Toronto authorities gave a provisional green light Thursday to plans by a tech company in the Google empire to build a futuristic neighborhood on a strip of lakefront that will include robots for delivering mail and collecting garbage.

Sidewalk Labs, a subsidiary of Google's parent Alphabet, has proposed building a carbon-neutral community "from the internet up," where tall buildings would be made of timber and technology would be geared to catering to every aspect of modern living.

Permission for the 12-acre (five-hectare) site in the city's bayfront area is dependent on a final evaluation, before a formal rubber stamp in March 2020 if all goes well.

Waterfront Toronto chairman Stephen Diamond said in a statement he was pleased to be making progress but added: "Let me be clear: this is not a done deal. There is still much work to do before a final decision."

The project envisages heated sidewalks and bike paths that melt snow in winter, street-side parking that can be pre-booked, and underground robots that distribute parcels and manage waste.

Sensors would also measure pedestrians' gait, water consumption and trash production -- all in hopes of better understanding and adapting to the dynamics of urban life.

- The future is now -

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and other proponents have heralded the opportunity to create an innovation hub where tens of thousands of people would live and work in Canada's largest metropolis.

But, in an era of global concern over data protection, the blueprint has faced criticism over the potential for lost privacy and data misuse, as well as over the privatization of public services.

The more controversial sections of a draft proposal released in June that provoked a backlash have been dropped.

"Sidewalk Labs listened to our concerns, and those of the public, and has confirmed that it will make significant changes to its proposals," said Diamond.

The compromise includes reducing the size of the project on the land overlooking Lake Ontario -- one of the priciest on the continent.

The company also dropped its demands to make the project conditional on a new transit link and to control all data collected in the neighborhood, and agreed to adhere to Canadian privacy laws.

One or more real estate developers selected through competitive bidding will also now partner with Sidewalk Labs, instead of the company going it alone.

Earlier this week, the Globe and Mail reported on a leaked confidential Sidewalk Labs document from 2016 that envisioned it having powers to levy its own property taxes, police the community and provide public services such as charter schools, transit and private road infrastructure.

It was peppered with references to Disney theme parks and noted futurist Buckminster Fuller, who designed the Montreal Biosphere for the 1967 World Fair.

Sidewalk Labs spokeswoman Keerthana Rang, however, told the newspaper the document merely brought together elements of an early and "wide-ranging brainstorming process" for use in a pitch.

Related Links
Space Tourism, Space Transport and Space Exploration News

Tweet

Thanks for being here; We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain. With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords. Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year. If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceDaily Contributor $5 Billed Once credit card or paypal		SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter $5 Billed Monthly paypal only

China talks up tech prowess in face of US rivalry
Wuzhen, China (AFP) Oct 20, 2019
China on Sunday said it aims to become a "great power" in the online world and took a swipe at Washington on trade, kicking off its annual conference promoting the Communist Party's controlled and censored version of the internet. US-China rivalry is increasingly playing out in the digital sphere, as Beijing pursues dominance in next-generation technology while Washington takes measures to cripple Chinese tech firms like Huawei. China heavily monitors and censors its internet, with US titans Fac ... read more