Anthony Townsend Poses Questions for Sidewalk Labs at Quayside

Source: Urban Toronto Published: November 10th, 2017

When Sidewalk Labs, the city-building arm of Google parent company Alphabet, announced plans to build a data-driven neighbourhood of the future on the waterfront, Torontonians were predictably euphoric. A watershed moment marked with an event attended by Prime Minister Trudeau, Premier Wynne and Mayor Tory, the collective awe in the room was almost palpable. "They like us, they really like us!" One of the biggest and most influential tech companies in the world, an omnipresent figure in our daily lives, is enamored with Toronto.

But as the initial frisson dissipated, the questions arose. What would this urban innovation test bed look like? How much creative freedom and control are we willing to give Sidewalk Labs? What about privacy? These are important concerns that an innumerable amount of symposiums, panel discussions and public meetings will be tackling in the coming months, and they're questions Anthony Townsend, internationally recognized author, speaker and strategy consultant, asked at the University of Waterloo's 27th Annual Toronto Planning Dinner on Thursday.

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Photo by Scott Webb on Unsplash