Google's sister firm Sidewalk Labs has scrapped a plan to build a smart city in Canada, citing complications caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.
For several years it had pursued ambitions to build a digital-first city in Toronto "from the internet up".
Chief executive Dan Doctoroff blamed "unprecedented economic uncertainty" for abandoning the plan.
Weiterlesen: CA: Ontario: Coronavirus: Google ends plans for smart city in Toronto
Google affiliate Sidewalk Labs is walking away from building a smart-city development in Toronto after two and a half years of controversy over its origins, overreach, and privacy and financial implications.
The Alphabet Inc. subsidiary won the right to plan a community called Quayside on the downtown Toronto lakeshore in 2017, hoping to build a 12-acre neighbourhood “from the internet up.” In partnership with the tripartite government agency Waterfront Toronto, the New York urban-planning firm imagined a place filled with new technologies such as heated sidewalks, robotic garbage systems, and, crucially, sensors to learn about how people move about cities in ways that could inspire even more innovations.
Weiterlesen: CA: Ontario: Google affiliate Sidewalk Labs abandons Toronto smart-city project
Some City of Kingston snowplows can now be tracked online, thanks to a nine-month Smart City pilot with Bell.
Residents can visit CityofKingston.ca/Snow and see the tracker offering data of when the last time roads were snowplowed. The “last plow completed” data notes a range from “less than 4 hours ago” to “16 to 24 hours ago”, shown in different colours on a Google Map.
Weiterlesen: Kingston Snowplow Tracker Now Online, Part of Smart City Pilot with Bell
Global initiatives deploy technology to improve quality of life in urban centres
When nudged about the possibility of Sidewalk Labs striking up an initiative in Vancouver, the response from one representative of the Google sister company was rather coy.
Sidewalk Labs, an Alphabet Inc. (Nasdaq:GOOGL) subsidiary specializing in using innovation to address urban issues ranging from transportation to energy consumption, is best known for its smart-city ambitions along Toronto’s waterfront.
Weiterlesen: CA: Vancouver: Sector leaders tout smart cities as wise investment
Cities around the world have been paying very close attention to Sidewalk Labs’ efforts to win approval for a smart-city development in Canada’s largest city.
After months of negotiations with the tri-government agency responsible for the Toronto project, and an initial plan that was met with significant pushback on issues around real estate, intellectual property, data privacy and community engagement, the Google sister company has produced a new, more limited proposal that addresses Torontonians’ major qualms about the Quayside project.
Weiterlesen: CA: Ontario: Three Lessons From Toronto's Smart-City Negotiations