Google's grand plan to fix our cities
Google's next challenge: building Tomorrowland.
Well, not exactly.
CEO Larry Page announced the company's new initiative, a startup dedicated to improving city life.
In a post on Google Plus, Page described Sidewalks Labs, a new company that will focus on "improving city life for everyone by developing and incubating urban technologies."
This isn't just about shorter commutes (though that's part of it). Page said the company will address issues like cost of living, efficient transportation and energy usage.
"We're already seeing technology help us understand how to make a city better by tracking traffic patterns, for example," CNET tech reporter Bridget Carey told CBS News.
Sidewalk Labs will be led by Dan Doctoroff, the former Deputy Mayor of Economic Development and Rebuilding for the City of New York and former CEO of Bloomberg. Doctoroff was instrumental in a five borough economic development strategy in New York after the 9/11 attacks.
"At a time when the concerns about urban equity, costs, health and the environment are intensifying, unprecedented technological change is going to enable cities to be more efficient, responsive, flexible and resilient," Doctoroff said in a statement. "We hope that Sidewalk will play a major role in developing technology products, platforms and advanced infrastructure that can be implemented at scale in cities around the world."
While many cities already use technology to improve, Page said Sidewalk Labs will focus on the "big picture view," focusing on creating products, platforms and partnerships to make progress. Page said the project represents "a relatively modest investment."
"What they're doing is saying, 'What can we do to help in urban areas?'" Carey said.
The amount of people living in urban areas is set to double worldwide by 2050.
The company will be based in New York City.