Toyota's ambitious Woven City project in Japan is finally ready to welcome its first residents. The Japanese auto giant announced at CES this week that it has completed "phase 1" of the construction, with around 100 Toyota employees set to move in this summer. The $10 billion project, dubbed a "living laboratory," aims to bring together people, innovation, and technology to test and develop futuristic projects.

The Woven City project was first unveiled at CES in 2021, with Toyota envisioning a "prototype city of the future" where it could test autonomous vehicles, innovative street design, smart home technology, robotics, and new mobility products on a population of real people who would live there full-time. The project is being built on the site of a former car factory in Japan, with buildings designed by renowned Danish architect Bjarke Ingels.

Toyota has dubbed the first residents "Weavers," describing them as people who "share a passion for the 'expansion of mobility' and a commitment to building a more flourishing society." These initial residents will be employees of Toyota or its subsidiary, Woven by Toyota, and will participate in co-creation activities to contribute to the city's development. The community will gradually expand to include "external inventors and their families" who will be invited to relocate to the new city.

The first phase of the city will eventually house 360 residents, with the goal of accommodating up to 2,000 people year-round. The site will be powered by Toyota's hydrogen fuel cell technology, and the company plans to invite the general public to visit in 2026. The city's design features three types of streets or pathways, each catering to specific types of users, including faster vehicles, lower-speed personal mobility vehicles, and pedestrians.

Toyota's vision for Woven City is ambitious, with ideas ranging from high-powered motorized wheelchairs for people with disabilities to personal drones for added security during jogging. The company has also partnered with startups, including a vending machine company and a startup exploring "the potential value of coffee through futuristic cafe experiences."

While Toyota's project is unprecedented in its scale and scope, it raises questions about the company's plans for the future of mobility. As one of the largest producers of automobiles in the world, Toyota has been criticized for being slow to adopt electric vehicles. The company has only one fully electric car in the US, the BZ4X, although it has announced plans for a three-row SUV.

Woven City also raises concerns about surveillance and data collection, similar to those faced by Google's Sidewalk Labs project in Toronto. Toyota hopes to alleviate these concerns by emphasizing the enhanced quality of life for Woven City's residents, which has earned the project Japan's first "LEED for Communities Platinum certification."

As Toyota prepares to welcome its first residents to Woven City, the project marks a significant milestone in the company's vision for a futuristic, innovative community. Whether it will succeed in its ambitious goals remains to be seen, but one thing is clear – Woven City is a bold experiment that could have far-reaching implications for the future of mobility and urban living.