[s2g]

> What does a tech company know about running a real live city?

Nothing, but they won't let that stop them. They will pack it with enough sensors to go full on dystopian nightmare and provide as little actual human support as possible.

> intelligent “pay-as-you-throw” garbage chutes

jesus, they really will find a way to ruin everything.

> neighbors would crowdsource approvals for block-party permits, giving a thumbs-up or thumbs-down based on the noise the gathering was expected to produce

oh great, we can have those shitty neighborhood social networks cranked up to 10.

oh and just imagine the HOAs!

> few better places to have this conversation than Canada, a Western democracy that takes seriously debates over informational privacy and data ownership—and is known for managing to stay polite while discussing even hot-button civic issues.

hopefully people wake up and become very very impolite towards these goddamn data companies.

> Hitching up with tech companies that are flush with both cash and grand visions might be cities’ best chance to leap into the future, or at least to turbocharge their lagging districts

Yeah, we need to give more power to corporations. Not less. We need fucking Larry running every aspect of our lives.

> So far, the deal hasn’t exactly been a victory for transparency

What a shock.