Smart cities" use surveillance, big data processing and interactive technologies to reshape urban life. Transit riders can see the bus coming on a map on their phones. Cities can measure and analyze the garbage collected from every household. Businesses can track individuals' movements and precisely target advertisements. Google's Sidewalk Labs proposal in Toronto, which has drawn sharp criticism over surveillance and privacy concerns, is one of many smart city projects proposed or underway in Canada. Iqaluit, Edmonton, Guelph, Montreal, Toronto and other cities and towns are all grappling with how to use these technologies. Some cities have quickly partnered with digital giants like Uber, Bell and Google. Others have kept their distance. Big tech companies are hard at work recruiting customers and shaping - sometimes making - public policy on data collection and privacy. Smart Cities for Canada: Promise and Perils is the first book on smart cities in Canada. In this collection, experts from across the country investigate what this new approach means for the problems cities face, and expose the larger issues about urban planning and democracy raised by smart city technology. This is a valuable, timely, independent-minded book for Canadians. | Smart Cities in Canada: Digital Dreams Corporate Designs by Mariana Valverde, Paperback | Indigo Chapters