In early May, Google’s NYC-based sister company Sidewalk Labs announced its decision to not proceed with Quayside, a smart technology-enabled neighbourhood on Toronto’s redeveloping waterfront. Sidewalk had been working with the government agency Waterfront Toronto for the past two and a half years in what was one of the highest-profile and most anticipated smart city developments in the world, culminating in a 1,500 page ‘Master Innovation and Development Plan’ that included proposals for everything from more affordable high-rises made from wood to a energy grid that won’t rely on fossil fuels. (If you’re new to smart cities and their implications for social impact, Future of Good published a three part series on their promise and perils last year.)

Future of Good asked 10 of Canada’s renowned city-builders, technology leaders, and policymakers for their take on Sidewalk Labs’ departure from Toronto, and what lessons other communities might take away for their own smart city plans. This discussion is especially timely and relevant, as high-tech solutions are poised to play an inevitable role in our post-COVID recovery.

The future of smart cities moves beyond the technical. We want deeply affordable, environmentally sustainable, equitable communities.

Many agreed that smart cities can’t just be about the novel use of advanced technology, suggesting that focusing on the needs of residents, in particular those already disadvantaged by digital inequality, is more important than the flashiest new technology. There was also a shared emphasis that technology is a means to the ultimate end goal of sustainable, equitable, and liveable cities and communities – and that while technology will certainly have a role to play, it’s not always an appropriate or necessary solution. 

These responses have been edited for length and clarity.

Technology should serve people, not the other way around

Nasma Ahmed, Director of the Digital Justice Lab

Ahmed is unambiguous about what, and who, she thinks smart cities should really be about. “This project created space for imagination and also highlighted the major issues cities face. As we expand our ideas of what a smart city could be, it is important that we focus our energy to resident-first approaches,” she says. “The future of smart cities moves beyond the technical. We want deeply affordable, environmentally sustainable, equitable communities. We need to listen to black folks, Indigenous folks, seniors and poor folks. We need to centre them and work in direct collaboration with them. That is the future of cities: resident-led.”

Mary W. Rowe, President & CEO of the Canadian Urban Institute

Similarly, Rowe worries that calling cities ‘smart’ because of the application of certain technologies implies that non-tech approaches to innovation – which may be just as effective – are by definition ‘dumb’. “The reality is, innovation was part of urban life long before ‘big tech’ arrived as its latest manifestation. People living and working closely together have always and will continue to catalyze new ways of doing things, making things, solving things,” she says. “[But] tech can be the enhancer of urban life’s most salient characteristic: relentless improvisation. Even in withdrawal, Sidewalk Labs catalyzed a profound collective reckoning in Toronto, provoking governments, community groups and others in the tech sector to assess the possible rewards and risks of ‘smart’ tech.”

Even in withdrawal, Sidewalk Labs catalyzed a profound collective reckoning in Toronto, provoking governments, community groups and others in the tech sector to assess the possible rewards and risks of ‘smart’ tech.”

Siri Agrell, former Executive Director of OneEleven

Before heading up one of Toronto’s best known tech startup accelerators, Agrell was the Director of Strategic Initiatives for Mayor John Tory, and brings a deep understanding of both the technology landscape and the city-building process. She is not a fan of the term ‘smart cities,’ noting that “we don’t call them smart phones anymore; they’re just phones. What we’re really talking about here is the use of technology. Cities have always evolved their tools, and there’s no doubt that technology will be a growing part of everything we do. I firmly believe that technology can be deployed as a force of good when wielded in the right hands. Communities should learn that they need to ask the right questions: What are we using this for? How will it help? Are we trading anything away in return? Can we push towards a better balance between promise and risk?”

Cherise Burda, Executive Director of the Ryerson City Building Institute

Burda believes that Sidewalk Labs’ proposed innovations had merit and value, but perhaps the cart was put before the horse. “Their plan offered a blueprint to address critical urban challenges: affordable, climate-positive, car-free neighbourhoods, efficient wood modular housing and more, but these innovations were overshadowed by concerns over data governance, privacy, and project scale,” she says. “No other development in Toronto – yet – has offered such a progressive approach to city building. That’s the gap that needs to be filled, at Quayside and beyond. To build a smart city ‘from the internet up’ begins with a backward premise: a solution looking for a problem. What we need are livable, resilient and environmentally sustainable cities. Digital infrastructure and urban innovation should serve this goal, not the other way around.”

Don’t overlook homegrown talent or underestimate local knowledge 

Jennifer Keesmaat, CEO of The Keesmaat Group 

As the former Chief City Planner of Toronto, Keesmaat is confident in the ideas and knowledge of local residents and organizations, and is not convinced that technology companies are needed to make them happen. She asks, “What exactly do we mean when we say ‘smart city’? If we mean cities that are more innovative, more resilient, more sustainable, more equitable, and more affordable, then we already know how to build that type of smart city. Many of the best parts of Sidewalk’s plan have been shaped by, and are an outcome of, efforts from the public, the direction of Waterfront Toronto, and the expertise that we have in this city around the values that should drive smart 21st-century city building. The reality is that the knowledge and expertise required to deliver on that vision already exists amongst our homegrown city-builders.”

John Jung, Chairman and Co-Founder of Intelligent Community Forum

Jung is also not too worried about losing the technological know-how of Google’s sister company, noting that the Greater Toronto Area is not lacking for talent and innovation – a sentiment that can easily apply to many other communities in Canada. “I would have liked to have seen Waterfront Toronto and Sidewalk Labs come to some form of conclusion, since it was a pilot after all, and we could have learned a great deal from the project. It would also have helped Toronto’s brand and acted as a real catalyst for other things to happen in the city,” he says. “But the greater Toronto region has great talent through its dozens of universities, colleges and research centres that could easily make up for Sidewalk’s loss.”

Technology also needs good governance

Charles Finley, Co-founder of Code for Canada

When it comes to city-building, Finley warns against conflating ‘not proceeding with Sidewalk’s plans’ with ‘going back to the way we did things before.’ He says, “Though oftentimes far too polarized, the debate [around the Sidewalk Labs project] helped us to unpack the term ‘smart cities,’ become more sophisticated in understanding perspectives on technology and data, and interrogate the allure of mysticism around the future of the city. The withdrawal of Sidewalk Labs should not be a reason to fall back on traditional planning and development approaches with the same old actors. It is hoped that we will learn from this experience, to keep what was innovative about what was proposed, and develop new approaches for considering the “new” (technologies, approaches, methodologies, partnerships) that will result in sustainable, inclusive communities.”

The withdrawal of Sidewalk Labs should not be a reason to fall back on traditional planning and development approaches with the same old actors.

Yung Wu, CEO of MaRS Discovery District

Wu believes that governments need to be more proactive when it comes to figuring out how to implement technology in a useful and equitable way. He says, “We can and must learn from the Sidewalk Labs experience, because smart-city solutions are more relevant than ever. COVID-19 is already forcing us into real-time conversations about what only recently seemed like futuristic digital infrastructure. Remote work, smart logistics, temperature scanning – this is our new normal. Canadians need their leaders to absorb this new landscape, then implement and regulate quickly, if cities are going to help drive the recovery. What’s evident from the COVID-19 crisis is that we can’t use blunt 19th century instruments to address 21st century problems. We must upgrade our tool kit, and fast, if we’re to safely navigate the restart and eventual recovery. But it still needs to be done right, with public engagement, value and equity at its core and without robbing us of our rights.” 

COVID-19 is already forcing us into real-time conversations about what only recently seemed like futuristic digital infrastructure. Remote work, smart logistics, temperature scanning – this is our new normal.

Andrew Clement, emeritus professor and surveillance researcher in the Faculty of Information at the University of Toronto

Clement agrees that a new digital governance framework is badly needed, but also reminds us that it needs to be created for residents, by residents. “For all its faults, Sidewalk Labs’ Toronto foray has done Canadians a service in provoking a vigorous public debate around the many thorny issues raised by smart city development that typically escape notice in the more usual, incremental approach,” he says. “In particular, this debate has clearly shown that Canadians urgently need a robust governance framework for guiding the development and regulation of the burgeoning digital infrastructures, data flows and algorithmic decision-making that are being rapidly, often invisibly insinuated into everyday urban living. This governance framework must go well beyond the current, increasingly obsolete informational regimes. It must also be created democratically, through an inclusive, informed, transparent, accountable and participatory public process.”

Andrew is a member of Waterfront Toronto’s Digital Strategy Advisory Panel. The views expressed here are his own.

What’s next for Canada’s cities?

Geoff Cape, CEO of Evergreen and founding partner of Future Cities Canada

As someone who helped co-found an organization with the future of Canadian cities in its name, Cape is optimistic that the difficult experience and hard lessons learned from Sidewalk Labs’ ultimately brief tenure in Canada will not be for naught – that in the end, the difficult process was more important and valuable than the failed outcome. He says, “The world’s eyes were on Canada as Toronto’s waterfront became a test site for how to advance the smart city agenda. We learned a tremendous amount about our wants and needs as a nation through Waterfront Toronto’s work with Sidewalk Labs. There remains huge potential in the optimization of urban systems and infrastructure, but it is clear – this must not be at the expense of personal privacy and economic sovereignty. Whether it be small communities or large urban centres, our future-focused cities must be: equitable, sustainable, and resilient. I am confident that through these learnings Canada will emerge as a global leader in urban design and development.”

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