Sidewalk Labs#Intersection and Link

{{Main|Sidewalk Toronto}}

File:Sidewalk Labs Toronto Open House.jpg

In April 2016, The Information reported that Sidewalk intended to create a new city in the United States to test design ideas prior to real world implementation.{{Cite web |last=Lessin |first=Jessica |date=April 14, 2016 |title=Alphabet's Sidewalk Preps Proposal for Digital District |url=https://www.theinformation.com/sidewalk-labs-preps-proposal-for-digital-district |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160422120415/https://www.theinformation.com/sidewalk-labs-preps-proposal-for-digital-district |archive-date=April 22, 2016 |access-date=April 16, 2016 |website=The Information}} Sidewalk did not confirm that report, but has said it had engaged in thought experiments about what it could be like to develop a community "from the internet up."{{Cite web |last=Williams |first=Jake |date=May 4, 2017 |title=Google wants to build a city |url=http://statescoop.com/google-wants-to-build-a-city |access-date=May 5, 2017 |website=Statescoop}}

In October 2017, Sidewalk Labs announced plans to develop Quayside, a {{convert|12|acre|adj=on}} neighborhood in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, in response to a competition organized by Waterfront Toronto. Branded as Sidewalk Toronto, the project aimed to become "a testbed for emerging technologies, materials and processes" to address issues such as sustainability, accessibility, inclusiveness and prosperity in urban communities.{{Cite web |last=Rider |first=David |date=October 4, 2017 |title=Google firm poised to partner on Toronto high-tech neighbourhood |url=https://www.thestar.com/news/city_hall/2017/10/04/google-firm-poised-to-partner-on-toronto-high-tech-neighbourhood.html |access-date=October 4, 2017 |website=Toronto Star}}{{Cite web |date=March 17, 2017 |title=Waterfront Toronto Takes First Step in Building Quayside: A New Community That Will Provide Testbed for Solutions to Pressing Urban Challenges |url=http://waterfrontoronto.ca/nbe/portal/waterfront/Home/waterfronthome/newsroom/newsarchive/news/2017/march/waterfront-toronto-takes-first-step-in-building-quayside |access-date=October 4, 2017 |website=Waterfront Toronto}} The initiative was also envisioned to be scaled up across Toronto's Port Lands, an {{convert|800|acre|adj=on}} area that is one of the largest areas of underdeveloped urban land in North America.{{Cite web |title=Sidewalk Toronto |url=https://sidewalktoronto.ca/ |access-date=October 18, 2017 |website=Sidewalk Toronto}} The project progressed slowly with ongoing consultation from the public.{{Cite web |last=Keung |first=Nicholas |date=June 17, 2018 |title=Curious minds drawn to opening of Sidewalk Toronto workshop |url=https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2018/06/17/curious-minds-drawn-to-sidewalk-torontos-innovative-prototypes-draw-2000.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180617210228/https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2018/06/17/curious-minds-drawn-to-sidewalk-torontos-innovative-prototypes-draw-2000.html |archive-date=June 17, 2018 |access-date=December 16, 2021 |website=Toronto Star}}

In 2018, the company opened a new Toronto office and began holding weekend open houses in which visitors from the public contributed their ideas to the development of the Sidewalk Toronto project. In 2019, Sidewalk Labs said it had consulted thousands of Torontonians for its development plans. However, representatives of Waterfront Toronto's Digital Strategy Advisory Panel (DSAP) said that Sidewalk Labs's projects contained too much "tech for tech's sake."{{Cite web |date=September 12, 2019 |title=Google's smart-city plans 'tech for tech's sake' |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-49674533 |website=BBC News}}{{Cite web |title=DSAP Preliminary Commentary and Questions on Sidewalk Labs' Draft Master Innovation and Development Plan (MIDP) |url=https://waterfrontoronto.ca/nbe/wcm/connect/waterfront/30c682ff-8172-49dc-bf63-09b2a2f1845a/DSAP+Preliminary+Commentary+-+September+10,+2019.pdf?MOD=AJPERES }}

In May 2020, the project was abandoned. Sidewalk Labs officially cited the economic uncertainty posed by the COVID-19 pandemic as the reason.{{Cite web |last1=Carter |first1=Adam |last2=Rieti |first2=John Rieti |date=May 7, 2020 |title=Sidewalk Labs cancels plan to build high-tech neighbourhood in Toronto amid COVID-19 |url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/sidewalk-labs-cancels-project-1.5559370 |access-date=August 9, 2020 |website=CBC News}}{{Cite web |last=Doctoroff |first=Daniel L. |date=May 7, 2020 |title=Why we're no longer pursuing the Quayside project — and what's next for Sidewalk Labs |url=https://medium.com/sidewalk-talk/why-were-no-longer-pursuing-the-quayside-project-and-what-s-next-for-sidewalk-labs-9a61de3fee3a |access-date=August 9, 2020 |website=Medium}} However, the project had faced significant challenges pre-dating the pandemic, including privacy and data governance concerns.{{Cite web |last1=Jacobs |first1=Karrie |date=June 29, 2022 |title=Toronto wants to kill the smart city forever |url=https://www.technologyreview.com/2022/06/29/1054005/toronto-kill-the-smart-city |access-date=December 29, 2024 |website=MIT Technology Review}}

Sidewalk Labs offered advisory services for real estate developers to use technology to meet environmental, affordability, and equity goals. Sidewalk Labs advised on the following four projects:{{Cite web |last=Rodriguez |first=Rene |date=June 22, 2021 |title=Moishe Mana's massive, long-dormant Wynwood project shows tiny sparks of life |url=https://www.miamiherald.com/news/business/real-estate-news/article252259348.html |website=Miami Herald}}{{Cite web |title=Alphabet's Getting Into Commercial Real Estate Consulting, But Not To Throw Google's Weight Around |url=https://www.bisnow.com/national/news/construction-development/sidewalk-labs-google-new-development-advisory-service-4-partnerships-109311 |website=Bisnow}}

• Mana Wynwood — a 23.5–acre project in Miami that will serve as a trade center between Latin America and China and an arts and entertainment center
• Downtown Summerlin — a 300–acre mixed-use development with minimalized parking in Las Vegas
• The Power Station — a 29–acre mixed-use residential community on the waterfront in San Francisco at the site of a former electrical plant
• Vancouver Innovation Center — conversion of a 180–acre industrial manufacturing site into a mixed-use residential and commercial community in the Portland/Vancouver area

In early 2016, Sidewalk Labs began working with ten cities which participated in the U.S. Department of Transportation's "Smart Cities Challenge" to help cities better understand daily street activity through the use of real-time data. The Challenge attracted dozens of medium-sized cities across the US to compete for $40 million in federal funding{{Cite web |last=Hawkins |first=Andrew J. |date=February 22, 2016 |title=Sidewalk Labs hires 'dream team' to tackle city design in the self-driving age |url=https://www.theverge.com/2016/2/22/11081968/sidewalk-labs-google-smart-city-product-link-nyc |website=The Verge}} along with an additional $10 million from the Paul G. Allen Family Foundation{{Cite web |title=All the tech that went into turning Columbus, Ohio, into a 'Smart City' |url=https://techcrunch.com/2021/06/28/all-the-tech-that-went-into-turning-columbus-ohio-into-a-smart-city/ |website=TechCrunch}} to assess road data gathered from smartphones to analyze congestion and other traffic conditions, and develop a transportation coordination platform to improve the efficiency of road, parking, and transit use.{{Cite web |title=Sidewalk Labs – Flow |url=https://www.sidewalklabs.com/flow/index.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170508054441/http://www.flowmobility.io/ |archive-date=May 8, 2017 |access-date=May 27, 2021}} The winner, Columbus, Ohio, was announced in June 2016.{{Cite magazine |last=Marshall |first=Aarian |date=June 28, 2021 |title=America's 'Smart City' Didn't Get Much Smarter |magazine=Wired |url=https://www.wired.com/story/us-smart-city-didnt-get-much-smarter/ |access-date=January 26, 2022}}{{Cite magazine |title=Portland's Face-Recognition Ban Is a New Twist on 'Smart Cities' |url=https://www.wired.com/story/portlands-face-recognition-ban-twist-smart-cities/ |magazine=Wired |issn=1059-1028|last1=Simonite |first1=Tom }}

• Mesa, launched in September 2020, is a tool to help commercial buildings use energy more efficiently.{{Cite web |title=Sidewalk Labs tool aims to boost building energy efficiency |url=https://www.smartcitiesdive.com/news/sidewalk-labs-tool-aims-to-boost-building-energy-efficiency/585621/ |website=Smart Cities Dive}}

• Delve, launched in October 2020, is a tool to help developers, architects and urban designers discover optimal design choices for neighborhood projects.{{Cite web |date=October 13, 2020 |title=Sidewalk Labs Reimagines Urban Planning with New Delve Generative Design Tool |url=https://www.archdaily.com/949392/sidewalk-labs-reimagines-urban-planning-with-new-delve-generative-design-tool |website=ArchDaily}}

• Pebble, launched in May 2021, is a tool to help manage parking in cities.{{Cite web |title=Sidewalk Labs launches Pebble, a sensor that uses real-time data to manage city parking |url=https://techcrunch.com/2021/05/18/sidewalk-labs-launches-pebble-a-sensor-that-uses-real-time-data-to-manage-city-parking/ |website=TechCrunch}}

Sidewalk Labs invested in and incubated companies which developed tools that could support Sidewalk Labs initiatives and scale to cities around the world.{{Cite web |date=May 27, 2021 |title=Incubated and Portfolio Companies |url=https://www.sidewalklabs.com/about/incubated-brands |website=Sidewalk Labs}}

{{Main|Intersection (company)}}

In June 2015, Sidewalk Labs led a group of investors in the acquisition of Control Group and Titan forming a new company called Intersection.{{Cite web |last=D'Onfro |first=Jillian |title=Google is funding a plan to bring free Wi-Fi to NYC |url=http://www.businessinsider.com/google-sidewalk-labs-acquires-titan-outdoor-and-control-group-2015-6 |access-date=February 5, 2018 |website=Business Insider}} Intersection works in cities and public spaces to offer internet connectivity, information, and content.{{Cite web |title=Intersection – About Us |url=http://www.intersection.com/about-us/}}

Cityblock Health was spun-out of Sidewalk Labs in 2017. Its goal is to improve health care for low-income people with difficult medical needs. It employs over 500 people and has

patients in three US states and Washington, DC.{{Cite web |last=Tozzi |first=John |date=December 10, 2020 |title=Health Startup for Low-Income Patients Hits $1 Billion Valuation |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-12-10/health-startup-for-low-income-patients-hits-1-billion-valuation |website=Bloomberg L.P.}}{{Cite web |title=Public health startup Cityblock raises $65M Series B |url=https://techcrunch.com/2019/04/11/public-health-startup-cityblock-raises-65m-series-b/ |website=TechCrunch}}

In 2018, Sidewalk Labs introduced a spin-off Coord, a company focused on providing RESTful APIs for accessing information like routing, bike share details, toll information, and curbside details.{{Cite web |title=Coord will get you there one way or another with its new APIs |url=https://techcrunch.com/2018/05/30/coord-will-get-you-there-with-its-new-apis/ |access-date=December 2, 2018 |website=TechCrunch}}{{Cite magazine |title=Sidewalk Labs Is Building a Platform for Making the City of Tomorrow |url=https://www.wired.com/story/alphabet-sidewalk-labs-coord-city-of-tomorrow/ |access-date=December 2, 2018 |magazine=Wired|last1=Marshall |first1=Aarian }} In October 2018, Coord raised an additional $5 million to continue building products.{{Cite web |title=Coord, a Sidewalk Labs spin-out, raises $5 million to help mobility services better integrate into cities |url=https://techcrunch.com/2018/10/11/coord-a-sidewalk-labs-spin-out-raises-5-million-to-help-mobility-services-better-integrate-into-cities/ |access-date=December 2, 2018 |website=TechCrunch}}

Replica is an AI-powered data platform which helps cities make operational or infrastructural changes in response to changes in population behaviors.{{Cite web |last=Wolpow |first=Nina |title=Sidewalk Labs Spinout Replica Raises $41 Million Series B |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/ninawolpow/2021/04/21/sidewalk-labs-spinout-replica-raises-41-million-series-b/ |website=Forbes}} It began as a project at Sidewalk Labs in 2017 and was spun out as an independent company in 2019.{{Cite web |date=April 27, 2021 |title=Sidewalk Labs spinout Replica plans expansion to Europe and Asia |url=https://cities-today.com/sidewalk-labs-spinout-replica-plans-expansion-to-europe-and-asia/ |website=Cities Today}}

Sidewalk Infrastructure Partners (SIP) was spun-off from Sidewalk Labs in 2019 to develop technologies that modernize infrastructure such as recycling, waste disposal and transportation in communities throughout the United States.{{Cite web |title=Sidewalk Labs launches advanced infrastructure partnership |url=https://www.smartcitiesworld.net/news/news/sidewalk-labs-launches-advanced-infrastructure-partnership-4543 |website=Smart Cities World}}{{Cite web |title=Exclusive: Alphabet vets raise $400 million to remake America's infrastructure |url=https://fortune.com/2020/05/07/alphabet-vets-infrastructure-funding-400-million/ |website=Fortune}}

Sidewalk Labs invested in Boston-based robotic home interior design company Ori in 2019.{{Cite web |date=September 5, 2019 |title=Alphabet's Sidewalk Labs leads $20 million round into Ori's robotic furniture for small spaces |url=https://venturebeat.com/2019/09/05/alphabets-sidewalk-labs-leads-20-million-round-into-oris-robotic-furniture-for-small-spaces/ |website=VentureBeat}}

The Neighborhood Investment Company (Nico) allows local residents to make small, long-term real estate investments in their own neighborhoods. Sidewalk Labs invested in Nico at the end of 2019.{{Cite web |date=December 4, 2019 |title=The Brief: Neighborhood investment companies, inclusive fintech in Indonesia and Nigeria, solar financing in India, tele-health training, letter from Santiago |url=https://impactalpha.com/the-brief-neighborhood-investment-companies-inclusive-fintech-in-indonesia-and-nigeria-solar-financing-in-india-tele-mental-health-training-letter-from-santiago/ |website=ImpactAlpha}}

In late 2019, Sidewalk Labs invested in VoltServer, which strives to "make electricity safe" and overlays data on electricity distribution.{{Cite web |title=VoltServer adds a data layer to electricity distribution in a move that could help smart grid rollout |url=https://techcrunch.com/2019/11/14/voltserver-adds-a-data-layer-to-electricity-distribution-in-a-move-that-could-help-smart-grid-rollout/ |website=TechCrunch}}

Sidewalk Labs created a book detailing their broad ranging vision to transform cities that would inspire employees known as The Yellow Book. It contained aspirational designs of a futurist city run on its technology.{{Cite web |last1=Farr |first1=Christina |last2=D'Onfro |first2=Jillian |date=June 27, 2018 |title=Google sister-company Sidewalk has a secret 'yellow book' with its plans to reinvent cities, plus possible sites beyond Toronto |url=https://www.cnbc.com/2018/06/25/alphabet-sidewalk-yellow-book-secret-plans-sites.html |access-date=November 1, 2019 |website=CNBC}} In the book, the company proposed expanding its scope to include the power to levy taxes, control public services such as schools, roads, and public transportation, collect data on the current and past locations of all members of the community, and to help redesign the local criminal justice system. The book also described a social credit system to reward "good behavior", a system which has been compared by some to the one used in China. Sidewalk's proposed system also included rewards for sharing personal data.{{Cite news |title=Sidewalk Labs document reveals company's early vision for data collection, tax powers, criminal justice |url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/business/article-sidewalk-labs-document-reveals-companys-early-plans-for-data/ |access-date=November 1, 2019 |website=The Globe and Mail|date=October 30, 2019 |last1=Cardoso |first1=Tom |last2=O'Kane |first2=Josh }}

The book also included the potential real estate profitability of such investments, containing theoretical proposals for communities in Detroit, Denver, and Alameda, California. The company has described this book as a "wide-ranging brainstorming process", and stated that most of its ideas were never considered for the Toronto project with many being very fantastical in nature and others being reminiscent of the Netflix series Black Mirror.

{{reflist}}

• {{Official website|http://sidewalklabs.com/}}

{{Google LLC}}

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