Google's smart cities

One of the first projects Sidewalk Labs will take on is a sensor-based technology to manage crowds on a nearby street often filled with a potent mix of pedestrians, cyclists and motorised traffic

Disused area of Toronto to be turned into its first city district of the future

Included in the areas for innovation targeted by the New York based subsidiary of Alphabet, Google's parent company, is urban mobility.

Hence Alphabet is converting a disused area of Toronto's waterfront into the first of its high tech neighbourhoods.  It is a pilot project for bigger things to come. 

Everything from rubbish bins to traffic lights could be equipped with hardware designed to gather data and monitor changing conditions in the area.

The plans, being developed at Alphabet-owned Sidewalk Labs, start with the building of an area called Quayside, located just southeast of Downtown Toronto.

Technology tested in this first stage will then be brought in across the Eastern Waterfront in an area known as Port Lands, one of North America’s largest areas of underdeveloped urban land at more than 325 hectares (800 acres).

Sidewalk Toronto, which will be home to Google's Canadian headquarters and some 300 employees once complete, intends to integrate technology wherever possible to create a more efficient and heavily automated urban environment.

The company is expecting the area to house 5,000 people and host another 5,000 workers within three to four years.