Sidewalk Labs is preparing to launch a big experiment on the smart cities concept.
"Sidewalk Labs LLC, the urban innovation unit of Page's Alphabet Inc., has applied to develop a 12-acre strip in downtown Toronto, responding to a recent city agency request for proposals," report Mark Bergen.
Some of the information made public about the idea so far came from a speech by Sidewalk Labs Chief Executive Officer Dan Doctoroff at the Smart Cities NYC conference earlier in May, although some of the plans are still private. One big soundbite from early reports is that the company hopes to build an urban zone "from the internet up."
As Bergen explains, any new project by Sidewalk Labs would be a big expansion beyond the company's previous efforts—the LinkNYC network of Wi-Fi kiosks located around New York and a traffic data platform in partnership with the U.S. Department of Transportation.
Hat tip to, Kelsey E. Thomas, who followed up on the news with an article that also digs into the city of Toronto's RFP for the project, which would be located in part of the Quayside waterfront community.
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