[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)