Sidewalk Labs responded to an open call for a proposal for the redevelopment of Quayside, brownfield land around Toronto’s old port. This call was issued by Waterfront Toronto – a public controlled urban development agency that aspires “to explore new ideas, new innovations, new partnerships that if successful could apply to the rest of Toronto, other cities in Canada and potentially across the planet.”
Sidewalk Labs won the competition with a tempting and well-illustrated 220-page document. The company promised “(to) combine forward-thinking urban design and new digital technology to create people-centred neighbourhoods that achieve precedent-setting levels of sustainability, affordability, mobility, and economic opportunity,”
A few weeks ago, Friday, Oktober 17th, the plan has been presented. The presence of the prime minister, Justin Trudeau underlines the interest of Canada in innovation in architecture, construction and urban design. In his words :”Sidewalk Toronto will transform Quayside into a thriving hub for innovation and a community for tens of thousands of people to live, work, and play.” Eric Schmidt (CEO Alphabet) said “The reality is, you can produce all these documents, but you need an actual city.” He added: This plan “is the culmination, from our side, of almost 10 years of thinking about how technology can improve people’s lives.”
FULL STORY |Source: Google’s Sidewalk Labs takes the lead in ‘smart city’ development in Toronto – Smart City Hub
