SideWalk Labs
In the last four weeks of our Evergreen + Munk course, there has been much emphasis on the process of community-based policy-making. This includes understanding what decision makers are trying to achieve, how they work with others to achieve their objectives and the power dynamics at play.
This past week we learned about the developments of Sidewalk Labs. We had the opportunity to hear from one of Sidewalk Labs biggest critics, Bianca Wiley, express her concerns regarding the project. To balance that out we also had the opportunity to visit Waterfront Toronto (the tri-part agency responsible Toronto’s waterfront) and listen to the Director of Government Relations, Ed Chalupka speak on why they are considering Alphabet’s Inc., proposal. Additionally, we also visited 307 — Toronto’s central office and experimental workspace for Sidewalk Labs in Toronto.
One major key takeaway from last week was that Mr.Chalupka indicated that Waterfront Toronto was still in the process of determining if it would allow Alphabet Inc. to move forward with their plan for Sidewalk Labs. He indicated that this decision depended on a number of things such as whether the project would leverage economic development as well as if there was public appetite. However, on February 14th The Star newspaper released an article titled Google’s Sidewalk Labs plans massive expansion to waterfront vision which revealed that Alphabet Inc. had been in discussions with public officials regarding lands “beyond what they’ve been publicly invited to plan for” ( Chown Oved, 2019). As the Star’s Marco Chown Oved indicated, this raises concerns surrounding the transparency of the waterfront planning process. Moreover, it raises concerns surrounding Waterfront Toronto’s ability to act in the best interest of the City and public. While Waterfront Toronto may be eager for the development of Sidewalk Labs, they also have an obligation to ensure that all information, plans and discussions regarding the project are disclosed to the public. Mr.Chalpuka indicated that there was no guarantee that Alphabet Inc.’s proposal would be approved, however, based on some of the information released in the February 14th article, I am led to believe otherwise.
After reading the Star’s article regarding the massive expansion to the waterfront vision, I can’t help but think about the process of how this is being done. On one end, it appears that Alphabet Inc.is being transparent by holding public consultations and engaging the public. But on the other hand, we have found out that they are withholding information regarding their plans and visions for Sidewalk Labs Toronto. So what does this say about the process? Is it flawed? Why are they only revealing portions of their plans to the public? Are they really working with public to achieve their objective or is it only facade?
