The Digital Tattoo Podcast – Episode 5
As the government of Canada slowly prepares to embrace the future of city building, a small plot of land races ahead to become the nation’s first smart city. Sidewalk Labs, a subsidiary of Google’s parent company Alphabet Inc., is developing a proposal for 12 acres on the downtown Toronto waterfront.
They’re proposing to harness the power of technology to optimize the urban environment and improve daily life for residents through vast data collection. But critics observe that Canada’s current legal framework doesn’t contain provisions to protect against the potential privacy violations that may occur from these new forms of embedded surveillance.
The clock is ticking on the proposal and a decision about if Toronto’s waterfront will be home to Canada’s first smart city will be made within the year.
This is: The City with Eyes.
In this episode, we review the history of the area that may become home to Canada’s first smart city and talk about where the proposal stands today. Then, we speak with Bianca Wylie, one the most vocal critics of the process, to hear some of her concerns about the proposal. And finally, we talk with students on UBC’s Vancouver campus to find out their thoughts about privacy, technology, and living with in a smart city like the one being proposed on the Toronto waterfront.
UPDATE: On June 26, 2018, thirteen days after this episode was published, Sidewalk Toronto announced that they’re extending their timeline to align with Infrastructure Canada’s Smart Cities Challenge.
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