The Risks of Becoming a Google City - Toronto's Waterfront






This article The Risks of Becoming a Google City looks at the emergence of Toronto as a global tech hub, as part of it's Waterfront will now be home to the development initiative of Google’s sister company – Sidewalk Labs, an urban innovation firm. Sidewalk labs won the bid to become an “innovation and funding partner” for a new innovative space at a former industrial site on Toronto’s Waterfront.

There is a lot of controversy surrounding the development of this land to home Sidewalk Labs, largely in regard to data collection and privacy, and their plans exceed what they have been given allowance for by the city. The deal (between the City of Toronto and Sidewalk Labs) is still being negotiated, but many fear that if goes through in the favour of Sidewalk Labs, there could be severe consequences for the City of Toronto and its extremely valuable waterfront, as well as citizens of Toronto.

Take a look at this video and let me know your thoughts about Sidewalk Lab’s and how this could change Toronto.


Ultimately, Sidewalk Labs plans to use this land to “build the first truly 21st-century city, developing and piloting revolutionary technologies for urban living.” In other words, they are planning to develop a Smart City. They expect that this new technological neighbourhood will foster high levels of innovation and connectivity, potentially growing Toronto’s tech industry and changing Toronto’s environment to one that can be improved by technology.

Throughout this course we have talked a lot about how technology has become the centre of many industries, and how tech hubs are becoming the place to find greater levels of innovation and connectivity. How would this type of neighbourhood change our understanding of Toronto's tech industry ecosystem? Draw on what we have discussed in class to express your thoughts on this development of a technological neighbourhood.

Here are some questions to get you thinking:
- What risks or benefits do you think would come with Big Tech leading the development of an innovative neighbourhood?
- Should a Smart City really be main focus in Toronto's urban development plans / innovation plans?

Click here to learn more about Sidewalk Labs

Comments

  1. Kristina Kyriakis23 March 2018 at 09:48

    Personally I think that a Smart City is very cool. The benefits could include that: it will be an attraction for tourists and even locals therefore bringing further revenue to the city, it encourages innovation, it promotes a ecofriendly and active lifestyle, and it repurposes a ugly part of the city. As for the risks, it can create a larger class division and it invades the privacy of the people who already reside there. In regards to the division between the rich and poor within the city, this Smart area of Toronto will be an expensive neighbourhood to live in and with the prices of living in Toronto already, it will only raise them higher. Even for the individuals who already occupy this space, their cost of living will be raised and their privacy will be jeopardized. We are already being tracked constantly with the activation and usage of smartphones but a smart city makes this tracking even more accurate and constant. With every technological advancement there are always positive and negative implications for humans.

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  2. Adam Kula24 March 2018 at 12:01

    I would have to agree with Kristina's thoughts regarding the Smart City and how it could be a very attractive asset to the city of Toronto. To me the benefits of this addition to the city would outweigh the risks. The amount of revenue that could come from tourist and local attraction could be incredibly beneficial to Toronto's economy, and it foster a ton of knowledge and innovation into a city that is currently thriving. I do agree that this could harm Toronto's cost of living which is already very high, but it serves as an advancement in infrastructure that the city would really benefit from, as Toronto stands to become a hotbed for innovation. To me, this Smart City feels like the future of not just Toronto but the world, and I think that Toronto as a city would stand to gain a whole lot from this addition, as it has already been described as one of the fastest growing tech cities in North America.

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