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18 big thinkers take a critical look at the Sidewalk Labs plan

The Sidewalk Wars

Google has big plans to build a Jetsonian smart city on the waterfront, and Torontonians have strong opinions about it: is it the solution to all our problems or the end of the world as we know it? We asked 18 super-smart people to tell us what they think

Essays by joe berridge, michael bryant, ann cavoukian, jan de silva, dan doctoroff, cory doctorow, richard florida, ken greenberg, alexander josephson, jennifer keesmaat, bruce kuwabara, mohamed lachemi, kwame mckenzie, gord perks, robert prichard, yung wu, bianca wylie and shoshana zuboff
| September 4, 2019
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Everything you need to know about Sidewalk

18 big thinkers take a critical look at the Sidewalk Labs plan

| 1 | The Backstory, by Jason McBride

Shoshana Zuboff is the author of The Age of Surveillance Capitalism

| 2 | Toronto is surveillance capitalism’s new frontier, by Shoshana Zuboff

Richard Florida is a professor at the University of Toronto School of Cities and Rotman School of Management. He contributed data to a study commissioned by Sidewalk Labs

| 3 | Sidewalk Labs is the future of urban tech, by Richard Florida

Cory Doctorow is a science fiction author

| 4 | A smart city should serve its users, not mine their data, by Cory Doctorow

Jan De Silva is president and CEO of the Toronto Region Board of Trade
Jan De Silva is president and CEO of the Toronto Region Board of Trade

| 5 | Sidewalk Labs will attract and retain tech talent, by Jan De Silva

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Bruce Kuwabara is a partner at KPMB Architects

| 6 | Sidewalk needs to integrate with the waterfront, by Bruce Kuwabara

Mohamed Lachemi is the president of Ryerson University and is an unpaid member of the Sidewalk Labs Advisory Council

| 7 | A big city needs to take big risks, by Mohamed Lachemi

Michael Bryant is the executive director of the Canadian Civil Liberties Association

| 8 | The Sidewalk Labs deal is unconstitutional, by Michael Bryant

Gord Perks is the city councillor for Parkdale–High Park
Gord Perks is the city councillor for Parkdale–High Park

| 9 | Toronto needs to maintain control of its transit planning, by Gord Perks

Joe Berridge is a partner at Urban Strategies. Urban Strategies is a paid consultant for Sidewalk Labs

| 10 | Sidewalk is our last chance to save the waterfront, by Joe Berridge

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Ken Greenberg is an urban designer and a paid advisor to Sidewalk Labs

| 11 | The Quayside project is a gift to Toronto’s public realm, by Ken Greenberg

Jennifer Keesmaat is the CEO of the Keesmaat Group and Toronto's former chief planner

| 12 | Sidewalk’s affordable housing isn’t really affordable, by Jennifer Keesmaat

Dan Doctoroff is the CEO of Sidewalk Labs

| 13 | Toronto can create a new model of urban development, by Dan Doctoroff

Bianca Wylie is the co-founder of Tech Reset Canada

| 13 | Corporations should not be controlling our city-building, by Bianca Wylie

Ann Cavoukian is the executive director of the Global Privacy and Security by Design Centre

| 14 | De-identifying data at the source is the only way Sidewalk can work, by Ann Cavoukian

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Alexander Josephson is the co-founder of PARTISANS, which is a paid consultant for Sidewalk Labs

| 15 | Toronto needs exciting new architecture, by Alexander Josephson

Robert Prichard is the chairman of Torys LLP and an unpaid member of the Sidewalk Labs Advisory Council

| 16 | We can harness the private sector for the public good, by Robert Prichard

Yung Wu is the CEO of MaRS

| 17 | Sidewalk needs to work with Toronto’s tech ecosystem, by Yung Wu

Kwame McKenzie is the CEO of the Wellesley Institute and an unpaid member of the Sidewalk Labs Advisory Council

| 18 | Sidewalk Labs is Toronto’s best hope for sustainability, by Kwame McKenzie

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