It’s an interesting beast: you’re right, of course, and Google/Alphabet were not being good partners. They were actively being BAD partners.
But.
The ideas were incredible. 30 story buildings made out of sustainable, zero-carbon (or negative carbon) wood that was less flammable than concrete. Roads that were made from hexagon components that could be repaired in hours instead of weeks. Multiuse roads that had no curb, no sidewalk, but integrated lighting that would tell you if the road was currently being used for cars, pedestrians, parking… self-heated too, so there would be no need (or less need) for snow removal.
Lower rents because costs to build was lower. No utilities in the walls so that units go grow and shrink based on resident needs quickly and easily.
A lot of it was revolutionary. And Google refused to share. They were supposed to use Canadian developers: they insisted on being sole developer. They were supposed to allow Canadian companies to use the technology in Canada: instead they were already patenting projects internationally. The factory to build the lumber was owned by Google, the lumber had to be purchased by Canadian tax dollars, the mass-transit would be financed by private investment that would then be paid out by the increase in property taxes…
All that, but it’s still a tragedy in many ways. We (Canadians, sure, but everyone) can’t keep doing things the way they are. We have to build better, faster, more sustainably. The Waterfront project wouldn’t be perfect, and a lot of the stuff they proposed was terrifying (constant video, audio, data recording. Low government oversight, if any. Private waste removal that would be charged based on tracking your specific waste production). But it would’ve been something.
And instead, we got… nothing.
Google’s fault? Almost certainly. But years worth of dreams and development and big ideas tossed out because we (Torontonians and Canadians) couldn’t get them to work with us.
It’s kinda sad. And triumphant, but still sad.
