Turned Sideways: Why Toronto and Sidewalk Labs' Smart-City Dream Faded and
What it Means for the Future of Cities
LUNCH AT THE NATIONAL CLUB IN PERSON
AND VIRTUAL MEETING AS WELL!
PREREGISTER: office@rotarytoronto.com by Wed. Dec. 7th!
Rotary Meeting Friday, December 9, 2022
at The National Club, 303 Bay Street
PREREGISTER: office@rotarytoronto.com
no later than the Wednesday!
Keynote Speaker: Josh O'Kane, Reporter with The Globe and Mail
Topic: "Turned Sideways: Why Toronto and Sidewalk Labs' Smart-City
Dream Faded and What it Means for the Future of Cities"
Host: Neil Phillips
IN PERSON AT THE NATIONAL CLUB
ARRIVE NO LATER THAN 11:40 A.M TO BE SEATED
AND ALSO VIRTUAL ON ZOOM!
ROTARIANS FOR YOU AND OUR VIRTUAL ONLY GUESTS:
OUR USUAL ROTARY VIRTUAL MEETING - CLICK ON LINKTREE LINK!
Rotarian and Guests: RSVP to office@rotarytoronto.com
Views and Opinions Expressed Disclaimer: The views and opinions are those expressed by the Speaker and do not necessarily
reflect the official views or opinions, policy or position of The Rotary Club of Toronto or its Members.
Biography
Josh O'Kane has been a reporter with The Globe and Mail since 2011, and has covered the technology sector for much of the past five years. His coverage focuses on the relationships between tech companies and human beings, governments, economies, and each other. His latest book, Sideways: The City Google Couldn’t Buy, investigates the failed effort by Google sister company Sidewalk Labs to build a future-focused neighbourhood in Toronto, the many institutions that company won over, and the consequences of Big Tech’s push into the physical world. It was published in September 2022.
O’Kane won the 2019 Arthur F. Burns Award for transatlantic political and cultural reporting from Germany's Internationale Journalisten-Programme for his coverage of that country’s broad pushback against Big Tech. His reporting has also won numerous Best in Business Canada awards from the Society for Advancing Business Editing and Writing. He has written widely on music, entrepreneurship, and Atlantic Canadian culture; his first book, Nowhere with You, examined all three subjects, and was a Canadian bestseller. O’Kane has extensively reported from Berlin, Halifax, Fredericton and Saint John, and is based in Toronto.