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Category Archives: democracy

Sidewalk Toronto and What Happens in Silence over Time

This past weekend I was reflecting on what it means to have the kind of power that gives you the confidence to: 1. commit the public to a type of deal/process they didn’t ask for 2. can’t get out of, and 3. have no democratic

Sidewalk Toronto – The Whole is Other Than the Sum of its Parts

Bianca Wylie Parkdale, Toronto July 31, 2019 Dear Waterfront Toronto, As you wrap up this first round of consultation and continue with your deliberations I have two thoughts to share from a resident perspective. Firstly, “the whole is other than the sum of its parts.”

More Broken Process, Maybe an Exit Flag Too – The Time Between

Today the Wall Street Journal reported that Alphabet Inc. is “teaming up with its subsidiary, Sidewalk Labs LLC, and Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan (OTPP) to launch an infrastructure holding company that is being spun out of Sidewalk.” Like the idea or not (and some clearly

The Trouble with (and Power of) Sidewalk’s Silence on 12

Quick preface to this post, which is about the Sidewalk Toronto process. I am almost (truly) done reading Sidewalk Labs’ plan and continue to understand and see value in discussing the urban planning ideas in it. This post does not erase that sentiment. Those ideas

Dear Toronto Star Editorial Board

Dear Toronto Star Editorial Board, (Andrew Phillips, Jordan Himelfarb, Dianne Rinehart, and Scott Colby). This is a quick post in response to the Toronto Star Editorial Board’s recent Sidewalk Toronto oped. The Star piece is titled: We Shouldn’t Settle for More of the Same on

Sidewalk Labs, the Candidate

Sidewalk Labs, the Candidate By Sean McDonald and Bianca Wylie Normally when we convey open-ended power over public spaces and policies, we do so to candidates through democratic election. In the Sidewalk Toronto case, through an open-ended request for proposal, that power may be offered