Case study

Japan

Kitakyushu and the SDG FutureCity initiative

Background

The city of Kitakyushu, located on Japan’s Kyushu Island, has seen a remarkable transformation. It has evolved from being an industrial town with high levels of air and water pollution in the 1960s (due to iron, steel and chemicals manufacturing) to a model in sustainable urban infrastructure and development,¹ with a strong focus on green growth, renewable energy, waste management and the circular economy.

Kitakyushu is part of Japan’s SDG FutureCity initiative, launched in 2018, which aims to advance a model of urban planning that prioritizes environmental sustainability, disaster preparedness and resilience, and improved quality of life.² The program selects and supports municipalities with the best proposals for creating value for the economy, society and the environment. Kitakyushu, which was also selected by the OECD as the first model city in Asia for urban green growth,³ is a pioneering city in this initiative. It also explicitly incorporates the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and their monitoring into its urban development plans.

Planning for change: achieving sustainable infrastructure through strong coordination

Japan leads all countries in the Infrastructure for Good barometer when it comes to effective governance and implementation of infrastructure. Strong coordination—exemplified in the country’s national infrastructure strategies, project-level needs assessments, and coordination and monitoring systems—are key precursors to realizing infrastructure outcomes that benefit all parts of society. And even though Japan performs less strongly when it comes to social assessments and community engagement, Kitakyushu’s successful use of collaborative planning offers a potential model for other cities to follow even when national policies are lacking.

Kitakyushu’s city-wide urban development initiative provides illustrative examples of this process in action, as it brings together a variety of stakeholders—local, municipal and national governments, private companies, educational and research institutes and civil society—to realize an SDG-based vision for infrastructure. These planning efforts are focused around three pillars of success: the economy, society and the environment.

Figure 1: Kitakyushu’s multi-pronged approach to sustainable urban development

Source: Kitakyushu City SDG Report, 2018

Notable projects and innovative outcomes

Kitakyushu’s FutureCity initiative is cross-sectoral, covering a wide variety of infrastructure projects such as digitalized transport networks, waste-to-energy and recycling projects, automation and robotics in healthcare, offshore wind energy and distributed power sources to enhance resilience, and upgrades for energy sustainability.⁴ Two of Kitakyushu’s many initiatives that stand out include:

Kitakyushu Eco-Town

Kitakyushu’s Eco-Town is Japan’s first—and largest—recycling infrastructure base and is the center of all activity related to Kitakyushu’s circular economy. Built on reclaimed land, it represents the culmination of long-term plans to integrate environmental sustainability with the city’s existing industrial expertise, creating new opportunities to reuse recycled materials in a wide variety of manufacturing processes.^{5, 6, 7} Eco-Town also contributes to the city’s education infrastructure as a knowledge and innovation center. It is home to several educational institutions specializing in technological and practical research related to recycling and waste management.⁸

Eco-Town was pioneered by a multi-stakeholder planning group called the Kitakyushu City Environment-related Industry Committee, which brought together public, private and academic experts to formulate strategies to transform the previously polluted region into a modern hub for the green economy.⁹ This cooperative process was key to the success, allowing incumbent insiders with new ideas to come together and generate pressure for change, supported by an open consultation process to gather public opinion. Over time, the collaborative networks and individual expertise developed at Eco-Town have influenced subsequent projects such as Environmental Model City and Smart Community projects.¹⁰

Transport management

Another of Kitakyushu’s major infrastructure initiatives is to upgrade its public transit systems, making them more digitally integrated, inclusive and environmentally friendly. Using innovative technologies such as artificial intelligence and the Internet of Things is a key part of this plan.¹¹ For example, the city is developing a “community-based bus network”, which will provide services that respond to local conditions. These could reflect, for instance, real-time demand and traffic conditions.^{12, 13}

Optimizing transport networks is not just an economic need, but it represents a pressing social issue for Kitakyushu and Japan as a whole—particularly in light of demographic shifts and sustainability goals. Ensuring that public transit systems are responsive to the needs of an aging population will help the city better promote healthy lifestyles and mobility. Similarly, prioritizing more efficient routes and use of electric buses will be a key factor in reducing CO2 emissions.^{14, 15, 16}

After successful implementation of the digitally integrated trial system in Kitakyushu, it is set to be expanded to bus systems nationwide.¹⁷

Financing the city’s sustainable infrastructure

A variety of funds and bonds serve as key enablers of Kitakyushu’s push to achieve positive infrastructure outcomes.

Many of Kitakyushu’s sustainable development initiatives are financed by Japan’s national government. However, a sustainability bond framework is also in place to fund many of the city’s sustainable projects. The capital raised from the issuance of these “FutureBonds” will be used for various purposes in keeping with the city’s SDG vision. The local government issued the first sustainability bond in October 2021, with the funds raised to be used for SDG-related projects that “will lead to effective improvements in the environment and solutions to social issues”.¹⁸

The Kitakyushu SDGs FutureFund, which was set up in April 2021 with resources from the consolidation of five existing funds and local tax collection, is aimed at promoting urban greening and zero-carbon activities, providing support for SMEs and promoting community welfare, including support for childcare and greater female engagement in society.¹⁹

Integrated planning, shared responsibilities and awareness

Kitakyushu offers a unique case study in that government ministries and bodies at all different levels are working toward the goal of building infrastructure that can help meet the SDG goals. The institutional framework and strong support provided by the national government allow the city’s government to localize SDG attainment efforts.²⁰ Over the past several years, these initiatives have stood out for their strong degree of both public and private collaboration, including the national and local government, private companies, educational and research institutes, and civil society.

To realize its development goals, the city government has set up a group of institutions to guide the implementation of the overall initiative. For example, in 2018 it launched an SDGs public-private partnership platform, chaired by the mayor of Kitakyushu. This brings together stakeholders from the private sector and local governments to discuss projects and proposals to achieve the SDG goals.²¹ It has also established the SDGs Future City Promotion Headquarters (an interdepartmental group, headed by the mayor) and Kitakyushu City SDGs Council (an advisory expert group).²² Meanwhile, the Kitakyushu SDGs Club provides a platform for companies, individuals and other stakeholders to discuss the UN’s Agenda 2030 and other sustainability-related development needs.²³ The club, which counts 19 financial institutions among its members, provides consulting services related to the SDGs to other companies.²⁴

Key learnings

As more and more cities are faced with urbanization-related challenges, Kitakyushu’s SDG FutureCity initiative offers an innovative example of how development priorities can go hand-in-hand with favorable environmental and social outcomes. Aligning these aspirations is the north star for all infrastructure development in Kitakyushu.

One key lesson for other cities looking to implement SDG goals and action plans is Kitakyushu’s development of a multi-layered progress management system, where actions and outcomes are monitored through specific key performance indicators across six SDGs, determined as part of the SDG FutureCity plan. Kitakyushu is also partnering with the OECD to develop similar SDG indicators and evaluations for both the city and regional level.²⁵

The city’s success thus far provides a blueprint for other urban development initiatives by highlighting how detailed planning and collaboration can result in an integrated approach to infrastructure and social progress. In particular, it provides key lessons around localizing efforts toward the SDGs in a defined and coordinated way, suggesting that cities can play a role at the forefront of sustainable development priorities. Importantly, the overarching initiative also provides a template for other countries to follow, which can be expanded from city to city, with successful elements being adopted from each.