - Say No to Garbage Trucks

For most urban dwellers, the unpleasant feeling emanating from garbage trucks is a part of life. However, visitors to Songdo—South Korea's international business district—will quickly realize that there are no garbage trucks on the streets.

Trash bins connected to compressed air transport pipes beneath the city - Photo: edb.gov.sg

The 600-hectare urban area, built on reclaimed land for a private real estate project, features a pneumatic waste collection system. Waste, whether placed in bins at home or on the street, is transported directly through pipes to a sorting and processing facility where it is recycled or incinerated.

Thanks to this waste collection system, Songdo expects to recycle 76% of its waste before 2020. Meanwhile, Seoul recycled about 46% of its waste in 2013, aiming to increase that figure to 66% by 2030.

This is just one of many features in the smart city development plan, which is expected to cost $40 billion. Other features include electric vehicle charging stations, sensor-based traffic control services, and city-wide security monitoring.

Drawing illustrating the underground waste transport system in Songdo - Photo: edb.gov.sg

Although the city is still under construction, it is already habitable. While only 40,000 residents live in Songdo, today there are approximately 2,600 businesses as well as several United Nations agencies. When completed in 2020, the Songdo International Business District is expected to have 65,000 people.

Although the city is still under construction, Songdo already has 40,000 residents, approximately 2,600 businesses, and several United Nations agencies. When completed in 2020, Songdo is expected to have 65,000 inhabitants.

Singapore - A multi-billion dollar smart technology hub.

With the ambition to become a "smart nation," Singapore uses technology to promote sustainable development, boost the economy, create businesses, attract foreign investment, and thereby establish itself as a regional hub for entrepreneurship and innovation in the Asia-Pacific.

To achieve that goal, the country has invited companies from around the world to Singapore, transforming the city into a "living" laboratory for testing and commercializing new technological solutions. Singapore has invested more than $22 billion in research and development in the last 10 years.

The government played a crucial role in the development of JTC LaunchPad @ one-north – a community for startups in the Ayer Rajah neighborhood. Thanks to its "smart nation" vision and the "easy place to do business" branding, the number of newly established startups in Singapore increased from 24,000 to 55,000 between 2005 and 2015.

According to research by Venture Capital Asia, technology companies in Singapore attracted $1.7 billion in venture capital in 2013, outpacing other Asian counterparts including Japan, South Korea, and Hong Kong.