[spditner]

The city and Waterfront Toronto have not abdicated anything, as reported by the CBC:

"They have no permission to build anything," said Coun. Paula Fletcher, who has been heavily-involved in plans to redevelop the nearby Port Lands.

Fletcher says she's looking forward to seeing the ideas Sidewalk comes up with following a year's work and a series of public consultations, but warns they'll be held to a high standard. "It has to be good enough for Toronto. And it has to meet certain standards as far as jobs and land use are concerned," she said.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/sidewalk-labs-toronto-...

[notahacker]

Yeah, reading between the lines of the Guardian's hyperbole, Google are building a campus site and are doing a bit of property development around it, which will incorporate some of their ideas on transport and security systems. There's nothing particularly odd about a company which has an urban planning subdivision doing a bit of urban planning. They might have got a sweetheart deal on the land offering dubious value to the local taxpayer, but that isn't discussed. There might be something about their IoT technology which is worse than the cameras and sensors which most high end office/apartments are already equipped with, but again, this isn't discussed. The city is still approving the planning process through normal channels, and the land is apparently an ex-industrial wasteland without existing residents to be affected. Just because Google is after you(r browsing data) doesn't mean this article isn't paranoid...

(For those unfamiliar with the Guardian, its mix of news content bemoaning young British people's lack of access to affordable housing and relentless stream of opinion pieces objecting to any and every type of (sub)urban development has always been one of its more amusing quirks)

[mcgarnagle]

"It has to be good enough for Toronto."

As a Toronto resident: I guess this means begin construction and then don't do any work for 5 years, all while burning through city funds.

[spditner]

Well, at least Sidewalk Labs is putting some money behind it. Mentioned in the linked article, and also in The Toronto Star: Doctoroff said his company will spend $50 million on a yearlong discussion, starting at a Nov. 1 public meeting, with citizens, governments, universities and others, about what the project dubbed “Sidewalk Toronto” should be.

https://www.thestar.com/news/city_hall/2017/10/17/google-fir...

I've attended some of the other consultations hosted by the city planning department, and I agree their timelines are epic. It was good however to engage with neighbours I wouldn't otherwise and hear differing opinions. I can understand why it can take so long when engaging with the general public, land redevelopment can be very divisive.

The town hall meeting is November 1st if you're interested in participating:

https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/sidewalk-toronto-community-town-...