English日本語 • 
login

Democratizing Urban Development: The Potential of The Urban Digital Twin Platform "Machi Space®"
.ical
2026-09-03 –, Conference Management Room5

"Machi-Space" empowers diverse stakeholders to perform environmental simulations and share data effortlessly, lowering barriers to participation in urban development and providing a collaborative platform for evidence-based decision-making.

To democratize urban development, it is essential for citizens to engage with a sense of ownership rather than deferring solely to expert judgment.
We developed "Machi-Space", a digital twin platform as a cloud-based service designed to enable non-experts to conduct environmental numerical simulations and effortlessly share the results among stakeholders.
By leveraging Project PLATEAU's 3D city models, this platform ensures high data reliability and accuracy. With features such as the integration of IFC files for planned buildings, “Machi-Space” is expected to play an increasingly vital role in urban planning workflows. Consequently, the user base continues to grow.

Level of technical complexity: 1 - beginner Give indication of resources (video, web pages, papers, etc.) to read in advance, that will help get up to speed on advanced topics.:
  1. PLATEAU Official Website & Documentation
    Project PLATEAU provides the 3D city models of Japan.
    https://www.mlit.go.jp/plateau/
  2. "Machi-Space" Concept & Showcase (YouTube Video)
    Note: The video is in Japanese, but provides a visual overview of the tool's interface and simulation results
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ucrayveoAM
Indicate what is (are) the open source project(s) essential in your talk:

1.Re:earth
2.OpenFOAM

I make my conference contribution available under the CC BY 4.0 license. The conference contribution comprises the abstract, the text contribution for the conference proceedings, the presentation materials as well as the video recording and live transmission of the presentation:
The speaker’s profile picture
Hirofumi Hayashi

Hirofumi Hayashi is a GIS developer with over 35 years of experience.
As a founding member and former Vice Chair of OSGeo Japan, he has been instrumental in promoting open-source GIS technologies both in Japan and internationally. He played a pivotal role in the localization of OSGeo4W and authored some of the earliest guides on WebGIS construction.
Currently, he focuses on developing geospatial information systems for the railway industry and educational applications for disaster information. He also serves as a member of the FOSS4G-ASIA Organizing Committee.
His influential contributions have been recognized with the Good Design Award (2024).

This speaker also appears in:
The speaker’s profile picture
Kunihiko Hirosawa

Kunihiko Hirosawa is an environmental engineer with over 25 years of experience.
As a Professional Engineer, Japan (Environmental Conservation Planning), he has long-standing experience in environmental surveys, predictive evaluations, and conservation measures. His expertise focuses on the living environment including air quality, noise, and other factors affecting human well-being.
Recently, he has been focusing on the integration of GIS and environmental numerical simulations, aiming for the democratization of urban development.
Additionally, "Machi-Space," which will be featured in his presentation, received an Encouragement Award at the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism's PLATEAU AWARD 2025.