Toronto Sidewalk Toronto at Quayside | ?m | ?s | Sidewalk | Snøhetta

Status
Not open for further replies.
Lenser said:
Probably quite a few. But at least for the time being the scope of their potentially dystopian techno-gulag has been curtailed. The property taxation element is particularly noteworthy; they really did want an awful lot of power over the project.

I believe that, in time, Sidewalk/Alphabet will simply move on to other jurisdictions elsewhere in the world that are more willing to give up control in exchange for the hopeful realization of Sidewalk's all-too shiny visions.
Click to expand...

I think they'll have an easier time in developing countries, sadly. Once you tell the local government they won't have to spend a dime for Western-style development and infrastructure, they'll be all over it.
 
junctionist said:
I think they'll have an easier time in developing countries, sadly. Once you tell the local government they won't have to spend a dime for Western-style development and infrastructure, they'll be all over it.
Click to expand...
Heck, the citizens themselves would probably climb over one another trying to get into a branded space perceived as 'prestigious, safe and modern', like Alphaville in Brazil.

That being said, I feel that Sidewalk wants to test things out in a major Western city first, as I feel that it's still a North American-oriented company for now.
 
Sidewalk Labs, Waterfront Toronto reach deal to go forward on Quayside project

From link.

Sidewalk Labs and Waterfront Toronto have reached an agreement to continue on with the high-tech Quayside project on the eastern waterfront.

The agreement, reached Thursday morning after Waterfront Toronto’s board officially okayed it, will see significant “realignments” of proposals Sidewalk Labs put forward in its master plan proposal in June.

The agreement basically sees Waterfront Toronto wresting control of the project from Sidewalk Labs in several key areas.

Among them:
  • The scope of the project will be confined to the 12-acre “beta site” near Queens Quay East and Parliament — not the larger IDEA District concept Sidewalk Labs proposed which envisioned the Google sister firm expanding its project into the Port Lands.
  • Sidewalk Labs sought to be the lead developer of the mixed-use project at Quayside. Waterfront Toronto says should the master plan go forward, Waterfront Toronto will lead a public procurement process for a developer to partner with Sidewalk Labs.
  • Sidewalk Labs proposed designing and implementing of infrastructure. Under the new agreement Waterfront Toronto will lead “planning, design and delivery of traditional municipal infrastructure, including parks, promenades, streets and sidewalks, water and sewer (mains).”
  • Sidewalk Labs said it could not see its high-tech district — which will draw thousands of new residents and employees if it gets the go-ahead — being built without a new Light Rail Transit Line being built. But Waterfront Toronto says it does not have the jurisdiction over the approval of capital funding for public transit
  • Sidewalk Labs proposed a “patent pledge” that it would not assert its digital innovation hardware or software patents issued in Canada only. The company also proposed that the public sector get 10 per cent of profits from “test-bed enabled technology for 10 years.

But under the new terms Sidewalk has agreed to a global patent pledge for Canadian innovators to use “all of Sidewalk Labs Canadian and foreign patents covering hardware and software digital innovations.

Toronto Mayor John Tory welcomed the announcement, saying “I believe this process has led to an exciting proposal for Quayside that has the potential to create new jobs and economic development opportunities, a carbon-neutral neighbourhood, and more affordable housing units. It is a real opportunity for Toronto.”

The agreement means the evaluation of Sidewalk Labs’ project continues until, with a deadline to approve the project moving to March 31, 2020.
Click to expand...
 
Last edited:
Neil said:
Well to tell you the truth, in all this excitement, i kind of lost track myself.
Click to expand...
I think that was always the point. Lessons of the Trump administration learned well by these tech giants. Mesmerize the population with pretty Danish renderings, push forward with big data collection and elimination of privacy in the background.

I am glad that Waterfront Toronto was able to reign them in to whatever extent they could. Kudos to them, they responded and got local experts on the subject of big data and smart cities to sit in their panels and ask the right questions.
 
WislaHD said:
I think that was always the point. Lessons of the Trump administration learned well by these tech giants. Mesmerize the population with pretty Danish renderings, push forward with big data collection and elimination of privacy in the background.

I am glad that Waterfront Toronto was able to reign them in to whatever extent they could. Kudos to them, they responded and got local experts on the subject of big data and smart cities to sit in their panels and ask the right questions.
Click to expand...
Actually, I just felt like dropping a quote from Dirty Harry with the more famous following one being inferred, but point taken.
 
Last edited:
"Leaked document reveals that Sidewalk Labs' Toronto plans for private taxation, private roads, charter schools, corporate cops and judges, and punishment for people who choose privacy"

boingboing.net

Leaked document reveals that Sidewalk Labs' Toronto plans for private taxation, private roads, charter schools, corporate cops and judges, and punishment for people who choose privacy | Boing Boing

Tomorrow, Toronto’s City Council will hold a key vote on Sidewalk Labs’s plan to privatize much of the city’s lakeshore in the name of creating a “smart city” owned by…
boingboing.net boingboing.net
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Back
Top