On October 9-10, a delegation of urban planners from the Tokyo Metropolitan Government visited Tallinn to explore the city's innovative development projects. Tokyo has made it a priority to increase the amount of green spaces and green corridors in its urban planning, and projects like Tallinn's Pollinator Highway and Digital Twin (Digikaksik) attracted particular interest.

According to Raido Roop, Director of Strategy for Tallinn, the Japanese delegation was most intrigued by Tallinn’s experience in preserving and restoring urban nature. “Tokyo is a densely populated city, and smart solutions like linear parks are needed to restore urban nature. Japan has previously drawn from Estonia’s experience with e-government, such as adopting ID cards based on Estonia’s model. The development of e-services and innovative approaches to the Digital Twin were also key areas of interest for them,” Roop said.

Toshiya Komatsu, Deputy Director of Tokyo's City Planning Department, noted that Tallinn’s experience demonstrates the importance of close collaboration between the public sector, private companies, and citizens in successfully implementing public projects. “We realized that involving residents in projects and encouraging their active participation greatly contributes to improving urban development and the quality of the living environment. We also saw how Tallinn’s flexible approach to testing innovative projects in public spaces is contributing to making the city where innovation grows,” said Komatsu.

The visit began with a welcome from Tallinn’s Deputy Mayor responsible for urban planning, Madle Lippus. The delegation was then introduced to the city’s biodiversity-supporting green corridor, the Pollinator Highway, and the Digital Twin project, which aims to create a virtual model of the city to improve urban planning and management.

Other topics discussed included the GoGreen Routes project, which integrates nature and urban environments through innovative solutions, as well as the Test in Tallinn initiative and the Sustainability Governance Hub platform, both of which focus on testing innovative solutions and leading the green transition.

The Tokyo delegation also visited Helsinki, Stockholm, and Copenhagen on their tour to gather knowledge on integrating green spaces and smart city solutions into urban planning.

In the photo (from left): Kazunori Sonoda, Yahiro Kotanda, Madle Lippus, Toshiya Komatsu, and Yukino Edamatsu. Photo: Tallinn Strategic Management Office.