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Google's Sidewalk Labs Thinks a Reinvented Awning Will Fix Toronto's Winter (engadget.com)
One of the prototypes Alphabet's Sidewalk Labs is working on for its planned neighborhood on Toronto's waterfront is a hexagonal paving system. "The slabs are porous and heated, which may keep snow and ice at bay without salting," reports Engadget. "They're easy to replace, and include LED lights that can, for instance, help direct traffic flow during construction or mark street closures." From the report: Sidewalk will also demonstrate what it's calling a Building Raincoat, an awning it says will help protect sidewalks from wind, rain, sun and snow to make outdoor space usable throughout the year. It attaches to the sides of buildings and is fixed to ground anchors. It's made from a durable, lightweight and transparent plastic called ETFE (Ethylene Tetrafluoroethylene).
In addition, Sidewalk will have a number of art installations at the public event, which "use lighting, projection mapping, mud and other techniques to reflect on relationships between humans and animals in public space, and the broader connection of ecology and urbanism." Some of the works will be projected onto the awning. Along with the prototypes, Sidewalk will discuss some of its broader ideas about how to make its neighborhood livable and accessible, in part through affordable housing and its transit system.
In addition, Sidewalk will have a number of art installations at the public event, which "use lighting, projection mapping, mud and other techniques to reflect on relationships between humans and animals in public space, and the broader connection of ecology and urbanism." Some of the works will be projected onto the awning. Along with the prototypes, Sidewalk will discuss some of its broader ideas about how to make its neighborhood livable and accessible, in part through affordable housing and its transit system.
Cities that face winter use poured slabs for sidewalks because there are no cracks for the water to get into, freeze and then expand and break material. This will never make it past a demo section of pavement in a place near city hall so local officials can get their photos taken.
Why, oh, why, would you embed electronics that need to be maintained and repaired into sidewalks particularly once ... I'll stop here. Physics will just take care of this idiocy unfortunately some taxpayer money will get wasted in the process, hopefully not much.
---- The above post was generated by the Turing Institute. Maybe.
Man... it's SOLAR FREAKIN ROADWAYS all over again.
Sounds like someone from Calgary.
Towns and cities have had awnings over merchant areas for centuries. It may not be this exact material, but there have been weather canopies over the bazaar and shotengai and market in pretty much every country, to either shade folks or keep them warm and dry. Many shopping malls in the USA from Michigan to Arizona used to be more open and followed the merchant street model around 40 years ago, but slowly became roofed in and fused into a single structural arcology model with shoppers dependent on air conditioning.
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sure, you might save on salt, but you're heating the frikking sidewalk to evaporate water or displace it all... how expensive do they expect that to be?