The City People

Alphabet is building a future city.

Alphabet-owned Sidewalk Labs, the Google parent’s company focused on smart city technologies, will build a “mixed-use, complete community in Toronto on its eastern waterfront, with the aim of building a livable space from the ground up using innovations in construction techniques, self-driving, climate friendly energy systems and more to build a community that’s affordable and accessible with a focus on connected tech.

I'm fascinated by how cities work. The way people get from point A to point B. The way they connect with each other. The way they eat, work, exercise, and shop.

New York City is an old city. It was built for a bygone era. Everything needs to be rebuilt — infrastructure, communications, transportation, housing — and fast. Technology should inform this process. Make New York City the IoT City — connected everything.

In China, more than 100 cities have over 1 million residents. According to the World Bank, 1 billion Chinese will live in cities by 2030. The same mass movement into cities is happening in India, Africa, and around the world. Think about the scale of challenges and the scope of opportunity.

Software may be eating the world, but cities are the playground for today’s innovators. Every inefficiency is an opportunity. I’m glad Alphabet is getting involved in the city-building game.