Sidewalk Labs proposal stirs fears, raises hopes
A town hall in March on the proposed waterfront redevelopment drew hundreds of people, with three more forums planned between now and October.

TheStar.com
April 25, 2018
David Rider

The push for a Google-affiliated high-tech neighbourhood has Torontonians worried about data protection and privacy but eager for innovations on everything from housing to pet ownership.

Sidewalk Labs, the Manhattan-based urban innovation firm co-developing the proposal, on Wednesday released a “summary report” on public consultations to date.

It’s a goalpost in a yearlong process launched last October when Sidewalk Labs, a unit of Google parent Alphabet Inc., won a Waterfront Toronto contest to partner on plans for a live-and-work district on 12 acres of former industrial land at Queens Quay and Parliament St.

The firm says it wants to use technology, including sensors collecting and analyzing huge amounts of data, to help solve urban living problems including pedestrian safety, housing costs and inequality.

Torontonians’ questions submitted online and during a March town hall include: “Will Alphabet own the data, and how will it be shared or used? Will the data be stored in servers in the United States? If so, will this data be accessible to the U.S. government?”

“Numerous residents expressed concern about how the data that could be generated and collected in this kind of technology-driven community will be gathered, stored, and used,” the report states, adding many want guarantees the information will be stored on servers in Canada.

“Residents strongly emphasized that the collection of data should be transparent and consensual,” and worry about an “overemphasis on technology” rather than good, innovative design.

Other concerns include whether residents of, and visitors to, the proposed “Quayside” district could opt out of data collection, if Toronto would become a “new Silicon Valley” with rising housing costs and inequality, and if homeless people would be forced out of the zone.

But, according to the report, Torontonians also see Quayside as a catalyst to fix all manner of problems and to improve their lives through futuristic innovation.

Private cars could be replaced by public transit and shared autonomous vehicles; affordable housing could be reconfigurable and soundproofed against the island airport; and cycling-friendly tech could include heated bike lanes to melt snow and digital indicators on bikes to signal lane changes.

Torontonians told Sidewalk Labs they want great public space and need it to be pet accessible in the vision the company has dubbed “Sidewalk Toronto.”

“Some residents suggested that Sidewalk Toronto could introduce the benefits of collective pet ownership to the broader community,” for those who want animal companionship without the responsibilities of full-time ownership, the report states.

Three more town halls are planned — May 3, July 11 and Oct. 3 — to let people have their say before Sidewalk Labs and Waterfront Toronto, a federal-provincial-city agency, decide if they can agree on a development plan to make Quayside a reality.