{"id":101355,"date":"2018-01-10T13:00:31","date_gmt":"2018-01-10T18:00:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/techvibes.com\/?p=101355"},"modified":"2018-01-10T13:44:46","modified_gmt":"2018-01-10T18:44:46","slug":"torontos-goal-to-become-the-smartest-city-in-north-america","status":"publish","type":"magazine","link":"https:\/\/brainstation.io\/magazine\/torontos-goal-to-become-the-smartest-city-in-north-america","title":{"rendered":"Toronto\u2019s Goal to Become the Smartest City in North America"},"content":{"rendered":"

Canada\u2019s largest city is undergoing major strides to turn themselves into a tech hub\u2014and not just through the presence of leading companies in the field, but through infrastructure upgrades too.<\/p>\n

The city of Toronto is soliciting the public for their bid in the Federal Smart Cities Challenge<\/a>. The challenge looks to solicit communities to submit bids based on innovation, big data and merging technology.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe City is committed to continuously improving and modernizing public services, now and in the future \u2013 and we want to know what you think the biggest challenges facing Toronto are and your ideas for how innovation and technology can make a meaningful impact to life in Toronto,\u201d a post<\/a> on the city\u2019s site reads.<\/p>\n

Top finalists in the country will receive $250,000 to prepare more detailed proposals, and the winning city will pick up $50 million to implement and develop the projects. Two cities with less than 500,000 inhabitants will each receive $10 million, while a $5 million prize is reserved for communities with less than 30,000 people.<\/p>\n

All of the funding for the challenge comes from a $300 million federal government investment.<\/p>\n

Toronto wants residents to fill out a survey to let them know what the biggest challenges are when it comes to finding ways to innovate. The survey asks about issues relating to connectivity, job growth, mobility, affordable housing, and much more.<\/p>\n

Some examples are provided within the survey as well, such as this idea to aid in job growth: \u201cCreate a single mobile app to connect people and businesses to community services, with built-in measurement of response times, user satisfaction, and feedback.\u201d<\/p>\n

More examples of existing projects are given to spur on residents, including the smart traffic signal pilot<\/a> and the city\u2019s partnership<\/a> with Waze.<\/p>\n

If Toronto citizens have a specific proposal, they can also complete a submission and send it directly to the city<\/a>. In addition, a panel discussion on the Smart Cities Challenge is happening later this month.<\/p>\n

Sidewalk Labs and Building Smart Communities<\/h3>\n

Speaking of a smarter Toronto, Sidewalk Labs\u2019 CEO Dan Doctoroff took to Reddit to answer questions about his company’s plans to develop the smart waterfront community Quayside.<\/a><\/p>\n

A few of the most interesting questions from Reddit users and corresponding answers from Doctoroff are included below.<\/p>\n

\"A
A vision of what Sidewalk Labs’ Quayside area may look like.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In response to a question about Sidewalk Labs not actually owning any land but doing their best to make sure a vision is transferred to the developer:<\/p>\n