In this episode of The Intelligent Community, ICF Co-Founder Lou Zacharilla speaks with Darius Ornston, Author and Associate Professor, University of Toronto.

In this episode of The Intelligent Community, ICF Co-Founder Lou Zacharilla speaks with Darius Ornston, Author and Associate Professor, University of Toronto.

WeWork is partnering with the cities of Kitchener, Montreal, Ottawa, and Waterloo, and companies affiliated with their respective innovation hubs, to expand the Startup Passport program. The Startup Passport looks to offer city-based entrepreneurs a network of sites to work and meet at WeWork’s various locations.

The program, which initially launched in Toronto last summer, was available to MaRS Discovery District, the DMZ at Ryerson University, the University of Toronto Entrepreneurship, and York University. Now, the program is available to other innovation hubs in Ontario and Quebec, including Communitech, Montreal International, and Invest Ottawa.

The Canadian Urban Transit Research and Innovation Consortium (CUTRIC) will has partnered with the University of Waterloo, the University of Western Ontario, private industry and government to develop new hydrogen fuel cell technology for transit and automobile applications. 

The CUTRIC will lead the project, dubbed The Development of Low-Cost, High Performing and Durable Polymer Electrolyte Membrane (PEM) Fuel Cells Project, as well as fund 25 percent of its cost. CUTRIC places the total cost of Phase I at C$1,898,432 (US$1,427,772.74). The Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) will co-fund the project.

A new virtual tool could help planners choose the best places to install bikes lanes in cities.

The data-based tool builds on previous research at the University of Waterloo that validated the safety benefits of bike lanes for cyclists and motorists.

Collected using sensors and a handlebar camera as researchers cycled hundreds of kilometres in Kitchener-Waterloo, Ontario, the data showed bike lanes virtually eliminate vehicles getting too close to cyclists when they pass them.

In and of itself, the evolv1 office building is an impressive feat of engineering. Aptly situated in the “Idea Quarter” of the City of Waterloo, the evolv1 became Canada’s first project to receive a carbon-zero building certificate. So what better place to grow and develop the region’s burgeoning green industry?

That’s the intent with the official launch this week of evolvGREEN. A collaborative project to put the Region of Waterloo at the forefront of sustainable business and technology, evolvGREEN will operate from the green open office spaces of the evolv1 building, sending an important message in the process.

The cities of Cambridge, Waterloo, Kitchener and the Region of Waterloo are launching a new public engagement platform: Engage Waterloo Region (EngageWR). The new tool gives citizens the opportunity to have their say on local projects and initiatives. With evolving needs and the advancement of online engagement, the cities and the Region have switched to a new platform that will better facilitate public engagement through more robust tools and a modern, user-friendly design.

A single registration gives participants full access to all online public engagement opportunities for the Region of Waterloo and the cities of Kitchener, Cambridge and Waterloo. Registered users can tailor their preferences to receive notifications about topics that mean the most to them. The interactive and user-friendly site allows users to participate in different ways and stay updated throughout the lifetime of a project.

A Canadian startup backed by BlackBerry Ltd. co-founder Mike Lazaridis has raised $10 million to fund further growth.

Silicon Valley venture capital firm Shasta Ventures led the investment round in Isara Corp., which sells encryption technology to protect data from the threat of hackers armed with quantum computers.

Waterloo-based startup Communitech has launched the Waterloo Regional Technology Development Site, an innovation hub that will help develop high-definition 3D maps for autonomous vehicles.

As part of Ontario’s $80 million Autonomous Vehicle Innovation Network (AVIN) initiative, the new hub will work alongside the University of Waterloo Centre for Automotive Research, the Waterloo Region Economic Development Corporation and Canada’s Open Data Exchange on various 3D mapping technologies, according to the Record.