IN-PERSON London. Section B

Abstract

This paper will examine civil society activism against a proposal by Sidewalk Labs, a former sister company to Google, to build a smart city on the Toronto waterfront. A growing body of work engages with the ambivalent figure of the ‘smart citizen’ and the multiple contradictory forms of sociality that are mobilized by urban technologies. We identify five strategies that allowed a heterogenous group of civil society actors to successfully oppose the company’s attempt to expand its project in Toronto. These strategies included (1) reframing the narrative of public consultation; (2) populizing the message and using the media as a platform for public exposure; (3) exerting influence through powerful allies; (4) maximizing capacity with decentralized digital organizing; and (5) sensitivity to local political sentiment. A combination of these approaches resulted in Sidewalk Labs withdrawing their involvement in May 2020