Google's latest moonshot project is tech-driven urban planning.

The search giant this week announced Sidewalk Labs, a New York City-based startup that "will focus on improving city life for everyone by developing and incubating urban technologies to address issues like cost of living, efficient transportation, and energy usage," Google's Larry Page said in a Google+ post.

Sidewalk Labs will be run by Dan Doctoroff, former Bloomberg LP CEO and deputy mayor of economic development and rebuilding for the City of New York.

"We are at the beginning of an historic transformation in cities," Doctoroff said in a statement. "At a time when the concerns about urban equity, costs, health and the environment are intensifying, unprecedented technological change is going to enable cities to be more efficient, responsive, flexible resilient."

Doctoroff hopes Sidewalk Labs will "play a major role in developing technology products, platforms, and advanced infrastructure that can be implemented at scale in cities around the world," though he did not provide specifics.

Page said Sidewalk Labs "is a relatively modest investment," but one that he hopes "can really improve people's lives." He likened it to Google[x], home of Google's ambitious moonshot projects, and Google Calico, which wants to use technology for positive change related to aging and associated diseases.

"As more and more people around the world live, work and settle in cities, the opportunities for improving our urban environments are endless," Page said. "Now it's time to hit the streets and get to work!"