1 city + 1 tech company = Sidewalk Labs... Toronto solicited proposals from private companies to redevelop an empty waterfront neighborhood. Sidewalk Labs won. It's a sister company of Google, a subsidiary of Alphabet, and just unveiled a 1,500-page, multi-volume smart city plan. If Toronto approves, then one corner of the city gets elegantly coded.
DWI = Driving While Incognito mode... This neighborhood ("super-hood?") will be built from scratch with every detail optimized for internet-connectedness. Here are a few of them:
- Smarts: The sidewalks would expand into a lane of traffic before/after rush hour.
- Reimagined: Nobody likes loud trucks, so freight delivery would happen underground.
- Random: This "giant raincoat" is supposed to protect buildings from snow (it's basically just a big awning).
- Earth-loving: Everything would be built with "mass timber," which is apparently better for the world than steel and concrete (and more hygge).
- Money: Sidewalk Labs would invest $1B in housing (20% "affordable", 20% "middle class", and 60% probably very expensive), office space, retail stores, and community centers like parks.
It's not trying to take your data... Sidewalk's PR got out ahead of privacy concerns: "Sidewalk Labs does not share urban data, user data, or personal data with Google." Instead, Sidewalk will make money on rent in Toronto. And if other cities buy Sidewalk's plan, it'll charge for its smart-city tricks learned in Toronto. Picture real estate development meets tech.
- WeWork has perfected how to build modern offices.
- Sidewalk Labs is perfecting how to build modern neighborhoods.