Hundreds of people flocked to Sidewalk Toronto’s open house Saturday to see a large-scale mock-up of the Quayside project, days after the release of the company’s master development plan that seeks to transform this downtown area through technology and innovation.

The open house offered visitors a glimpse into what the neighbourhood — planned for a 12-acre parcel of land near Queens Quay E. and Parliament St. — could look like once completed. It highlighted key concepts from the “Toronto Tomorrow” report such as better public transit and walkability in the high-tech community, and models of highrise structures built from mass timber, which is more environmentally sustainable than concrete and steel.

While much of the project is still conceptual, some of the nearly 1,500 visitors on Saturday were impressed by the plans.

Chiranjeev Jha said he came to see the mock-ups because his father, who works in construction, has been talking about it as something that could bring “a lot of change” in Toronto. While he was expecting more prototypes on display, he liked what was showcased.

He said he was especially impressed by how the use of timber in construction helps save energy, something he called “a more sustainable way to live.” He also noted the plans for waste disposal, with automated systems to separate garbage from recycling and organics.

As he heads out to medical school in the U.S. next year, Jha said he hopes to come back to find a healthier community, where people walk and bicycle more and have access to lots of green space.

“Whenever a city is open to these innovative ideas, it’s better,” he said of the transformative approach that Sidewalk, the Google sister company, is taking in this project. “We can’t be afraid of change. We have to try new things.”

Sidewalk Labs’ director of public realm and development, Jesse Shapins, said the mock-up was the first opportunity for people to actually see what’s in the company’s proposal to improve the eastern part of the waterfront, and to understand what the experience might be like in the future neighbourhood.

He said a proposed 10-storey timber building will be a test in how to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, to which steel and concrete are among the most significant contributors. Using timber will produce thousands of jobs across the region and significantly change the cost of construction, he said.

“You can assemble one of these buildings in 30 per cent the amount of time as your standard construction today,” he said, noting the focus will be on providing affordable housing as part of the project.

Since Sidewalk Labs’ 1,500-page master plan was released last week, critics have raised concerns about the scope of the project — including plans to expand beyond Quayside into other city-owned areas of the waterfront — as well as proposals for transit financing, data use and revenue-sharing with governments from technology developed through the site.

On the controversial issue of privacy and the collection of data, Shapins said the proposal is not about collecting personal information of those who live and work in the district but simply to use technology to improve how the systems operate — with data that the city is already collecting, such as energy consumption or public transit use.

Sidewalk Labs launched the Digital Transparency in the Public Realm project earlier this year, a set of visual symbols to help make things like the use of sensors and surveillance cameras more understandable and transparent for people.

Samantha and Ray Brown Callender, who were visiting the mock-up project from Hamilton with their 19-year-old daughter, Jade, said they would be concerned about privacy if they purchased a home in the Quayside neighbourhood.

“There’s a lot of good things here but I’m from an older generation and still feel like some things are really personal and private,” said Samantha, noting she hopes prospective residents would be asked for their consent before any data is collected.

Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading...

Jade said she’d be less concerned about privacy than the project’s potential to help the environment — for instance, through more people using electric cars, something she’s been pushing her family to do.

“We don’t really have any privacy anyway,” Jade said about the proliferation of smartphones and laptops. “If anyone wants to get data, it’s already available out there.”

Read more:

A closer look at Villiers West — and why the area is central to Sidewalk Labs' plans

Analysis | Should we go all-in on Sidewalk Labs, or click no to ‘Googleville’?

Here are three of the biggest questions about the Sidewalk Labs plan for Toronto’s waterfront

Read more about: