Portland ended the mobility location-data pilot with Replica, which spun out of Sidewalk Labs in September 2019, after the company declined to share data at the level of detail the city wanted. (BBC)
Talking point: Portland’s decision to sever ties with the Google sister company comes nearly 10 months after Sidewalk Labs abandoned controversial plans to build a smart-city neighbourhood along Toronto’s waterfront. Waterfront Toronto, the organization overseeing the proposed project, had requested sweeping amendments to Sidewalk’s plans before the company ultimately backed out. At the time, Sidewalk’s CEO Dan Doctoroff said it had “become too difficult to make the 12-acre project financially viable without sacrificing core parts of the plan we had developed together with Waterfront Toronto to build a truly inclusive, sustainable community.”