Google announces Sidewalk Labs, their latest venture to help improve life for city dwellers

When they aren’t focused on bringing internet to the farthest reaches of the globe, or building robots and self-driving cars, Google is thinking of new problems to take on. Their latest venture is a startup called Sidewalk Labs and according to Google, it looks to improve city living by introducing new technologies to improve things like affordable housing, public transportation, pollution — basically anything and everything that irks city dwellers. Here’s a short blurb about Sidewalk Labs taken from their new webpage:

“We’re on the brink of a historic period for cities around the world. By 2050, the population in cities will double, intensifying existing socioeconomic, public health and environmental problems.

At the same time, innovations in technology can be used to design communities that are more efficient, responsive and resilient. Sidewalk Labs aims to foster the development of technology products, platforms and infrastructure that help improve life in cities around the world.”

The company — which Google calls a “modest investment — will be headed by Dan Doctoroff, Deputy Mayor of Economic Development and Rebuilding for the City of New York. Oh, and he just also happens to be the former CEO of Bloomberg. Like Google X and Calico, Google says Sidewalk Labs is another one of the company’s “10X bets.” Google’s Larry Page says he believes there are endless opportunities to improve life in urban environments while using technology to make make cities more “livable, flexible and vibrant.” You can find the full press release here.

[Google+]