Sidewalk wanted to build “a flexible interior to easily allow for with a large increase in people coming in groups, meeting a wide array of reconfigurations” (Sidewalk Labs, 2017b: 154). new people, and staying into the evening. This study allows Along with these indoor-outdoor places, retractable canopies the observation that participating citizens were learning about and deployable building raincoats would allow open-air spaces their community and changing how they thought about the park to be accessible in winter (that is, when it is snowing) and in (Sidewalk Labs, 2017b: 185). summer (that is, to create shaded spaces) (Sidewalk Labs, 2017b: 154-156). The space that Sidewalk described could also 3.2.2 Providing physical infrastructure that enables the be used to host an open-air cinema in summer and be closed community to gather for cultural activities off to become a space for students to study and do homework To create attractive and comfortable public spaces for in during the winter (Sidewalk Labs, 2017b: 242-243). Torontonians, Sidewalk Labs recommended the installation of infrastructure such as: 3.2 Cultural activities • Power and conduits: “Weather-protected outlets, with 220 and 110 voltage capabilities, would be interspersed on stoa Sidewalk Labs imagined filling the Quayside’s spaces with and trusses throughout public spaces. . . . Having power and public art and creative culture (Sidewalk Labs, 2017a: 156-157). conduits available throughout the public realm would enable The firm was planning to deliver shared physical infrastructure flexible events or installations” (Sidewalk Labs, 2017b: 184); and spaces that the community could program by itself, as well • Projection: A set of high-resolution projectors with interactive as a tool to help organizations to measure the impact of their capabilities could have been made accessible to residents events. The city could have taken a leading role in programming (Sidewalk Labs, 2017b: 184 and 187); occupation of or activities in spaces equipped with specific • Public Wi-Fi: Connection capabilities could have been made infrastructure such as projection screens, whiteboards, and available throughout the waterfront, enabling new types of utility hook-ups (Sidewalk Labs, 2017b: 182-185). activities such as virtual reality exhibitions; • Lightin g: An LED lighting system could have been 3.2.1Examples of some cultural activities within common implemented to ensure a constant adjustment of the energy spaces used (Sidewalk Labs, 2017b: 184 and 198); • Play:Sidewalk envisaged giving teenagers the chance to join • Sound design: A large array of speakers could have been a virtual queue to play a life-size chess game projected onto deployed around the public area to enable outdoor movie the side of a building. Crowds would then gather to watch the screenings, cultural performances, concerts, and so forth game, and so technology would have drawn people toward (Sidewalk Labs, 2017b: 126 and 184); cultural activities (Sidewalk Labs, 2017b: 192-198); • Water: Controlledinstallations of potable water could • Arts: “A local arts collective could be chosen to set up a have been made available in key public spaces, including pop-up installation or organize a temporary exhibition in the fountains and service hook-ups at different sites (Sidewalk Parliament Plaza” (Sidewalk Labs, 2017b: 183); Labs, 2017b: 2017b: 184). •Community: Youth dance groups could have scheduled a practice time slot at a park stage in spring and summer. 4. Opportunities The possibility of requesting an indoor space in bad weather could have been possible thanks to the generative design 4.1 Employment-finding services model (Sidewalk Labs, 2017b: 143). Sidewalk Labs was not granted responsibilities in this area, Sidewalk Labs developed CommonSpace,19a digital application though it did collaborate with Toronto Employment and Social that would make it easier to collect reliable data on how Services with a view to potentially developing a platform and people use public spaces (Sidewalk Labs, 2017b: 183-185). programs to help people to find jobs. In 2018, Sidewalk Labs “worked with Park People and the Thorncliffe Park Women’s committee20to conduct a field test Toronto Employment and Social Services provides the following of CommonSpace” (Sidewalk Labs, 2017b: 185). The team found services: that the park saw a massive 365 percent increase in visitors on • Assistance aimed at helping people to find a job or access programming days. Moreover, the activity was far more social, the training that they need to find work; (19) https://medium.com/sidewalk-toronto/commonspace-a-new-digital-tool-for-public-life-studies-74deeb353a40 (accessed on 9 June 2021). CommonSpace’s code was open-source software based on an open-data standard, so it could be further developed by users (Sidewalk Labs, 2017b: 185). (20) https://www.tpwomenscomm.org/ (accessed on 9 June 2021). 179 Quélin and Smadja | HEC PARIS | SMART CITIES | The sustainable program of six leading cities | 2021