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Alphabet’s investment comes amid a technology boom in the city, driven by a thriving startup scene, a surge in artificial intelligence research and increased funding into the sector from the federal government. But Sidewalk Toronto’s project isn’t just a boost for the tech community — it’ll also be battling the city’s housing crunch. The project will aim to create new models of affordable housing and flexible retail, according to the statement.

Earlier this year, Waterfront Toronto, a public corporation created by Canadian officials in 2001 to revitalize land along Lake Ontario, requested proposals to develop a new community called Quayside along with a private partner. Quayside would be a testbed for emerging technologies, materials and processes that will address these challenges and advance solutions that can be replicated in cities worldwide, according to city officials.

Digital Dream

Sidewalk Toronto plans to spend 2018 consulting with the public on the project and will create a plan along with Waterfront Toronto. The development won’t be directed from the top down but will create the conditions for companies, startups and academic centers to drive the project over many years.

“This will not be a place where we deploy technology for its own sake, but rather one where we use emerging digital tools and the latest in urban design to solve big urban challenges in ways that we hope will inspire cities around the world,” Sidewalk Labs CEO Doctoroff said in the statement. Doctoroff was CEO of Bloomberg LP and deputy mayor of New York City under Michael Bloomberg, Bloomberg’s founder.

Sidewalk Labs, created in 2015, was one of Google’s first independent units before it turned into the Alphabet holding company. One of its most visible project’s so far has been LinkNYC, a network of ad-supported Wi-Fi kiosks in New York City run by Intersection, a Sidewalk Labs investment.

Bloomberg.com